PIGS CAN FLY- AN URBAN CHRISTMAS FEAST PART 3

So our pig circus draws to a close with this, the finale blog, which is in video form. Please check it out.

                                               
                                                Click on the pic to see the video blog

What a challenging and educational experience it has been, to follow a project like this though. Just about every angle we chose offered a new experience. In fact, I remember the day before the feast, when seasoned Chef Stef and I had been cooking non stop for a good while, when Stef said something to the effect of, ‘Just about everything that I have made in the last two days, I have done for the first time’. Basically we put ourselves way out of our comfort zones. We could never have pulled this event off, without expert help form Martin Raubenheimer from Cured, who sausage was as good as it gets, his smoked bones, which we made our pea soup were ridiculously delicious (we gouged ourselves in the kitchen on these flavor bombs) and his gammon was the finest I have tasted. Then there was Andre Cole and Debora, who gave up a day and night in their busy schedules to help us, Andrew you are a brilliant and loving chef, your gammon poached in coke was sublime. Then there were the usual suspects, Harry and Stef. Harry, I’m bummed your Concita soap is now finished; you just can’t buy soap like that anymore. Stef, was the foundation of all that was food for this event. Stef, without a doubt your tripe was the best I have eaten and your Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, I could live on alone, pity our black pudding failed. Stef, you are THE MAN. A special thanks to our paying guest Pieter Joubert, who took control of the Pigs Eyes (a blue berry set in limoncello jelly) and in doing so, upped the anti. He also made the candles, and took over the Mince Pie Department when I lost my sense of humor – shot Pete

The Setting                                                                               Mans

On the video side, a massive thanks needs to go to Robin, Salama, but mostly Lucy, who bust a gut to get this vlog out. Also, thanks to Mans for the fine stills photos and to Moose for the loan of his fancy camera gear.

Those alone I could live on                                       Mans

A Smoked Bone and Pea Soup, with kitsch presentation Mans

Curried Tripe and Trotters - yum I want more             Mans

Sublime Gammon                                                          Mans

Thanks to The Thabang Cultural Dancers, who were guests of Andre's for the weekend. They performed heart and a delightful energy for only a only pork sausage rolls. Thank you. Once again thanks to Celeste for her performance, she is the ultimate pro. 

A beautiful Thabang Cultural Dancer       Man 

Last but not least, thank you Andre’ for making your venue available (clearing it out and painting it took weeks of work), for you amazing art and décor, your guidance and finally for Concita, who I know had a wonderful life while she was with us. She was without a doubt the star of the show.

Mince Pies made with Concita lard                            Mans

PIGS CAN FLY. PART TWO. (Not for vegetarians)

A medieval way of boiling water for pig hair removal (new to me)                                                                          Me

Phew!!! So much seems to have happened in the last two weeks. The most significant by far was the slaughtering of ‘Concita’, our beautiful pig. Neither Stef nor I had ever witnessed something quite like this before and it left both of us well and truly rattled. All we wanted, was to get the hell out of there, but there was work to be done, so with gagging constitutions and heavy hearts, we put the bit between our teeth and worked though that hot Monday ‘mourning’. It took a few days, before we could bare to take the next tentative step to making our Christmas Feast a reality.

A pensive Andre before the deed  Me

Our plan is to use as much of the pig as we possibly can. As I journey down this road, I’m amazed at how very useful a pig actually is. While Stef and I are and dealing in 'The Ministry of Edibles', Harry is the 'Minister of Health and Energy', as he is responsible for making soap and candles from the rendered lard. Of course there’s a mountain of other stuff that he is doing too.

One of the hardened boyz      Me

Martin is smoking the gammons, and the bones. He is also making pancetta with the neck. Having recovered from ‘the ugly monday ordeal,’ Stef and I have found our groove again. We have made a spicy consommé with the hocks and trotters, which will be the jelly for the terrine, we have also made black pudding, which was a major education, and very nerve racking trusting that the intestine wasn’t gonna spring a leak or even worse, burst, leaving the kitchen looking like a violent crime scene. I rendered even more fat, which we’ll use for the short crust pastry for our mince pies. Our menu is coming on rather well, I would say and this is what it looks like.

Rendering fat       Me

MENU (so far)

-       - Pigs Eyes -  (a fresh mulberry set in a limoncello jelly shot)

-       - Piggy Delectable’s - done on the braai (barbecue) which include sage, wild garlic chive and gooseberry sausage, together with crispy belly slices and ribs (by chef Andrew)

-       - Pate' on crostinni

-       - Tripe and Trotters (again Andrew)

-       - Cold Pea Soup – made from a clear stock from the smoked bones

-       - Terrine

-       - Glazed Christmas Gammon – glazed and decorated with fig preserve (wild figs collected right outside the venue) with my mothers Cumberland Sauce. Served with rosti, creamed ‘spinach’ (nettle, pumpkin tips, African spinach), local wild squash roasted and a cress and black pudding salad. (Nasturtiums will probably make their seasons finale curtain call)

-       - Mince Pies – a sweet short crust made from pig lard with currents, mulberries and sherry

The start of a savory jelly

Black Pudding

Cumberland Sauce 

So far this whole process has showed me how out of touch we (today’s urban society) are from what the processes and implications it takes to get food to our tables.

