Want To Lose Your Appetite? Get A Job!

There is no better way to kill continuum on a blog and start eating horribly than to be utterly stressed at work.

Since my last entry over twenty days ago, it has been nothing short of a clusterfu*k at the job and aside from stuffing diner take-away into my face and the occasional cups of coffee, my passion for food has taken a back seat to my passion for sleep.

All that said, November looks a lot more promising and I can hopefully once again dust off my chef's knife and start playing around with the seasonal vegetables.  I've yet to personally perfect a good butternut squash soup and am looking forward to experimenting with some new spice combinations to see what comes out of the pot.

Viva A Free South Africa

A large part of enjoying a good meal is also enjoying a great wine.

Coming to Montreal from New Brunswick back in 1998, I arrived here without much wine experience as the selections where I grew up usually came in boxes or were fruit-flavoured apple wine concoctions.  Over the years and thanks to the phenomenal knowledge and inventory housed at the "SAQ", I have grown to have a discriminating palate for wines, especially red wines which have become my hands-down favorite.

Now, having a global experience with a variety of vintages, I can clearly say that the wines currently coming out of South Africa are my hands down favorite with the "shiraz" (aka "Syrah") based vintages being at the top of my list.  They seem to have the perfect balance between the peppery and heavy "Cabernet Sauvignon" robustness that I like and the fruity and delicate notes you would find in a "Merlot".

For a country that I only knew as a child as the home of cruel Apartheid policies and unrest, the explosion of their wines onto the local marketplace have been a real "decouverte".  One has to wonder if all those years of harsh oppression did anything to contribute to keeping these new world wines as one of the dark continent's best keep secrets-- allowing these producers to hone their skills to perfection in the shadows and hidden from the world's eyes.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite South African wines that I encourage you to try:

• Robertson Winery, Shiraz, 2008 - Approx. 14$ a bottle.
  
• Robertson Winery, One Constitution Road, Shiraz, 2006 - Approx. 30$ a bottle
• Dornier, The Pirate Of Cocoa Hill, Cabernet Sauvignon 41%, Merlot 32%, Shiraz 18%, Cabernet Franc 6%, 2007 - Approx 14$ a bottle.

All three of these wines pair well with aged cheeses and rich meat dishes.  One Constitution Road is my top favorite of the three with a lingering heavy note of plum making it the best wine to drink as a stand-alone and for your friends who usually avoid red wine because they find they are too "harsh" for their palates.

The Kitchen Is Now Open

It has been a long time coming and now finally here.  Countless hours in the kitchen, dining, and expanding my own taste buds has culminated in this blog dedicated to share with you my love of food, wine, and the city I have learned much in-- Montreal.

From the comfort of your favorite computer chair I hope to take you on an adventure that started for me from the first time I watched my grandmother, Shirley, harvest fresh vegetables from her immense country garden and transform them into wholesome home cooked meals through to my decade of savouring a truly global world of food here in Montreal.

Like all dishes, this blog (and the adventure) will be a constant work in progress-- combining the dizzying array of spices and ingredients of my food experiences into dishes best served blogged.