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11 May 2011
The word "cheese" is not a typical word that interests me or gets me excited. Well, maybe some variants of the word or in some contexts. For example: saying "cheese" to a camera; telling someone that they used a "cheesy" line; giving a person a "cheesy" smile or even listening to DJ Fresh's "cheese" of the day. Yes, this is usually when "cheese" makes me happy.
Liezel van der Westhuizen got to taste some cheese from Dean Stockenstrom and Mike Eybers during the SA Cheese Festival held at Sandringham, near Stellenbosch
I don't know why I have never been a big fan of this specific dairy product, but this year I decided to educate myself by attending the annual SA Cheese Festival on Saturday, 30 April. 2011 marked the 10th year anniversary of the event and I think, it was one hell of a successful celebration. Hats off to Agri-Expo, which organised the whole cheesy affair brilliantly.
Food, fashion and fun
On arrival at Sandringham Wine Estate, we had to rush to the Checkers Emporium to attend the Checkers Living Table media show. Each person received a gift bag with a bottle of wine, a beautiful cheese knife and some recipes. Our wonderful hosts, who included the well-known Nataniël, Shaleen Surtie-Richards, Brumilda van Rensburg and Jenny Morris, entertained us with their wit and humour whilst giving useful cooking tips and preparing delicious meals. As the waiters served us food teasers, each with a different wine from Checker's Odd Bins wine selection, models displayed some of the top new autumn fashions on the catwalk.
Your mouth will love you
After the show, we browsed some of the exhibition tents. Even though there were hundreds and hundreds of cheeses to taste (which, by the way, converted me into a total cheese lover) we were overwhelmed by the variety of other treats available to tickle our taste buds - from olives and olive oil, fudge and chocolates to chillies and jam and wine and whiskey. By the time I walked out of there I could tell that my mouth loved me, even though it was somewhat confused by all the different tantalising tastes.
So if you still think that this festival might too cheesy for you, you are sadly mistaken my friend. You will most definitely find something that you like at next year's SA Cheese Festival - whether it be the live music, the multitude of home-made and hand-crafted delicacies or even just a chipstix. The word "cheese" will make you happy too. Believe it, because it's true.
Photo by Roger Sedres/Image SA
About Ilse van den Berg
Ilse is a freelance journalist and editor with a passion for people & their stories (check out Passing Stories). She is also the editor of Go & Travel, a platform connecting all the stakeholders in the travel & tourism industry. You can check out her work here and here. Contact Ilse through her website here.
