Held between the 6 and 8 November, the 36th annual Relais & Châteaux Association Congress was a truly star-studded affair, particularly on the culinary front.

For the opening night's canapé spread, local executive chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Margot Janse asked 10 South African Relais & Châteaux member chefs to prepare a bite-sized dish starring two local ingredients.

Noteworthy nibbles included warthog ‘skilpadjie’, lentil bobotie and spicy apricot jus prepared by Singita's Frank Louw, and smoked snoek mousse and coriander snoek parfait terrine with naartjie ginger gelee and candied ginger, made by Ellerman House's Veronica Hibbert.

The following evening the intimate Grand Chef's Dinner, prepared by Peter Tempelhoff, was held at The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel's conservatory. Sampled by 28 Michelin-star rated chefs including Patrick O’Donnell, Annie Feolde and George Blanc, the evening's epicurean line-up starred the likes of abalone carpaccio with Knysna oyster, fynbos-smoked ostrich with avocado panna cotta, and Pinotage-braised Karoo lamb. For dessert, there was green tea and lime inverted crème brûlée and Camembert cheesecake with roast pineapple ice cream and pine-nut biscotti.

The congress concluded in even more resplendent style on the evening of the 8th, when 400 Relais & Châteaux hoteliers, chefs and restaurateurs assembled in an impressive Bedouin tent overlooking Camps Bay to tuck into a gala dinner crafted by Tempelhoff, Janse and Bertus Basson.