Château Rauzan-Ségla

This event will feature rare wine directly flown from the chateau, as well as the presence of Château Rauzan-Ségla and Château Canon managing director and master chef.

This epicurean experience will showcase a multi-course menu specially created and prepared by Bruno Chevalier, Master Chef of Château Rauzan-Ségla and Château Canon, and complemented with wines personally selected by John Kolasa, managing director of both Châteaux. Among the wines served will be a rare 1966 Château Canon in magnum and the 1986 Château Rauzan-Ségla (rated at 96 points by Robert Parker.) The US$395 per person ticket (±R3K) will commence with a champagne reception.

The menu for the evening:

Hen consommé with foie gras, sliced scallops and truffles
CHÂTEAU CANON 2003, St Emilion, 1st Classified Growth
CHÂTEAU CANON 2000, St Emilion, 1st Classified Growth

Veal sweetbreads pan fried in hazelnut oil, lentils cooked with bacon and chanterelles
CHÂTEAU RAUZAN–SÉGLA 2001, Margaux Classified Growth
CHÂTEAU RAUZAN–SÉGLA 1995, Margaux Classified Growth

Warm lobster tail, chicken oyster, cèpes and toasted pine nuts
CHÂTEAU RAUZAN–SÉGLA 1989, Margaux Classified Growth
CHÂTEAU RAUZAN–SÉGLA 1986, Margaux Classified Growth

Roasted double loin lamb chop crusted with tarragon and almonds, barbajuan with lamb shoulder confit; artichoke heart stuffed with vegetables and Comté cheese
CHÂTEAU CANON 1998, St Emilion, 1st Classified Growth
CHÂTEAU CANON 1966, St Emilion, 1st Classified Growth

Kaffir lime cake with red fruits and rhubarb
CHÂTEAU ROUMIEU-LACOSTE 2006, Sauternes

This special event is part of the Halekulani Living luxury lifestyle series, which launched in 2006 offering events that cater to distinct interests and cultural desires of Halekulani’s guests and patrons.

Château Canon

(via HOTELSMag.com – By Jeff Weinstein on 1/26/2012)

]]> http://ymartiny.co.za/2011/11/30/my-sea-point/feed/ 0 http://ymartiny.co.za/2011/11/28/bokswynengel/ http://ymartiny.co.za/2011/11/28/bokswynengel/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:19:51 +0000 ymartiny http://ymartiny.co.za/?p=661 Sneeuengels se voet. Strandengles s’n ook. As jy die bevokste engel wil maak, is die ‘n bokswynengel. Dit verg baie om hierdie hoog onwaarskynlikke sending te voltooi:

- Eerste moet jy die perfekte glas hê; een met net die regte hoogte stam en ‘n weie genoeg glastulp om daardie opgebokste wyn die regte hoeveelheid lug te gee.

- Die atmosferiese druk moet presies dieselfde wees as op die dak van enige ses-vloer gebou in die stadbak van Kaapstad

- Die regte mengsel van alkohol aanpaksel en sediment van die wonderlikste lighte witwyn tot swaarder, ondrinkbare, rooiwyn. Dit dan alles het bygedra tot die skepping van dié perfte aangesig in ‘n glas en ook die selfs meer suksesvolle, jaarlikse (nou in sy tweede jaar) Bokswyntoekenings by die Penthouse on Long wat deur winetimes geborg word.

Mense het van hede en vere gekom om dié uitsonderlikke en unieke aangeleentheid by te woon. Die geliefde bekendes in die wynindustrie was daar, wyngoggas (wine bloggers), media, wynvlieë, en ook net plein gewone mense wat daarvan hou om die ou papsak ‘n drukkie te gee.

Die hysbak se deure het net na vyf-dertig oopgemaak om die hordes mense wat geduldig op die rooi tapyt gewag het, na die dak te vat. Na ‘n vinigge oriëntasie en registrasie was jy dan reg om in die rye bokse in te vaar. Tussen die opvang met bekende gesigte wat jy oor die jare bymekaar gemaak het, meestal met die hulp van die goeie mense (en gasheers) van winetimes en spitorswallow, en die ongelooflikke smulhappies van die  The Woodstock, moes jy ±20 bokse wit- en rooiwyn probeer, dit ‘n telling uit 10 gee, en daaroor Twiet om die telling te registreer. ‘10’ vir daardie boksie wat jou tong van vreugde laat sing en‘1’ vir daardie onbeskofte, asyn-tipe wyn wat jou kiewe laat hande klap tot in die nuwe jaar.

