Under the guidance of their lecturer Dr Hennie Fisher and Prof.Elna Buys of the Department of Consumer and Food Sciences at Tukkies, the students regularly host dining events as part of their studies. On this occasion it was the turn of PhD student Irene Darkwa who was presenting Ghanaian food paired with South African wines. It was quite something, as DIANE DE BEER shares:

Irene Darkwa, PhD student presented a fantastic Ghanaian food and wine pairing experience (left); and an opening ceremony of Ghanaian dance and music.

Perhaps it makes complete sense that one of the best experiences of sampling food from this continent should be at a local institute of learning. And I’m not exaggerating.

Receiving an invite from PhD student Irene Darkwa with the instruction that we would be required to taste and rate various courses based on their appearance, aroma, flavour, taste and overall dining experience as part of her studies, I was intrigued. And delighted to see that one of my favourite chefs, Lientjie Wessels, was my table companion.

A fabulous display of African style from the lunch guests.

Irene’s specific field of interest is the Tiger nut, scientifically known as Cyperus esculentus and belonging to the family Cyperacea. It is a cosmopolitan perennial crop which belongs to the same genus as the papyrus plant.

She explained that it has a sweet, almond-like taste with many health benefits and nutritive values namely fibre, proteins, and sugars. They are also rich in oleic acid and glucose, as well as phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins C and E, and are found in the eastern hemisphere, Southern Europe, North and West Africa, and the Middle East.She had some samples on the table, which we could taste but of course, all the tastings also included the product.

Irene’s interest in conducting research is linked to the fact that tiger nut crops are hugely underutilised worldwide especially on the African continent. In America and some European countries, it is used as fishing bait and animal feed, yet it contains a number of nutrients and can be used to produce a variety of products such as oil, flour, milk and possibly cheese, which she is investigating.

Her studies are also targeting a worldwide awareness that we have to adopt a plant-based diet to adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN’s General Assembly in 2015.

She is excited that her research findings have the potential to contribute to the process of cheese making using plant-based products. Tiger nuts thrive in West Africa and are grown and sold mostly by women, and its commercialisation will increase demand for the crop.  This will address unemployment, wealth creation (poverty reduction) and food and nutrition security improvement, explains Irene.

Women, she argues, especially in Africa, are the most vulnerable and impoverished. “Focusing on uplifting them, their livelihoods and providing a market for their crops will go a long way in transforming economies and ending poverty.”

Taking all of this on board, the menu was devised to allow us to experience a fine-dining experience of Ghana on a plate. With Tiger nuts as the hero, the idea was also to transform them from plant to plate.  All of which was done magnificently.

The appetizer: Tigernut and Tilapia mousse in a plantain shell:

Pretty as a picture with unusual combinations and textures brushed with yaji (a nutty spice mix) for some extra kick. I also loved the plantain shell, which was quite chewy and so different to what a normal pastry case would have been. A mousse was the perfect way to incorporate the cheese. It was as if she was giving us notice with this quirky amuse bouche and I knew we were in for something extraordinary.

This was followed by a salad, which was the only disappointment of the meal. Apparently very true to a Ghanaian table, this deconstruction was boring and bland. It seemed little more than a salad leaf holding what looked like bully beef squares and veggies. Lientjie suggested that if you’re going to do this in fine dining style, everything must be made from scratch. The meat, for example, should be your own concoction. Because Irene had explained that in Ghana many more ingredients would have been used, with sardines as another option, Lientjie felt she should really have played with that. And the tiger nut could have introduced some texture and taste.

Soup: The tiger nut and palm nut soup with crispy chorizo served with a herb brioche and herb oil was a different and quite delicious story. The flavour was special, complimented by an imaginative brioche.

The first main course consisted of a fish mosaic which was beautifully prepared and presented with tiger nut and corn banku (cassava and corn pap which is fermented) served with shito (black pepper) emulsion and an avo spume. Lientjie sighed and I share her exasperation with spume which to her mind is just a silly modern trend. “Let it go,” she suggested and I agreed but fortunately, the dish was so complex it did no harm. I loved every  mouthful.

