The Twelve Apostles Hotel’s Azure Restaurant will once again showcase Chef Christo Pretorius’ culinary highlights at the 2015 Taste of Cape Town food festival. Held at the Green Point Cricket Club from 10 – 12 April, this will mark the eighth year the food festival takes place in Cape Town. Recognised as one of Cape Town’s top dining experiences, Azure has established itself as a firm favourite at Taste of Cape Town over the past four years.
Taste of Cape Town is part of the largest food event in the world, celebrating the city’s status as an internationally recognised gourmet capital through a shared love for ground-breaking food, dining out and talented chefs. The Green Point Cricket Club grounds will be turned into a gourmet village, with 12 of Cape Town’s top restaurants and pop-up eateries serving up starter sized signature dishes to festival visitors.
Chef Pretorius’ skill for combining flavours to create innovative dishes drew huge crowds in 2014 and earned him rave reviews from influential social media channels. He looks forward to spoiling gourmet palates again this year with three carefully selected signature dishes, all served in bite-sized portions. ‘Fizanta Kraal Trout’ will be served Tequila cured, with baked avocado and corn succotash, while the slow braised, compressed ‘Char Sui Oxtail’ comes with a barbeque miso glaze, mushroom ragout, potato espuma and gremolata. For dessert foodies can tuck into a delectable ‘Lemongrass and Black Sesame’ dish, comprising lemon grass curd, marshmallow, black sesame cake and coconut crumble.
The rising star of the Western Cape’s culinary scene, Pretorius is making his mark with innovative menus focusing on an intriguing mix of international and local cuisine, which secured Azure a spot on the prestigious American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards in 2013 and 2014, and won him the coveted title of ‘Red Carnation Hotels Chef of the Year 2013/2014’. In 2014 Pretorius was named one of eight WWF-SASSI (South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) Trailblazers at the annual SASSI Seafood Circle Awards, following an extensive assessment of restaurants nationwide on their approach to implementing, supporting, and promoting sustainable seafood practices. Another highlight was his participation in the prestigious ‘Chefs who Share’ event in Cape Town on 11 September 2014, as one of 14 of South Africa’s top chefs to present a gastronomic evening in aid of youth development.