Ander struikelblokke vir elke beoordeellaar om ook te vermy, en om van nota te neem vir volgende jaar sodat jy betyds ‘n slukkie kan neem van elke wyn voor die aand verby is:

- Die kameraman, klankman and vermaaklikheids aanbieder wat ‘n hele ry wynbokse van toegang kan blokkeer

- Mense met tydelikke wyn-geïnduseerde Alzheimer se siekte wat drie keer dieseflde tottie draai en dieselfde bokswyn dan weer punte gee (en waarskynlik met ‘n ander telling)

- Op-maat-selfoon-snorvember-manvrou kompetiesies vir wie jy ook beoordeellaar moet speel

- Kraantjies wat verkeerde kant toe spyt

- Dronkies met nagblindheid

Dié partytjie, wat beslis die bees se ballas was, het natuurlik nie geëindig met die toekennings van die beste witwyn (Robertson Winery Sauvignon Blanc) en rooiwyn (Drostdy-hof Merlot 2010) nie. Daarna, is almal in hulle afslag rikki-karretjies na die immergewilde, Drie-eenheid (Trinity). Hoewel, na ek deur elke liewe bokswyn was, kon ek ongelukkig nie die jol verder aanpak nie. Toe gryp ek my komplimentêre lewertablette (Vital Liver Rescue tablets) en luister toe maar vir die innerlikke kapitalis wat my bed toe jaag.

Dit was ‘n paar dae later dat ek my skootrekenaar in die katebak ingegooi het en toe die glas hoor. In die donker hoek van die katebak het ek toe die dowe, rooi-gevlekte glas uitgelig en opgehou teen die sonlig. Op daardie oomblik het honderde stemme teen dieselfde tyd in eenvormigge lied uitgebreek wat my weer laat glo het in die krag wat ‘n doos kan hê.

Amarula recently ran a Retro & Renew competition for food and drinks bloggers, who were asked to compose a cocktail based on a classic recipe but given a new twist by adding the creamy Spirit of Africa to the mix.

The winning cocktail was Lover’s Revenge, a variation on the White Russian, devised by Clare Mack and professionally styled and shot for Amarula, along with five other recipes short-listed by the panel of judges for their originality, taste and suggested way of serving.

They are Nirvana by Chocolate ymartiny.co.za, Amarula Mint Music Muddle by Sue Northam (Samusicinlondon.blogspot.com), Dark Roast Amarula by Deidre Rosenberg (Love4adventure.co.za), Elephant Riviera by Sarah Fell (Onesmallseed.co.za) and Skew’s me by Juan Geel (Skew.co.za).

They will all soon be featured on Amarula’s website www.amarula.co.za.

Ingredients

30 ml Amarula

30 ml Count Pushkin Premium Imperial Vodka

30 ml Nachtmusik

3 scoops Woolworths Stracciatella Ice Cream

30 ml Stroh Rum

Crushed ice

Shavings of white and dark chocolate

Method

Mix the Amarula, Count Pushkin Premium Imperial Vodka, Nachtmusik and ice cream with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker, blender or sealed container.  Pour into a tumbler and garnish with shavings of white and dark chocolate.  Savour the cocktail and finish off with a shot of Stroh Rum.

Serves one.

My mother has to be the leading alcoholic personality in the southern hemisphere. I remember bergies (South African Pygmy Street Cowboys) standing in queues outside our house waiting for that half a glass that she would leave them, on purpose. Her children departed from her nipple only to reach for the neck of her favourite aperitif or digestif. It was during these early forming years that she introduced them to a liqueur, for which I would have an affinity for, like a child would for a favourite toy. It had to be the gentle looking giant elephant staring at you from the bottle. What child doesn’t adore animals, domestic or wild?

