Ready, set, go with the 2017 Good Food & Wine Show!

In true GFWS style this was no ordinary ‘coffee and cake’ afternoon, though 3pm was the perfect start time as that’s when blood-sugar levels typically dip. Instead we sipped in the strongest coffee in the world – that’s not hyperbole, Black Insomnia Coffee really does lay stake to this claim – while munching on bites of the most awe-inducing rainbow cake I’ve ever seen, which we all helped decorate earlier in the day as part of the Show’s 2017 theme of limiting food waste. Let me explain...

The Table Bay Hotels’ Pavilion is its most secluded area, far from the hotel guests and elegant afternoon tea-sippers. But on the afternoon of Wednesday, 10 May it was humming with excitement as the foodies in the room became engrossed in a sugar-flower pressing demonstration, concentrating on perfecting this skills as we carefully rolled out the gluey icing, press out flower shapes and moulded them in the tiny presses placed at each seat.

An afternoon to remember! Cape Town's #foodies got together for the #GFWS2017 media launch at @TableBayHotelSA yesterday! #CakeAndCoffee pic.twitter.com/MEKEvv8AJQ

— Good Food&Wine Show (@goodfoodSA) May 11, 2017

One of the main changes to the show this year include clear sector segregation set to make it easier to find this year’s exhibitors. These will encompass the genres of: market, street food, gourmet, baking, kids, wellness, lifestyle, wine, beer and alcohol, all set to incorporate exciting activations.

The street food and gourmet sectors are expected to be super popular. If the sugar-flower demonstration led by Fletcher during the media launch is any indication; there will be streams of people waiting to not only stand back and sample but also snap up tips, ask questions and perfect their own skills as hosts.

Singing and giggling chefs

That’s especially true when you look at the calibre of chefs, cooks and somelliers on the bill this year. You can look forward to the likes of headline chefs Marco-Pierre White, regarded as the world’s first TV personality, and SA’s first Michelin-starred chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, as well as Joao da Fonseca or J-Something of Micasa fame, who will offer what Bloch called “A food and music demo that you won't see anywhere else.”

Good Food & Wine Show 2017 headline chefs: Marco Pierre White, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen and Joao Da Fonseca aka J'Something.

Other household names like Sarah Graham, Neill Anthony, Lentswe Bhengu, Sherwyn Weaich, Vanessa Marx and Lisa Raleigh as well as Reza Mahammad and Jenny Morris of their new show will also be performing across various platforms at the Show, including a pop-up restaurant.

You can watch them free-of-charge in the chefs’ open theatre or at the more intimate ticketed chef’s table events if you’re up for it, splurge on the VIP tickets. R1,500 per person guarantees you the opportunity to watch White, Vermeulen and the others cook, as well as sample the food, get signed copies of their books and take photos with the chefs. Wine aficionados, on the other hand (yes, not all oenophiles are foodies and vice versa – strange, I know) get ready for insights from some of the country’s finest, including headline sommeliers Lloyd Jusa of the Saxon Hotel, Gregory Mutambe of the 12 Apostles Hotel and Tinashe Nyamudoka of the Test Kitchen.

It’s not all about the food and wine you’d expect from the Show’s title though. Bloch promises that while you listen you’ll also get to taste, smell, touch and see an array of amazing food and beverages, truly seduced by the full sensory experience.

Liquid lunch, coming up!

You can look forward to coffee barista demonstrations and the Speciality Coffee Association of Southern Africa’s (SCASA) barista championships at all three venues, as well as a craft beer and craft gin area, as well as a Campari and Aperol bar including workshop activations and information on sustainable cocktails of the future. Shares that you’ll learn to limit waste by going ‘’nose-to-tail’ or perhaps ‘rind to rim’ in your own kitchen cocktails, like incorporating the whole fruit rather than just that slice of orange and leaving the rest to wither away.The wine and alcohol-smelling walls that were popular at last year’s show will also be incorporated across other drinks. More than keg-tapping, they’re also tapping into the strong coffee culture.

Calling all coffee lovers...

You may have heard of Black Insomnia coffee. If not, you’re in for a treat at this year’s GFWS. Owner and creator Sean Kristafor spoke of the Cape Town coffee brand with the highest caffeine content that’s taking on the world. Launched just nine months ago in the city it launched in the US on 24 March, where it was featured on The Today Show and has since been featured in Forbes Fortune and Dutch Playboy, which he jokingly calls the highlight of his life. He went into detail on the current coffee trends of ready-to-drinks or RTDs across three categories.

First there’s cold brew, where coffee is ground in the filter then steeped for water for 17 hours without any heat or pressure, which has a very sweet result. Another trend is to mix coffee with alcohol. This is not your grandma’s Dom Pedro but more like the ‘turbo GnT’. Then there’s ‘coffee on tap’, which is your basic cold brew flushed with nitrogen so it finishes like a Guinness beer, with silky smooth viscosity and served in a keg. Acknowledging that the simple coffee-with-milk served as a grab-and-go still has its place, we were honoured that Black Insomnia’s own Gerald or Dr G, one of the top six roasters in the world, made Americanos and flat whites on request.

#rhinocake

A post shared by Robert Watkins (@robwatkins101) on May 28, 2016 at 2:19am PDT

If these words, pictures and videos haven’t convinced you, nothing will. Countries from across the globe will be represented, with 40% this year's exhibitors brand new. Bloch assured us there will be interesting seating installations to limit standing, and senior citizens who can prove they’re over 65 get in free on Friday – I’d suggest booking your tickets now to avoid disappointment, especially as there’s a earlybird discount for purchasing your tickets online – from www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za, or Computicket for Cape Town and Durban or Ticketpro for Johannesburg – over at the door!

The Good Food & Wine Show 2017 opens in Cape Town on Friday, 2 June until Sunday, 4 June at the CTICC. Next up is the Johannesburg show at the Ticketpro Dome from Friday, 28 July until Sunday, 30 July. Last on the list is the Durban Exhibition Centre, from Friday 27 October until Sunday 29 October. Follow the Good Food and Wine Show or #GFWS2017 on social media: Twitter | @goodfoodsa | Facebook