Tantalize Your Taste Buds: A Chef's Guide to the Perfect Valentine's Day



Before I get started on sharing my ideas of the perfect valentine’s day meals with you all I would like to give a little overview of what Valentine’s Day is really all about and why a big fuss ensues when the 14^th of February approaches every year.

Valentine’s day, also known as Saint Valentines Day or the Feast old Saint Valentine which is celebrated year on year on the 14^{th of} February and originated as a Christian feast day honouring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions has become a significant cultural, religious, as well as a commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

As a chef and by no means a romantic but can surely put together a delicious romantic menu for two to get the lovebirds’ tastebuds tingling. So, I keep a select few of my personal favourite dishes close to my heart and hopefully, these dishes will stay close to your hearts too for many years to come.

Starters

Moules Mariniere

Freshly harvested Kwa Zulu Natal mussels sauteed and marinated in Ginger, garlic, and chilli with a dash of Haute Cabriere Pinot Noir Chardonnay and seasoned with cracked black pepper and Maldon salt, finished off with fresh cream and served with freshly baked artisanal bread of your choice.

Fresh live Oysters

Lovely Western Cape Oysters, served in three ways:

Basil pesto & parmesan shavings

Fresh tomato salsa

The classic way – cracked black pepper, tobacco sauce & a squeeze of lime juice

Mains

Pan-seared Norwegian salmon

Served on a bed of wasabi pomme puree accompanied by seasonal roasted Mediterranean vegetables

Klein Karoo French trimmed grilled Lamb rack

Placed on top of Cape Forrest wild mushroom risotto

Dessert

Chocolate chip chocolate torte topped with Cointreau mascarpone & candied grapefruit