Before we start this adventure, please let me make one thing clear. Amarula Cream is not a liqueur (flavored alcoholic beverage) but actually a double distilled spirit. Drop that little fact at the next Tupperware party.

“Amarula Cream is a pure blend of nature’s fresh cream and the mysterious taste of the wild Marula fruit.” It is with this proclamation that I applied myself to their competition (more here).

With an early degree in alcoholic and associated mixers, these years of constant exposure regulated me into ‘Drinking with the Days’. A routine I apply to everyday drinking to keep it interesting and within the Rules of Moderation, in whichever way you interpret it. Eg. Fridays call for beer and tequila … and anything else that can be shooted, Saturdays for spirits and mixers, Sundays for Ciders (because mom had Ciders on Sundays after church), and Mondays to Thursdays wine would be the obvious constant catapult of consumption.

Other than moderately consuming beverages, enjoying fine food and cruising the strip on the weekend, I’m also fond of listening to good music (contemporary, alternative, rock or a combination thereof). For this competition then, I thought of combining my remarkable taste in Hot Contemporary Rock Music with my unique scheduled drinking habits in an effort to come up with new cocktails and shooters for a product aiming to make their brand just that, fresh and rocking, every weekday:

Sowetan Toilet – Monday

Maybe the most loved drink to shoot at any bar, despite its name. For the twist in this very popular classic, we drizzle Apple Sourz over all the ingredients and make it a “District 9 Toilet”, guaranteed to have you leaving the bar like the Prawn you will become. Also an awesome motivational elixir at any Monday Night Karaoke bar or club …

Ingredients: 3/4 banana liqueur - 1/4 Amarula Cream - Nachtmusik Chocolate Liqueur - Apple Sourz

Preparation: Start with banana liqueur, Amarula Cream and drop of Nachtmusik. Drizzle Apple Sourz over the open toilet and voila!

Song: Mad at Gravity – “Walk Away” – from the movie

Amarula, the Housewife & Eve – Tuesday

Originally created to be enjoyed after an African sunset, it is strongly recommended that the very well-off and affluent suburban housewife shake it up with their domestic assistant every Tuesday just before chaila time.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Amarula Cream - 1/2 oz vodka - 1/2 oz lemon juice - 2 1/2 oz Litchi juice - 3/4 oz ruby red Grapefruit juice - Litchi fruit for garnish

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a shaker glass filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a coup glass. Garnish with litchi fruit on the rim and sing “Hesitate” by Stone Sour with that special someone you share most of the day with.

Nirvana by Chocolate – Wednesday

Previously Death by Chocolate was consumed mostly before hitting the night clubs and bars by inexperienced teen-bobbers looking for a chilling thrill. Nirvana by Chocolate however, would be for the more sophisticated palate and should be trayed up with Stroh Rum (in a separate shot obviously) to give you that midweek boost.

Ingredients: 1 oz vodka - 1.5 oz Amarula Cream - 1 oz Nachtmusik Chocolate Liqueur – 3 Scoops Stracciatella ice cream from Woolies - A Shot of Stroh Rum

Preparation: Blend all ingredients together with crushed ice and serve in a whisky glass. Garnish with shavings of white and dark chocolate. Have a shot of stroh rum afterwards to prepare you for the next coming.

Song: Foo Fighters – “Rope” – obviously … for so many reasons

Toasted Elephant Nuts – Thursday

Originally called Toasted Almond, a delightful combination of coffee and almond liqueurs originally made with a coffee infused liqueur or spirit. Now, you make this creamy concoction with Amarula Cream instead and it would be an even greater indulgence. By adding a shot of vodka, your Toasted Elephant Nuts turns any night spectacularly neon. To be enjoyed at any five star fine-dining establishment.

Ingredients: 1.5 oz amaretto - 1.5 oz Amarula Cream - 1 oz cream

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass and crack an almond in your mouth afterwards to honour the pachydermatous ancestors.

Song: Cage the Elephant – “Shake Me Down” – Perfect title for this drink and a great song!

The Cape Town Halfpipe – Friday

Created in honour of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Halfpipe is an excellent addition to any Olympic party. These days though we prefer it served at any festival in Obz in honour of a different Half-Pipe.

