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“The
most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning
but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering
but fighting well.” - Pierre de Coubertin
Dear Valued Client
Well, as I type it is hours before we jet off to Singapore,
Thailand, Hong Kong and the UK, so we wanted to say how
grateful we are to have you as loyal clients and friends.
We will meet with some of you on our travels and will miss
all of you back home. August brings on the summer Olympic
Games in Beijing and we will be very close at the time,
staying in Hong Kong, so maybe we can gather some of the
spirit of the greatest spectacle of modern sports.
We must say that July has been an incredibly busy month
in both aspects of the business and we really appreciate
your support. Jacque has been kept busy with a resurging
market, that of cuff-links. He has made some incredible
sets with Tanzanites and some with Cognac Diamonds. They
are truly magnificent and it is fantastic to see that there
are a few “gentlemen” out there. |
| 9ct
White Gold and Cognac Diamond Cuff-links |
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| Marc
and Barbarellas have been incredibly busy catering for conferences,
breakfasts, wedding receptions, birthday parties and of
course the Ridgeback Wine Evening. It was
an intimate affair with exceptional food, superb wine combinations
and an animated and intelligible winemaker, Toy. A week
later everyone was busy putting final touches to a 50th
birthday that was simply, divine. The food was Thai oriented
and worked very well – from Shot glasses of Asian
Soup to Stir Fried Chicken and Beef ending with a Chocolate
Shot Glass decadently filled with a cream of hazel nut licqueur.
Seriously more-ish!!! The evening went on until the wee
hours of Sunday morning, but the atmosphere ensured everyone
had a great time. |
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| Parties
and Cuff Links aside, we are about to travel great distance
to get inspiration, motivation and observe international
trends in jewellery and food. We will be undertaking a two
day Thai cooking course in Bangkok and will gladly share
recipes with you on our return. We are available via email
and we do request that you keep the mails short and to the
point. Please leave all the requests for help, lottery winners
and winners of You-Tube videos for September… |
Don’t forget your best friend’s bling!!
The Solid 9ct Yellow Gold Dog Bone with your special friend’s
name on the front and a contact number on the back is available
in two sizes, Large and Small.
Large for Larger friends like Sam on the right: R 2 500.00
Small for our more petite friends: R 1800.00
10% of the profits will be donated to TEARS –The Emma
Animal Rescue Society
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| Now
we don’t want to leave you with a bad taste in your
mouth, so we will tell you about a discovery and recommendation
that we visited a few weeks ago – Rioja Restaurant
– Solole Game Reserve, Sunnydale. (Just off the Kommetjie
Road)
Rioja Restaurant – 021 785 5123
On a Sunday late morning we had just donated some
food to TEARS in Kommetjie and decided to test the recommendation
of a few friends to try Rioja. We had been told the food
and setting was unbelievable, so we thought why not? We
parked and meandered over a bridge and found the restaurant
and walked in, the front of the restaurant was completely
empty, so we thought it was closed. We heard a slight rustle
of people and followed the noise and found the outer part
of the eatery buzzy with families and couples sitting enjoying
a wonderful Cape Sunday afternoon.
We sat at a table overlooking a pond/pool – not sure
because it was green. A delightful man, who would be known
as Michael a little later, approached us and informed us
that the waiter would be with us in a minute. The waiter
did not appear, so Michael took our wine order, Tokara Sauvignon
Blanc, and explained that he was a barman and that they
were not expecting to be so busy that day. We were not in
a hurry, so relaxed into perusing the interesting menu and
specials board.
We both ordered Calamari Tentacles with a Horseradish Remoulade
as starters, which was sensational. The flavours with their
home-made bread were simply sublime. We sipped on our wine
in between courses and watched the peacocks, guinea fowl
and buck wondering around… as well as the children
playing on the Jungle Gym.
Our Main courses were Mussels steamed in a Spicy Tomato,
Smoked Paprika and Chorizo Sauce which Jacque found absolutely
stunning. I opted for Ostrich Fillet marinated in Wholegrain
mustard and Soya with tatsoi, bamboo on a sweet potato rosti.
The chef achieved incredible taste combinations without
losing the flavour of the ostrich.
We spent a few hours there and apart from the dirty ashtray,
we were suitably impressed, and have subsequently recommended
this place to a number of other friends. I do hope that,
as we head towards spring and summer, they will employ more
people to keep up with the service. Michael was exceptional
and took amazing care of us, but he was not our waiter –
he remains nameless…
Visit Rioja and take in the splendour of a game reserve
just beyond your doorstep.
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| This
month we decided to keep with the winter theme and give you
a recipe for an out of this world soup. It is not often that
recipes work as is, however, this one does just that. We received
it from Rietmann’s Eurodeli and followed it step by
step and 100% success rate, every time. |
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Bean and Chorizo Soup:
Ingredients:
3 x Chorizo Sausage (Rietmann’s –
ofcourse) – cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbspn Olive Oil
2 Medium Onions - diced
1 Green Pepper – de-seeded and chopped
4 Cloves Garlic – crushed
500gm Ripe Tomatoes – skinned and diced
500gm Chicken Stock
2 Cans Butter Beans – Drained
Good Dash of Tabasco
2 Tbspn Dry Sherry
Zest of lemon and flat leaf parsley to garnish.
Method:
Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and sauté the onions,
garlic and peppers. Do not brown them – they must
be soft and translucent. Add the tomato, stock, Tabasco,
sherry and a little salt and pepper. Cover and simmer gently
for ½ and hour. Fry the sausages for 30 seconds in
a very hot pan – do not add oil/butter – the
fat from the sausage will do the work. Remove from pan.
Add the beans and sausage to the pot and simmer for another
15 minutes. Serve piping hot and garnish with a little lemon
zest and parsley.
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| We
will be back in Cape Town on 30 August. Enjoy the Olympic
Games and the spirit that they represent. September holds
many exciting ventures in both jewellery and events, and be
sure that you will be informed first. |
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