The second main course was a slow roasted rosemary infused rack of lamb with tiger nut milk-infused waakye (rice and beans), roasted tomato sauce, carrots grilled with balsamic honey and cheese, microgreen herbs, gari (cassava root) tuille and boiled egg. Irene explained that Waakye is another popular dish in Ghana also accompanied by boiled eggs, vegetables and gari but she decided to use tiger nut cheese and milk and used the gari, to make a tuille. The meat was beautifully cooked and extremely flavoursome with everything coming together quite magnificently.

And these two main dishes are two of Irene’s favourite Ghanaian dishes which she refined with great finesse.

In the Cheese course which Irene made, two of the cheeses were made with tiger nuts and I really loved the texture and taste. She said that it needed further experimenting, but this tasting was good enough for me. Instead, I felt the cowmilk cheeses were still lacking flavour and I would have been happy with only the tiger nut samples (and here she gave a special nod to Prof Buys for her support and help). Her own version of biscuits were much nicer than the bought kind. I can see what Lientjie means when she says that fine dining demands that you make your own. It certainly adds to the whole.

In a sweet conclusion, she served an Atadwe (tiger nut) pudding, coconut caviar, tiger nut ice cream and meringue, which was light and luscious, and followed this with Adaakwa truffles coated in tiger nut flakes, Kube cake (coconut brittle) and tiger nut ganache bofrot (described as similar to vetkoek). Every bite was delicious and the perfect finish to such a brilliant meal.

It’s the kind of food I love eating, especially when the chef experiments and plays with new flavours and finery. What made it even more special was that it was Irene’s take on her birth country’s cuisine, and in the process, she developed a menu that reflected that country magnificently.

This is what I would like to eat if I was a visitor to this continent. Most of our restaurants are still serving mainly European cuisine and hopefully these kinds of experimental adventures will contribute to changing that.

 This young woman has proved (and something we all know yet don’t sample enough) that we should  celebrate what comes from this continent because if we don’t, who will?

And if you can do it as brilliantly as Irene Darkwa, why wouldn’t you?

On September 30 at 5pm a Food Pairing with Creation will be held at Eat@UP Restaurant (in the old Agricultural building on the campus).If you are interested, click on form.

Two savvy scientists are quietly revolutionising the world of mushrooms with their biological control solutions to enhance sustainable farming as well as their triumphant growing of truffles in moss chambers 365 days a year. DIANE DE BEER found herself in their bubble of wonderment in their factory in an industrial hub in Pretoria:

When I first heard about two Pretoria scientists, Helga Dagutat (microbiologist) and Nita Breytenbach (plant physiologist), who are producing truffles, I was excited to meet these two women who seem to be changing and challenging existing norms in a world where few women even in these current times can kick dust in the eyes of their male counterparts.

And they delivered not only on the truffles but also in personality and a characteristic which I suspect is their driving force, perseverance, in bucketsful.

Nita Breytenbach (plant physiologist) and Helga Dagutat (microbiologist)

I was  invited, to my delight, to attend their second truffle-inspired and infused dinner, and I couldn’t have been more excited.

The last one was a year earlier and this time the menu was inspired by ancient ingredients and to listen to Helga talk about an almost year-long experiment with the menu and the produce, is what the whole truffle experience means to these two women.  They have added their own kitchen in the factory where they play.

Their main line of business is their biological control solutions which enhance sustainable farming, thus empowering farmers. And with the tide turning overwhelmingly  to biological rather than chemical control, these two have found themselves ahead of the curve. It is fascinating to hear them describe the development of their unusual business which is based on the use of the edible mushroom mycelium to control the pests that could damage the crops and as Nita explains it, with healthy results overnight. Mushrooms rule almost everything they do. They have even been quoted as saying that it is mushrooms that produce their amazing plant life at the factory.

But we are gathered to celebrate truffles and I’m not going to expand on the technical hazards experienced with growing truffles, only delight in the fact that these two women have developed a way of growing truffles 365 days a year in moss chambers … in their state-of-the-art factory in Koedoespoort. This side of the business called Mustérion is all about truffles.

They are growing two kinds: the black ones which are found in Perigold, France (Tuber melanosporum) as well  as the white ones (Tuber magnatum) found in the Piedmont region of Italy.On the night, we were treated to an abundance of what is more commonly referred to as black diamonds (even if that term has a different meaning in this country, intention of the phrase is the same).