Ingredients: 1 oz Lucid Absinthe - 1 oz Coffee Liqueur - 1 oz Amarula Cream - Vanilla pod for garnish

Preparation: In a rocks glass combine Lucid Absinthe, coffee liqueur and crème liqueur. Stir. Garnish with vanilla pod.

Song: Kings Of Leon – “Pyro” – Awesome video btw and quite an appropriate setting, considering all of the above.

Personally I preferred mine chilled for easy, neat consumption, next to a bottle of chardonnay in the fridge. Oh … or over hot Malva Pudding in the middle of winter.

There it is! Have fun trying out these cocktails and shooters and look out for the new Amarula Cream bottle: A legend is about to be reborn!

I wanted to arrange a tour to the farm and write about the farm first-hand and its wine. Instead I decided to rather wait until Wacky Wine later this year and try out cooking for a change. Urgh!

The website had two suggestions: A meal that would serve 4 to 8 (are you freak’n insane?!) and the other for a party starter – do I look like Martha Stewart?! Chicken, pancetta, cheese and mushroom featured in the first recipe mentioned and I thought it a good idea to surf the internet for a meal that would be more simple and geared towards my style of eating at home. Not that an instant-meal are any ‘style’ to go by but they are quick and easy with little physical participation required; the closest to going out for dinner. I eventually found this recipe.

The next undertaking was to find the ingredients. Schlep Epic!© Three Woolworths Stores on Main Road ,Sea Point (St Johns’ is still my favourite) and I found all the ingredients including the ‘Left-Over Chicken’ – I had to bamboozle a bit and improvise here as no sound person eats left-over chicken (have you ever seen a diarrhea tsunami?) so I got half of a grilled chicken from the rotisserie section.

Two hours later I was ready to start my cuisine carnival. Just by the way, don’t try a Nigella or Jamie food prep and presentation if you do not have the relevant components carefully combined and constructed. The salad type summer dish turned out to be a pasta engulfed chicken dish … with salad on the side. Judging by the picture, I still think mine came out more tastier and presentable.

Foodies have so much more fun!

Anyway, back to the intention of this gastronomical gala: The Weltevrede Vanilla Chardonnay. Ah yes, the wine which made swallowing the food so much more … undemanding. I loved the way the coconut-ty vanilla pods exploded once the saltiness of the parmesan and pancetta dissipated. The cream (I used a double portion) seemed to politely compliment that of the wine. The bottle didn’t last long. This very affordable bottle of wine (at R45 ea) got its very interesting notes from is accounted to a combination of soaking up the Karoo sun through its leaves and digging its roots deep into the porous limestone it was grown in to produce the very unique taste.



As the night drew on I couldn’t stop but plan the next trip in June where Weltevrede will not only top the list due to the fact that they have the best breakfast but also due to the fact that they are able to produce some of the area’s best balanced and flavorsome wines.

Ingredients

150 ml double cream

piece of parmesan rind

85 g pancetta, or smoked bacon, sliced, rind removed finely sliced and reserved

sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper

200 g spaghetti, or linguine

2 tbsp light olive oil

100 g Portobello or field mushrooms, sliced

140 g chicken, left-over roast

50 g mixed leaves, (rocket or spinach), roughly chopped

2 tbsp parmesan, freshly grated

Method

1. Place the cream, Parmesan cheese and bacon rind in a medium, heavy-based saucepan. Bring to a gentle bubble and reduce for 5-6 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add in the spaghetti and cook for 4-5 minutes or until al-dente. Drain.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large, heavy-based frying pan or wok. Add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then the pancetta. Fry briskly, stirring often, until the pancetta is crispy.

4. Add in the remaining olive oil and the mushrooms and fry, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add in the drained spaghetti and toss well. Strain the reduced cream into the pan and add in the cooked chicken.

6. Season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss thoroughly again.

7. Toss in the mixed leaves, divide among 2 warmed deep bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan and serve at once.

iThemba House, a house of safety in Hout Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa. They open their doors to abandoned and traumatised children between birth and six years of age. They are a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing a loving home environment for these special children. iThemba House is endorsed by Child Welfare. Find more information about iThemba and how you can make a difference on their website: www.ithembahouse.co.za

The Amazing Race to Dinner (ARTD) was conceptualized by Miguel Bennetto-dos Santos from a combination of a TV show with a similar name and a Monthly Dinner Club initiative he developed with friends of his. It started 6 years … well, I’m sure the race director will fill you in the next time you meet him.

