BY Aurelia Mbokazi-Kashe

Creation Wines is a state-of-the-art winery situated on the scenic Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, Western Cape. It is a picturesque wine farm that begs you to come in and witness its magic in close proximity. Once there, you get lost while admiring the mountain slopes, undulating valleys, and the glimmer of the dam that captures the beauty of the property.

This was our well-chosen lunch spot during the launch of the equally magnificent Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Once you step inside the equally picture-perfect restaurant you are met with a great ambience of muted décor that adds to the relaxed atmosphere and a warm welcome from the servers who are eager to please and make your arrival a special occasion. The food is magnificent yet with bold tastes, it perfectly matches the environment. We caught up with head chef, Eleanor Niehaus, who had this to say about the food and serve, and also shared one of their recipes.

Our philosophy here at Creation Wines, which I strongly believe in, is to give our guests good healthy food that does not create inflammation in their bodies and they will not feel sick when leaving. We also believe in passion, training our chefs to use wisdom instead of enticing violence. Every menu is created with sustainability in mind.

We are all about the team here. We start off by having a brainstorming session with Carolyn Martin, the co-founder, all the chefs and some of the wine ambassadors from the Tasting Room, where we discuss the Wine that JC Martin, our Wine maker, wants to showcase. We also look at what is trending in the food industry, our theme for the season and of course what food is in season and as local as possible.

Each chef chooses which dish to prepare and pair with the wine. The follow up meetings on the new menu includes tastings and discussions around each chef’s dish until we are all satisfied that the dishes are unique and pair perfectly with the wine.

Our signature dish is our confit duck with smoked paprika puree, watercress dressing and violets. It was created by our one of our Chef de Partie, Abongile Mafevuka.

We pair this dish with Creation Wines Reserve Pinot Noir.

RECIPE

Yields 2 portions

Beef Jus

100 g carrot, washed and roughly chopped

100 g celery leaves and washed

100 g onion, roughly chopped

100 g leek, washed and roughly chopped

1 kg roasted beef stock bones

500 ml Creation Merlot

5 sprigs thyme, washed

50 g vegetable oil

cold water to cover

100 g fresh fig purée

In a big pot with the 50 g oil, roast the vegetables, add the bones and cold water and simmer for 24 hours. Keep skimming off the fat.  Strain stock into a new pot, add wine and reduce till jus consistency. Add 100 g fig purée and stir till mixed through.

Confit Duck

2 duck leg quarters

4 g cloves garlic

50 g onion

50 g carrot

20 g celery

10 g salt

300 g duck fat

30 g fig jus

Cut the vegetables up roughly and place in a deep oven tray with the duck. Cover with the fat and sprinkle the salt on top. Cover with foil and place in the oven at 120° C for 6 hours.

Remove the duck from the fat. Let it cool and vacuum it with some duck fat until needed. Store in the fridge. Strain the vegetables and keep the remaining fat for later use. Store in the fridge. Remove the duck from the fat and place it in a baking tray. Place in the oven at 180° C for 5 minutes. Baste with the fig jus and return to the oven for a further 4 minutes.

Smoked Paprika Hummus

150 g cooked chickpeas

25 ml vegetable oil

50 ml hot water

5 g maldon salt

5 g Smoked paprika

juice from half a lime

Blend all the ingredients in a bar blender till smooth. Add more salt and lime juice if needed.

Watercress Dressing

150 g watercress

60 g coconut yoghurt

60 g citrus ponzu

5 g vegetable stock powder/nutritional yeast

pinch of salt

Blend all the ingredients in a bar blender till smooth.

Cauliflower Steak

1 head cauliflower

5 g maldon salt

5 g fresh thyme

2 g garlic

20 g vegan butter

2 g dried mushroom powder

Fill a pot ¾ full of water and bring to the boil. Add salt. Boil the cauliflower for 10 minutes.

Leave to cool. Chop the thyme and garlic and mix. Cut the cauliflower like a steak (you should get about 2 steaks from one head). In a pan, add olive oil and season the steaks with salt. Sear the steaks on both sides, top with butter and herb, garlic mix and place in the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of mushroom powder before serving.

Plating

smoked paprika hummus

cauliflower steak

confit duck

fresh watercress leaves

2 violet flowers

Drizzle with the watercress dressing and top with fresh watercress leaves and a violet flower.