HOT OFF THE PASS | This week in food news: July 30 2020

Moerkoffie, such a descriptive Afrikaans word for the sort of coffee that was brewed in a metal percolator on the stovetop long before anyone had fancy coffee machines or pods. It’s the coffee I grew up with and it seems to be making a bit of a comeback of late.

Moerkoffie is dark with a tongue-curling bitterness in the grounds, I suspect, because of the harshness of the heat used to brew it. It’s improved only with a generous dollop of condensed milk, the hefty sweetness of which helps to override the bitterness. Some drink it just for the condensed milk alone, others add a hefty tot of brandy to the mix.

Besides moerkoffie, here’s what else is making waves in the world of food and drink:

LOCAL CELEBS FACE OFF IN THE KITCHEN

We are a nation with a great appetite for TV cooking shows and the latest, Celebrity Mystery Box, follows a similar format to that fun old BBC show, Ready Steady Cook.

However, instead of celeb chefs, it’s local A-listers who have to duel it out to make a winning dish from a basket of 10 mystery ingredients in 90 minutes. Say the likes of comedian Celeste Ntuli, rapper Moozlie and actress Enhle Mbali.

Thanks to Covid-19, social distancing means the contestants cook off in separate kitchens which takes away some of that spark of spontaneity and competitiveness you saw in Ready, Steady, Cook.

I'm a great fan of chef Lesego Semenya aka LesDaChef, who along with glam co-host Nthabiseng Ramaboa aka Chef Nti, has the difficult task of judging the dishes, some of which haven't looked that great — I feel for them.

The winner of each show takes home a whopping R10,000 and R5,000 goes to their chosen charity. Catch Celebrity Mystery Box on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161).

SA WINE ESTATE NAMED ONE OF THE WORLD’S 50 BEST

Cheers to Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, which recently made the top 50 in the World’s Best Vineyards 2020 list of the globe’s most outstanding wine tourism destinations. It was ranked 14th in the world and named the Best Vineyard in Africa. (Visit worldsbestvineyards.com to see the full list.)

While you can now order some of Delaire Graff’s delicious wines and bubblies, deliveries will be made only after the booze ban ends.

The good news, however, is that you can still enjoy “flavour-packed Asian tapas”  — one of the highlights of a visit to the estate, says the World’s 50 Best Vineyards website — at their restaurant, Indochina, which is open from Friday to Sunday for lunch. To book, visit delaire.co.za