Teams come together early in the year and make up their own team with friends, family and work colleagues. Names are submitted together with that of the Team Captain. ARTD then officially launches every year with the selection of team colours by the captains which is based on the same principles and proceedings as that of a Soccer Tournament’s, well, almost. Therefore your team colours are completely random and unbiased. Teams are made up of either four or five members which includes said captain to co-ordinate the various prerace prerequisites and requirements which included:

The Sponsors

No race is complete with some sort of incentive. For the ARTD, this would be prizes for the top three teams, best photo, video, chant, most money raised, etc. and each team were given the task to collect sponsorships which would then be divided and allocated to the various categories at the end of the race. It could range from a R600 dinner voucher at a local take-away or a luxurious yacht cruise for ten. This year saw prizes and sponsorships in excess of R150,000.00 with some amazing companies adding their names to the ARTD for the various winning categories.

An Event

Teams are grouped together to come up with an event where monies are raised for the charity that the race supports. The profits are then split equally between the teams who contributed. This year saw a Wine Auction at the Westin Cape Town, a Moffie and Lettie Mince with a Hot Dog and Hamburger Sale at Gay Pride, a Family Fun Day at GrandWest Casino, a Howling Night out at The Living Room and even a Rock, Paper, Scissor party at Tequila Town. These events were held from the end of February right up to the race on the 2^nd of April and executed in style with great success.  Teams were not bound to only these events and could go out on their own to collect donations, hold raffles or have their own separate events.

The Photo

Every team has to submit a photo of the team that will participate. The photo only has to be indicative of the team colours and include every member of the team. It doesn’t have to be themed according to what they are planning to go as on race day though. This leaves the door as wide open for teams to be as creative as they could collectively be. Like this one from the Bronze Team which was the centre of a lot of conversations in this category. Unfortunately they didn’t walk away with the prize due to one of the rules set out above. See more photos here as well as the winning one by the Pink Team. The main purpose of the photo is to befriend your fellow racers, get to know them and for strategic reasons, know which one to look for at the dreaded Yield Station.

The Videos

Also a very exciting part of the prerace preparations which sees teams employing professional production companies, purchasing state-of-the-art software and calling in favours from the IT and graphic design world. Again, there are virtually no rules in this category, just a time limit and the fact that all the team racers had to feature with the team colour incorporated somehow. The videos then get screened at the final destination to the enjoyment of all present. From there it is down to a vote. This year proved that you can keep it simple and still walk away with top colours: The Grey Wolves’ video.

The Chant

Teams had to design and develop these chants and perform them at the outset of the race in front of all their fellow racers. The vote in this category was up to the marshals and race director. This category had no rules; it just had to be a chant. This proved to be quite the challenge for a few teams with very little to no talent when it comes to either keeping a note, or keeping a beat. This year’s chants were as individual as the team colours and saw the addition of props, gunpowder, spirit sticks and fireworks. The Dark Green Team* walked away with the honours in this department with other teams not far behind. This was a very difficult category to judge as virtually all the teams chants were close to the same standard. Here* are all the team chants.

*apologies for the poor sound and picture quality

The Outfits

Costume hires, kitchen accessories, sport outfits, pajamas or whatever else you decided to identify your team and represent its colour by, was up to each team to decide. See if you can spot the winning outfit in the team photos taken before and after the race by local photographer, Simon Deviant Davids.

Every year the brain behind this event, Miguel Bennetto-dos Santos, aims to take it to another level, this year he had outdone himself, not only in terms of the race itself, but also in terms of the amount of sponsors the teams signed up and monies raised for iThemba house. But more on this later. This is how this year’s race was ‘ran’:

After the team chants, the Noonday Gun sounded and ± 125 racers exploded into various directions across Green Point Park. They had to locate their team ‘Survival Bags’ somewhere in the park and eventually found them planted roughly 120m across the park. The fastest team members ran for the bags while the rest of the teams ran for their cars parked at different entrances. After picking up the team bags which contained sustenance for the race as well as various random items that may or may not be used during the race, teams made it back to their cars and the race was on!

