A touch of spring in winter with a bright, fresh broad bean hummus with lemon zest and mint, served on gorgeous charcoal crackers. A Nigel Slater inspired recipe. With tips on blanching.

Chocolate. Now, I don’t need to convince you of the worthiness of this magnificent elixir. But chocolate in pasta? Cocoa has been used in savoury sauces in restaurants and homes for years and years. What do you make of a rich cocoa penne and a savoury chocolate chilli sauce brought together with luscious fresh cream and topped with slices of melt-in-the-mouth spiced steak?

Here, I offer you a winter wonderland salad, filled with the brightest colours and warming ingredients that are as healthy for the body as they are cheering for the spirit- spicy butternut batons, flame-grilled red peppers & pan fried halloumi.

Set in the breathtaking grounds of the Castle, I attended the Prague Food Festival in May a few weeks after attending Taste of Cape Town. These are my discoveries and tips if you’re attending next year.

My mother called it Tandoori chicken. Roasted on a silver baking tray it would envelop the kitchen in the musky, woody aroma of ground jeera (cumin) and the fresh slices of pineapple she added would caramelise and char slightly, releasing a sweet perfume. Not quite tandoori chicken, but I take those memories and make an Indo-Moroccan spiced roast chicken.

I share a snippet of my infatuation with Nigel Slater’s book Tender and his Simple Stew of Onions, Beer and Beef that I made the past weekend. Easy to make, slow cooked, winter comfort food. With a few tweaks.

Plate To Page Food Writing and Photography workshop in May, held in Weimar, Germany. I come clean on why I almost didn’t go and all the reasons I’m so glad I did.

An overview of the Nobu Cape Town Winter Tasting Menus (from R299 for 5 courses) and the Omakase Menus that feature on the regular menu.

A meat free meal of thick ribbons of spinach pappardelle, a garlic infused tomato sauce with smoked chilli and spring onions. Top with shavings of parmesan cheese and it’s an easy but scrumptious week day meal in a bowl.

I guess if I was infinitely cooler and far more worldly, I’d have been able to resist the aching temptation to make the opening picture one of myself with Senor Adria. Alas, despite attempts at nonchalance, I’m not. I had the incredible (and unexpected) opportunity of meeting Ferran Adria just over a month to date, at his wildly acclaimed tapas bar Tickets, in the theatre district of Barcelona. What is Molecular Gastronomy and why the angst?