Babylonstoren in Bloom clivia exhibition presented in South Africa
In Johannesburg, South Africa, Hyde Park Corner shopping centre hosted the opening of Babylonstoren in Bloom, an event marking the start of the spring season and organized jointly with Babylonstoren farm in Franschhoek. TimesLIVE reports.
Blooming clivias
The centrepiece of the exhibition was clivias, evergreen perennial plants with bright orange and yellow inflorescences. The plants were presented by breeder Andre Swart of Vleikop Nursery, which specializes, among other things, in growing double clivias with several rows of petals.
One of the specimens on display, named Hyde Park, was valued at 20,000 South African rand. The article also notes that clivias are highly valued in China, in particular, as a symbol of virtue, nobility and prosperity. Visitors could walk along a replica of the Puff Adder walkway garden path and view Babylonstoren products.
Guests at the opening included media personality Mohale Motaung, actress Gina Koffman, presenter and podcaster Elana Afrika, as well as television journalist Devi Sankaree Govender with her husband Perumal Moodley.
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Preview of The Leopard menu
After the event at Hyde Park Corner, the article’s author attended a private menu preview in Greenside, prepared by Andrea Burgener and Nick Gordon of The Leopard kitchen. The preview preceded the Krone Chefs in Residence II: The Leopard Pop Ups series — three dinners scheduled for November.
Guests were served seared beef fillet with Ethiopian tartare dressing, avocado roulade in the mouth, free-range pork rillettes, lamb bredie stew, goat cheese with Granny Smith apples, and dates with labneh, honey and olive oil. The dishes were paired with semi-sweet Krone Night Nectar Blanc de Blancs, dry Amphora and Krone RD.
The following evening, a private dinner in honour of British wine journalist Tim Atkin was held at QLounge in the Rosebank area, hosted by Wayne Buckley-Koch of Quoin Rock and wine expert Tsepang Molisana.