In their survival bags, they would find Clue Number 1:

• And so the race begins. Remember, safety first!
• Get your team into your car and drive towards your first pit stop. Make your way towards the Northern Suburbs! That’s right, you are going to cross the Boerewors Curtain!
• The place you are looking for has the same name as a movie where the improbable true story of a Jamaican team (a helicopter pilot, a reggae singer and a sprinter) took part in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada in this specific sport …
• A few years ago a couple of bars in Cape Town also had the same name …
• If you are still lost … it is off Carl Cronje Drive, opposite the Bellville Velodrome, behind the Engen Petrol Station.
• Once there, look for your marshals. They will have your first task. Good luck!!

Being an inner-city driver and with ± 6 racing down the N1 at the maximum speed limit, the race immediately took on a serious and sometimes scary tone …. Once at the destination, a marshal would hand you Task Number 1:

• Congratulations, you made it to Cool Runnings – Tobbogan Park. This task is one of speed, so let’s hope you make it to the end!!
• Every member of the team needs to complete this task. All members must be present and accounted for before they get in line.
• Stand in line – listen to the park officials and complete one lap of the track.
• Teams will complete this task in order of arrival so please stand in line and wait your turn.
• Pictures must be taken and produced at check-in at the final destination
• Once the entire team is done, you may proceed to the marshal to receive your next clue.
• Enjoy the ride!
• Remember: please listen to the park officials!!!!

After the smoothest, adrenalin-filled ride, your team could pick up Clue Number 2:

• Well Done!! You have completed your first task and are on your way to pit-stop number 2.
• Get your team into your car and drive away from ‘Cool Runnings’ in the direction of the CBD
• Make your way to the shopping centre of the same name as the road you are traveling on.
• Once there, find the establishment that loves to play with big balls …
• Once there look for your marshals.

The way back to town was a bit more relaxed after various teams were handed warnings for their precarious driving skills. At the next destination, we were handed Task Number 2:

• Congratulations, you found Let’s Go Bowling, N1 City, and that’s right: You are going to bowl!
• Make your way to the designated lanes
• In turns (alternating between each team member) your team needs to achieve a score of 50. ***Please note this task must be done by all team members and not only one***
• Once you have reached 50, call a marshal to verify your score and once done, go to the bar, buy one round of shooters and before you drink, take a group photo with the barman/lady.
• Once all of this is done, go to the marshal and get your next clue.
• Remember, the designated driver must not drink. However, someone else in the team needs to drink his shooter.
• Have fun with the balls …

After balls flying in all bearings, teams managed to score 50 and could pick up Clue Number 3:

• Well Done!! 2 Down and only 6 to go
• Hope you enjoyed playing with the balls …
• Get back into your car and make your way back to the CBD
• Your next pit-stop is at the Amazing Race Headquarters.
• If you are still confused, it is here where all the pre-race meetings were held. Think Mexico, think … headache the morning after a night overflowing with this drink …
• Look for your marshal that will give you your next task!!
• ***Caution – Yield Ahead***

Teams made their way from Goodwood’s N1 City to Tequila Town on Buitengracht Street where the dreaded yield was waiting for a few very unfortunate teams. Every year, this is a bitter point of the race where team members that got yielded had to wait for 15 minutes while those who weren’t could skip past them. A very emotionally charged stage of the race: Each team is required to stop at the Yield station, then, whether they were yielded by another team or not, state aloud whether or not they chose to yield any of the other teams still due to check-in behind them. Thereafter you could pick up Clue Number 3:

• This one is for the ‘Mexican’ in you!!
• Go to the bar and get a round of shooters – one per person, excluding the designated driver.
• Before you drink it, you must sing: “La cucaracha, La cucaracha,ya no puede caminar, porque le falta, porque no tiene, una pata para andar
• If the barman is happy, he will give you an iThemba House Tim – Take the tin to the final destination as you need it to check in
• Drink the shooters and take a picture with the barman.
• The marshal will acknowledge that the task is indeed completed and hand you your next clue.