But to the menu. Just looking at the detail, beautifully presented by their graphic designer, it is clear that the theme of the evening Ancient Ingredients from Earth to Plate – Mustérion, makes complete sense.

Truffles were probably first discovered (according to the notes on the menu) by the Amorite civilisation where archaeologists excavating a 4 000-year-old Amorite palace found remnants of truffles still in their baskets. And it is this sense of ancient mystery that they wanted to capture for diners at this unusual event.

From the amuse bouche, presented in their dramatic courtyard with huge fires burning and Pretoria’s night sky presenting the perfect backdrop, how can one not go weak at the knees at the presentation of charcoal (burns warmer than wood and was used by the Egyptians to smelt ore in ancient times) tortilla parcels filled with porcini cream and Mustérion Craft Truffles.

I think the word umami was probably invented for truffles. How does one even try to describe the taste sensation this much revered and precious ingredient unlocks? But with the inventors of this specific version, they also know how to create a menu that will best showcase their particular gem. We were told we could have two, but I knew what was waiting and first one’s flavours were still working their particular magic.

Inside an open space in the factory, at the long table, the perfect setting and magically dressed for the night, we had been assigned seating. I was blessed to find Nita on my left and Helga across the table ready with insight about her meticulously crafted menu.

Caremalized pear (one of the oldest cultivated fruits) and Cremezola soup with the craft truffle served with an ancient bread and … truffle butter naturally … had me salvivating. Amaranth seed (which was domesticated 8 000 years ago by the Inca, Maya and Aztec)was used in the bread. The pear, the cheese and truffles, that’s a no brainer,

 How I loved seeing the phrase sorghum (8 000 BC traces were found in Egypt) mille-feuille at the start of the next description. The filling was the fairytale-shaped Shimeji mushrooms paired with Macadamia complimented by a cheddar and artichoke mousse with craft truffle. It was the most deluxe comfort food I have had in the longest time.

Rooibok carpaccio with Grano Padano (similar to Parmigiano but produced by monks a 1000 years ago), Baobab craft truffle spheres and a prickly pear purée (fossilised seeds more than 7 000 years old found in Mexico) was plated so artistically, I hated spoiling the picture, but it was one of my favourites. The combinations simply sang exquisitely.

If  I mention favourite, every new dish, brought yet another truffle extravagance, so to reflect about the best is a senseless endeavour. It was the complete table that underlined the excellence and excitement of the night.

A taco with a cashew parsley paste filled with date and spiced honey butter  (truffle enhanced) topped with charred mielies (which emerged at the dawn of human agriculture about 10 000 years ago) followed by the eland fillet topped with greens and Kremetart mustard (which Helga exclaimed with enthusiasm as “next level” and I agree fully). The oldest Kremetart tree -or Baobab – has been dated as at least 1 800 years old.  And how clever of her to add that to the dish which was further bolstered by a pap and queso sauce with truffle.

It sounds like much too much, but it was a tasting menu magnificently paired by the affable Gavin van Zyl who I had previously always met in his barista capacity. But on this night he was the main chef guiding the students from the thriving Capital Hotel School as his assistants. He was also assisted by chef Paula Wilson, someone who has a deep passion for food – the eating of it, the cooking of it and exploring different flavours, textures and cuisines.

Gavin was also responsible for the adventurous wines paired spectacularly with every course.

His choices were done by memory because he had to make them without tasting the food, yet knowing the menu. “For me, the challenge was to get people to think about what they were tasting before and after tasting the wine – and vice-versa,” he says. And he did this excellently with a marvellous selection .

The atmosphere was magnifique, the company foodies all, and the extended evening slipped by languorously.

I had a taste of the ancient potato (have to include that when talking ancient produce) pudding with a nutty Cacao drizzle and truffle as well as the most exquisite truffle BonBons served with Dubouché French Cognac again outside around the fire to complete the full circle that the Mustérion evening represented.

It is the extraordinary vision of Nita and Helga, the way their scientific minds work, what they have developed and achieved in such a short time and perhaps most importantly, they are always at play. And that is what I found most contagious – and joyful.