Finally, in spreading the word about this feast, I have been surprised at how many people will happily buy packaged bacon off the supermarket shelves and not consider what sort of life that pig has lived, yet the nature of our feast seems a little too brutal for their taste. At least we know Concita was loved and well looked after and we’ll be using all of her.

The fine ladz who really did the hard work, carrying a symbolic white coffin                                                     Me

(The ‘Pigs Can Fly’ Christmas Celebration will take place on 8 Dec in Tamboerskloof, Cape Town. For bookings please contact Harry on Vleisbook. Ooops! I mean Facebook at 'Harry’s Big Wine Adventure’ Facebook page or email Harry at harrymelck@gmail.com)

PIGS CAN FLY (so can cars) - PART 1

Mans, this blog sites main photographer, doing his paying job. Here he is, directing the crane drivers for our rig, that we designed and installed for Gravitron Effects.                                                                                               Me with iPhone 

'The Mans' posing of me, for once.        Me

Before we get started on food, I must first apologies for getting this blog out a few days late. ‘SORRY MAN.’

This is my lame excuse. As I’m sure you can imagine, I spend heaps of time dealing with food related stuff, like this blog, shooting video blogs, making a promo and treatment for a TV cooking series, writing my cookbook, organizing ‘Urban Feasts’ (this blog is about an up coming one), looking after my little herb and veggie garden, foraging, and just simply cooking. That all adds up to A LOT of time, from which I’m yet to earn a cent. So at some stage I have to earn a buck, and thatz zactly wot I woz doing that kept me from posting this blog, until now. Mans, who has taken most of the fantastic pics for ‘The Urban Hunter Gatherer’ blog is also my business partner and we make our living by flying people and props for the live entertainment and film industries. This week we have had to leave the kitchen and head onto set, to make a real live Roll Royce ‘fly’ into a swimming pool.

Now onto cooking stuff -

Stef, Harry and I (The Urban Feast Team) are well into the throws of planning our third event. We never really planned the first two, opportunities just happened to present themselves, so like all opportunistic hunter gatherers, we went for it. Now another opportunity has presented itself, so again we are going for it.

Andre - a scholar, a gentleman, an artist and a 'father' to many.                                                                               Mans

Martin of 'Cured'  Mans

Andre has a farm (a property owned by the military and managed by The Department of Public Works) not much more then a 10minute walk from the very centre of Cape Town. I first heard about Andre when I lived in the Bokaap, a vibrant residential area in the heart of the city. I knew about Andre, because his cow, Daisy and a handful of goats used to graze on the open plot right in front of my house, so when I enquired about this unusual occurrence, everybody smiled and said, ‘Oh, they are just Andre’s.’ Everyone seems to know Andre.

Years later and living in a different part of town, I decided that I too wanted to know Andre, especially now that I had started writing The Urban Hunter Gatherer blog. When I met him I immediately warmed to him, it’s near impossible not to. He has a huge white beard and an even bigger heart. Andre kindly showed me around and pointed out plenty of stuff that I was welcome to forage. (The figs from my last blog were foraged at ‘the farm’)

Stef from 'Sprung'  Mans

Andre is hugely important in the community. The local residents bring their organic food waste to him, which becomes pig food and compost; and their garden foliage becomes goat food and compost, so he is effectively dealing with heaps of residential organic waste in the most environmentally friendly way possible. But the most important service that Andre provides, is the foster care he offers to disadvantaged and homeless people. He is a father to many. He puts roofs over heads, feeds empty stomachs and looks after elderly folk in the area. Then there are a whole lot of other amazing things about the man, that I won’t go into now.

Anyhow, I believe I’m a spiritual being, but don’t subscribe to any religion and certainly don’t put any religion above another, but by its nature and its timing, it would make sense that The Third Urban Feast should be a 

Christmas celebration, as the menu will exclude Muslims, Jews, Hindus and others. You see, we plan to slaughter one of Andres’ pigs and feed 50 people with her. We will show her our respect by using as much of her as possible, even down to using her fat as fuel for lighting.

The Lads plotting their next move.         Mans

For our feast, we hope that every course on the menu, including pudding will include pig. It sounds outrageous, but we hope that the food will be very accessible to all those who indulge in pig. Martin from ‘Cured’ will look after the curing, smoking and sausaging, while Stef from ‘Sprung’ will head up the kitchen. Other chefs will also be presenting their courses. It is gotta be a huge team effort to make this event a success, but right now I’m thinking, ‘WOT THE HELL ARE WE DOING?’

Concita                              Mans