I have a confession to make. Gnocchi makes me weak at the knees. I can’t resist those melt-in-the-mouth potato dumplings. To get some inspiration for a Taste shoot, I immersed myself in eating and making them last week. I headed to a restaurant that makes the best-ever gnocchi in my opinion – Il Leone in Green Point. I have never actually looked at the rest of the menu because I cannot imagine having anything else except the gnocchi, always with an arrabiata sauce. This week, though, I decided to be adventurous and went for the ragu, which is whispered about in the foodie community as being the best. It lived up to its reputation and was gorgeous, rich and sticky.

Those potato dumplings popped up again on Saturday night at Rust en Vrede when we celebrated David Higgs’ last shift before he departed for new challenges in Johannesburg. My mind wasn't on the food like it normally was; it was hard not to notice how emotional David was as he stood over the pass saying farewell to his loyal clientele and friends.

David and I leave for Venice tomorrow where we will meet up with PJ from The Roundhouse to attend the San Pellegrino cooking regatta. It might not be the region for gnocchi, but we’ll definitely make up for it with vongole and scampi!

Abigail