GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - A 350-strong crowd of guests, chefs, sponsor representatives, organisers and support crews convened at Carpe Diem School on Saturday evening, 20 August, to celebrate the return of the Southern Cape's best-loved culinary affair.
It was the 13th staging of Carpe Diem's Gourmets & Gourmands gala evening after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19; 17 restaurants which includes Garden Route Game Lodge (Albertinia), Jakkalsvlei (Albertinia), Reed Valley (Mossel Bay), Bahia Bleu (Mossel Bay), Peperboom Restaurant (Great Brak River), Twin Trees (Great Brak River), Jemima's (Oudtshoorn), Salinas (Wilderness), Pomodoro (Wilderness), Serendipity (Wilderness), Ilali (Wilderness), and George restaurants 101 Meade, Portobello, Kitchen Queen, Nina's, Frankly Fresh and Fat Fish conjured up four-course spreads to delight the palates of appreciative guests, who were dressed to the nines and hungry for alimentary and auction action.
The event serves as primary fundraiser for Carpe Diem School, which cares for nearly 400 differently abled children from all over the region. Principal Elzeth Grobler is at the helm of a highly qualified staff contingent, who contributed to the planning for months leading up to the event.
A highlight of the evening's entertainment line-up was when a troupe of Carpe Diem dancers - two of them wheelchair bound - showed off their ballroom moves to a most appreciative crowd.
Another grand feat of collaboration was attained by the chefs and kitchen teams representing top Garden Route and Klein Karoo restaurants. In the Carpe Diem quad – covered in recent years, thanks to funds raised through previous Gourmets & Gourmands events – all participants had set up makeshift kitchens that enabled them to plate four courses of heavenly food, with fine wines to complement these creations.
Food guru and educator par excellence François Ferreira was MC on the night, his regal robes perfectly befitting the crowds' glittering attire, meticulously chosen for this year's Brilliantly Ballroom theme.
Ferreira is a champion of the South African culinary scene and served as Gourmets & Gourmands convener during the previous 12 occasions, before this year handing over the baton to George restaurateur Wern van der Watt.
Once guests had familiarised themselves with the lay of the land, witnessing with cocktail in hand their favourite kitchen crews in action, seats were taken in the beautifully adorned Carpe Diem Hall. Musical entertainment was provided by jazz maestro Martin Wolfaardt and vocalist Simone, and the bidding was expertly compèred by Frederick Bekker Auctioneers.
Hartman & Sons is a George-based family business that has supported the event for the past decade-plus, and this year again came on board as premier sponsor. The continued generosity of Andries Harman and his clan was lauded by all speakers on the night.
Another family business that impacted the evening with lasting effect was the Cape St Blaize Artisanal Distillery crew; credit is also due to Xerox for taking professional care of all printing of menus, programmes and the like.
Twenty lots of diverse products and prizes - from estate wines and golf rounds to getaways and game drives, dinners and an exquisite pendant created by Michél Nunes of Raffaele D'Amato Jewellers - were auctioned between courses and raised just over R500 000 for Carpe Diem School.
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