Clue Number 4:

• That was fun to see and you made it. Well done!! Keep going!!
• Get back into your cars and make your way out of the city centre.
• Your next stop is clearly marked on your Amazing Race to Dinner Newspaper … You will find it on the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the newspaper (here).
• Once there, look for your marshals – they will hand you your next task.

This year saw the rise of a new addition to the race; a newspaper with the Race Director as its editor. The ARTD Times contained some interesting articles about the race, columns with advice from previous category winners and even a mysterious ‘Momo se Hoekie’ (Momo’s Corner) who rustled some feathers with prerace banter.

For those teams who studied the newspaper leading up to the race and with some even doing reconnaissance on whichever clues they found, it was easy to figure out that this destination was the race’s beneficiary: iThemba House in Houtbay on the corner of Princess and Empire.  There are quite a number of people that will remember this stage of the race whether it is with fond or frustrating memories. Here teams picked up Task Number 4:

• Congratulations, you are at iThemba House, this year’s nominated charity for the ARTD 2011!!
• The task is simple but requires patience, endurance and team work.
• In your survival pack you will find a paintbrush.
• You need to paint one of the panels of the wooden tool-shed in front of you. You will see that the wall has been devided into sections as well as the paint in front of you.
• Here is the twist: All members must paint on a rotational system for a total of five minutes per team.
• Take pictures as you will be asked for it on check-in at the final destination. Once completed, the marshal will check and give you your next clue.
• Good luck!!!

After completing this ‘special’ part of the race, racers were handed Clue Number 5:

• Almost there!!!!!
• From Hout Bay, you will get back into your car and start driving back towards town again.
• You will find the next pit-stop along the ‘Pink Strip’
• You are looking for the new place where the Old Bronx Bar stood. It is now a shopping centre
• It is named after the first word of our city coupled with a fraction
• Once inside, look for your marshals – they will give you your next task.

At the very top of Cape Quarter we found the marshals ready for the onslaught of the wave of running and frantically screaming racers. No wondered they were later asked to leave. Here they received Task Number 5 – A Detour:

• A Detour presents your team with a decision between two tasks. Each with its own pros and cons: Braun vs. Speed
• In Braun you are required to complete the Sudoku Puzzle as quickly as possible. This task does not require much energy but time may be a factor if the team can not complete the puzzle correctly (one team decided to sit through this task and paid the ultimate price when it was incorrect).
• In Speed your team is required to search the Cape Quarter Mall for the matching scarf to that of the one that can be found in your survival pack. The task does not require much thinking but speed and attention to detail could work either in your favour or against it.
• You must only do one of these tasks, not both.
• Once you have decided what task you will do, inform the marshal so that they can give you either the Sudoku or start you on the Scarf Challenge.
• Once finished, get you team around your task and take a photo with the marshal who will hand you your next clue.

This was yet another challenging task for all the teams who either had some luck or none at all in completing this task. This was no more evident than the one team whose scarf got thrown in the dustbin by centre security … After the teams managed to locate their scarves or finish Sudoku, the marshals handed them Clue Number 6, which read as follows:

• You are so close to the finish line. Hang in there!!
• Now make your way to a suburb of Cape Town which name is derived from the location of the first Royal Observatory established in 1820. This original site serves as the headquarters of the South African Astronomical Observatory, with an on-site museum exhibiting various historic instruments and telescopes.
• Here you are looking for an establishment also known as ‘The Big Top’ with international rivals such as Cirque du Soleil, Cirque de Monte-Carlo, Circus Royale, etc.
• Once you find this palce, go inside and look for your marshals who will give you your next task.

Yip, this clue took the teams to the circus school off Liesbeek Rd in Obs where they had to wait until 16h00 for them to start with the challenge in the order they arrived. Task Number 6 introduced a road block to the racers:

• In this Roadblock, two members need to identify themselves to complete the first portion of the task:
  • Who has a firm grip and who is not afraid of heights?
  • Choose two members to continue on with this task.
• This Roadblock is threefold: The first team member selected (as above) needs to go to the phoofy slide and complete the activity as required by the facilitator.
• The second team member selected above must go to the trapeze and complete that leg of the Roadblock as per the facilitator’s instruction.
• Once finished, both members need to return to the rest of the team where the entire team needs to complete the balance of the course.
• Please follow the instructions of the facilitators to the ‘T’
• Have your pictures taken of the various activities (at least one activity). Once cleared by the facilitators, make your way back to the marshals and collect your next clue.
• Well done by the way!!!!

