The Beauty : Highland Park

Yes, it has been a while, and no, there are no valid excuses. However, listening to some inspirational music ( http://soundcloud.com/broke-for-free ) and my whisky dinner this evening all set up and ready, I thought I would upload some photos from Highland Park Bootcamp Two.

Now, without sounding like a whisky snob, "normal" people don't get to attend Bootcamp, its for the Global Ambassadors to get more in-depth knowledge into the beauty, that is: Highland Park. The 5 day trip involved more work than drinking ( I know , it did sound like it was a drinking bootcamp.... sorry to dissapoint)

A visit to The Scotch Whisky Research Institute  ( http://www.swri.co.uk/) was what kicked things off, now for whisky nerds this was truly amazing, as we got real info straight from Scientists regarding issues like Caramel Colouring, chill-filtration etc.... Geeky, but fun. Then we were off to Simpsons Maltings ( http://www.simpsonsmalt.co.uk/), where we got to see malting: mass scale, brilliant to see, as its tough to picture, without a visit to the impressive site!

Then off to our favourite destination... Highland Park distillery! A short flight, and we landed safely, lots of business chat, but we did some interesting tasting with the new Distillery Manager with some new make spirit samples.... Our gorgeous night out in Orkney was to Balfour Castle.... (http://www.balfourcastle.co.uk/da/102406)  A truly beautiful private castle that we make use of when we can, Scallops to rival the best in the world, and a setting utterly perfect for Highland Park 18, which was flowing very merrily.....The next morning we all had a Highland Park photo shoot too, in and around the distillery, us girls were not going to push any barrels, so we decided a little seat, better than a tough push ....

The trip ended off back in the mystical Edinburgh, where we painted the town a very bright, bright shade of red at Monteiths ( http://www.monteithsrestaurant.co.uk/index.php ) cocktails like never before and then the old favourite Whiski Bar ( http://www.whiskibar.co.uk/) where a Scottish folk band kept six brand ambassadors very entertained and well, the whisky flowed and so did the craft beer.... Enough said

A whirlwind of a trip, but a beautiful one....

IMAGES FROM THE FAMOUS FOOD JAM

The Famous Food Jam

Probably one of the most perfect ways to spend a glorious Sunday afternoon in Cape Town:cooking up a storm : 6 courses , 15 "chefs" and 3 whiskies keeping chefs well hydrated, enter Food Jam.

Food Jam, hosted by Jade de Waal, ( upcoming contestant on Master Chef SA) is basically bringing random people together,providing them with a few tasty recipes and getting everyone to tuck in and start creating some beautiful food. This time round, Aubrey from Come Dine With Me SA was also on-board and added 3 recipes to the mix.

Guests ranged from Master Chef contestants to food bloggers to "average Joes" . On arrival, the ice-breaker was a Ginger Jam Fizz:

• 25ml The Famous Grouse


• 12.5 ml Triple Sec


• Squeeze of Fresh Lime


• Fiery Ginger Beer

This was served in a tall glass, over lots of ice, whisky drinkers and non-whisky drinkers raved and came back for seconds and thirds...

So once the ice was broken and strangers started becoming friends, we headed outside to the pizza oven, where we all happily sipped Ginger Jam Fizzes and we transformed into Italian chefs creating our own mini pizzas to start. Ingredients we got to play with:

• Nectarines


• Salami


• Mozzarella


• Fresh Basil


• Fresh Tomato base

Friends all migrated into the kitchen, oven, stove top and liquidiser all went into over time, as we spilt into mini groups and eagerly commenced working on the the dishes. Recipes were amended as "chefs" saw fit, some of my favourite additions were the below ( and no I am not just saying that because I work for the beloved brands, I wish you could taste through this blog post, it was truly delicious!)

• Aubrey's spicy Gazpacho recipe received a healthy measure of Black Grouse


• Jade's Smoked Snoek on sweet potato bilini with Nectarine Salsa received a tot or two of smokey sweet Highland Park 12 ( into the potato bilini mixture)


• And last but certainly not least, Aubrey's Poached Pears, received a very, very healthy measure of The Famous Grouse at flambe stage.....

Other beautiful culinary highlights of "The Perfect Sunday" included Jade's Mini Dulce de Leche Cheesecakes, so delicious that probably everyone tucked into at least two, and happily paired the heavenly miniature with The Famous Grouse served on the rocks.Jade's Paella, too, probably one of the most balanced well put together Paella's I have tried in recent memory. I tucked into a few servings of this Spanish beauty, with Black Grouse....

All in all the guests (now friends) were very happy to experiment with pairing whiskies with meals and more than happy to splash in some of the golden spirit into the gorgeous dishes.

Thanks to Jade and Aubrey for their wonderful recipes, and Jade for hosting a truly special afternoon!Folks, this might be the perfect way to fill cold Sunday afternoons, try it with friends and grab your favourite whiskies to mix it up a bit instead of the traditional food and wine, be bold and incorporate a dram or two to heat things up.....

Slainte