Charl's menu a hit at Gardenview

MEDIA personality Charl Leslie showed off his culinary prowess at the Gardenview Guest House in Walmer at the weekend, coming up with a palate-pleasing, five-course tasting menu that was expertly paired with a selection of Durbanville Hills wines provided by Distell.

An ardent food columnist and cook, Charl also handled the menu for the four-star guesthouse's previous pairing event with JC Le Roux which, like last Saturday's gathering, was a roaring success.

It was my and Salvelio's first visit to the guesthouse at 38 Church Road, a beautiful property in a lush garden setting that is owned by Advocate Richard Buchanan and his wife, Edith, a counselling psychologist.

This delightful couple established their guesthouse about two-and-a-half years ago after roping in their architect daughter to handle the sizeable conversion.

After taking in the establishment's impressive art, including a stunning aloe mosaic that took noted Bay ceramicist Lynnley Watson several months to complete, guests were welcomed by amiable general manager Geoff Applewhite. Next, we tucked into Charl's slow-cooked pulled pork salad which was paired with the Durbanville Hills merlot rosé, a wine often found in our fridge at home as it is extremely versatile with most dishes and can seamlessly make the summer to winter shift.

Pulled pork is the flavour of the month right now; Charl confessed it was his first attempt but everyone was impressed with the result.

Next came delicious fishcakes with a hint of lemon, seved with papino salsa on the side and paired with the Durbanvllle Hills sauvignon blanc. This was the just-released 2014 and it knocked our socks off with its gooseberry, green apple and hint of citrus on the nose. Its zesty crispness on the palate makes it perfect for fish. This is one wine I will definitely be hunting down as it was my favourite of the night.

A not-too-sweet berry granita palate cleanser made with the same rosé we'd started with was a clever touch.

Salvelio's top dish was the .deconstructed coq au vin style ostrich neck "pie" with loose pastry topping teamed with a Durbanville Hills shiraz. Again this was an intuitive pairing as the smoky flavours and the bacon in the dish worked well with the shiraz, which would go equally well with other hearty winter dishes like venison.

The award-winning Rhinofields noble late harvest that accompanied the sublime honey cheesecake with dried apricot compote was a fitting finale. - Louise Liebenberg