This had to be the most challenging part of the race and of all the races of all the other years combined. It saw team members crawling through nets, balancing over bars, sliding down cables, rolling over nets and swinging on ropes, with some walking away with serious net and rope burns. After the completion of this grueling portion of the race, the marshals handed them their next clue: Clue Number 7:

• Well Done!! You are now on your way to the second last stop.
• Get in your car and drive to the neighbourhood where the Annual J&B Met is held.
• You are looking for South Africa’s most accessible, inexpensive, mega-excitement sporting activity, located behind Access Park
• You will try to emulate great names such as Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost to name a few.
• Once you arrive at the destination, look for your marshals.

An easy ride to the Southern Suburbs took the teams to go Kenilworth Karting where they were handed Task Number 7. Here teams seemed to once again be frustrated by the fact that they had to cue to kart and gave up their chances of winning and decided to ‘just enjoy the rest of the race’:

• Congratulations, your last task for this year’s race – and this is for the racer in you.
• Go to the facilitator and get yourself kitted and ready for the track.
• Every member of the team must get into a kart and complete 5 laps of the course.
• Take a picture of every member physically driving on the track.
• Once every member of the team has completed the five laps, report to the Marshal and show the pictures of your team members driving on the track
• This task will be completed on arrival order so you may need to stand in line before your turn come around. Please respect and adhere to the rules of the facilitators. Remember, Safety First!!
• Once completed, the marshal will check and give you your next clue!
• Good Luck!!!

As if the racers did not need another reminder of their ‘Need for Speed’ experience earlier the day, they now had to complete another five laps of terror. Well, for some of them. For others, it was yet another chance to put pedal to the metal and let those race juices overflow.

After each member completed their five laps, the team was handed Clue Number 8 which took them to The Final Dinner Destination:

• Well done!! You have survived all that was thrown at you and now you are on your way to the Last Stop: the restaurant where dinner will be held.
• From Muizenberg, follow the Main Road through to Rondebosch. The Riverside Centre is on the right-hand side of the road. Turn right at these robots into Belmont Road and go over the bridge. Take the first right into Queen Road and then the first right into Duke Road, then turn right into Station Road. (Latitudes and Longitudes were even indicated for those who could not follow instructions and had to use their GPS)
• Once you are there, look for the Race Director and one of his Marshals who will check you in.
• Ensure you have all your paperwork to produce at the mat as well as your photos and anything else you may need. Hurrah, there are 21 other teams hot on your heels…. WARNING: The last team to arrive will pay a penalty!

Just to clarify, in order for you to qualify for a position in the top three (the only positions which qualifies for prizes), you had to hand in all your paperwork of clues and tasks as well as random items either used or collected.  And that was it, the teams started to check in at the final destination: Leesia’s Taverna & Pizzeria‎

The Grey Wolves were first to arrive at the final destination, closely followed by the Burgundy Team and then the Candy Coral Team. The rest of the teams gathered in close succession on Station Road, waiting for all the teams to arrive. Here they were already starting to compare bruises and swap stories of their own experiences at and between the various stops.

The last team finally checked in and the night’s proceedings could commence with starters followed by speeches and the prize giving for the winning categories.

The moment everyone waited for was the announcement of the total money raised. But first was announcement for the most money raised. This went to the Baby Blue team who well deserved it by hitting the R19k mark with their part in the Lettie and Moffie Mince event as well as their independent collection of corporate sponsorships which hurled them way in front of the rest. Then finally came the total money raised which this year accumulated to R91,500.00. An astronomical figure, by any measure, for an event of its size.

The iThemba Speeches followed with the true message of the race being echoed by their administrators and finished with a well-deserved Thank You to the Miguel with a standing ovation by all.