Oh my poor heart… I spent the week in Joburg eating up a storm. Not that there was any inkling of an actual storm, the weather is so divine – I have no need for the three pairs of boots I packed!

It’s been lunch-dinner-lunch-dinner non-stop, and quite a bit of travelling. Plus, lots of lovely catch-ups with chefs and foodie news here in the north. As if decadent lunches and dinners weren’t enough, I’ve even had a few four-course breakfasts thrown in between.

Never have oats looked so good… the first was a few spoonfuls with vanilla foam and delicately cut fruit, and yesterday morning, a tiny bowl of creamy oats garnished with a tiny line of pistachio dust studded with fresh raspberries. Yum.

I must share with you a relatively new restaurant in Joburg, called DW 11-13. If you stay in Joburg, or are just visiting, it really is worth the experience. Chef and owner Marthinus Ferreira has worked in the UK under the fabulous Heston Blumenthal and the delicious Gordon Ramsay. Marthinus’s menu is refreshing, as it is just good simple honest food with respect for the best ingredients. Not a foam, gel or sous vide dish in sight – which one would expect after working at The Fat Duck.

Speaking of duck… Love it or hate it (and I do love it), Marthinus’s foie gras was certainly a highlight. The delicately seared, melt-in-the-mouth piece of duck liver was perfectly complimented by a luxurious, morish caramelized apple puree. Delicious.

And now I’m off to a really authentic Ethiopian restaurant!

Abigail