An afternoon of inspiring speakers, entertainment and a bulging goodie bag was on the offering for guests at the recent Diamonds and Divas event.

Hosted by the Daily Voice newspaper at the Cape Town Hotel School the event profiled interesting female entrepreneurs and introduced readers to the all-female reporting staff.

Comedian Marc Lottering and Cape Town favourite Alistair Izobell entertained the mostly female audience in between a decadent three course offering of canapés, fish or chicken and vanilla panacotta.

The entire event was serviced by the second year hospitality students and the school’s Marketing and Functions coordinator Lauren Christians received a special gift basket from organisers to thank her for going above and beyond to assist them.

Staff members at the Cape Town Hotel School joined the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) at the Tyger Valley Shopping Centre recently to bake 120 cupcakes.

CANSA was launching one of its flagship projects called Cuppa for CANSA at the shopping mall and invited the Cape Town Hotel School to partner with them on the tea pairing section. The Cuppa for CANSA campaign runs from June to October annually and is the Association’s challenge to workplaces, businesses and service organisations to raise awareness of those affected by cancer, by hosting a Cuppa and sharing the photos on CANSA’s national Facebook page.

The Association had partnered with The Tea Merchant who donated speciality teas to pair with cupcakes that infused the taste of the unique blend of teas in them.

CANSA invited the Cape Town Hotel School staff to bake the cupcakes with the four different tea flavours for a panel to taste:

• Liquorice Tea was paired with a black cupcake with a star anise infused buttercream and decorated with fun liquorice Allsorts.
• African Sunset Tea was paired with a fruity cupcake with Rooibos Buttercream and garnished with Dried Fruit.
• Tangerine and Ginger Tea was served with a zesty orange cupcake with a whipped chocolate ganache.
• Cherry Blossom Tea was paired with a Japanese Cotton Cheesecake with a tea infused Italian Meringue Icing.

TEA & CUPCAKES: The Cape Town Hotel School helped launch Cuppa for CANSA.

“The tea and cupcake pairing was an absolute hit and we found a variety of individuals popping into our coffee shop and experiencing something different. This was clear as all the cupcakes were sold out before the end of the event,” said Portia Mkhize of the Cape Town Hotel School.

“It was a joy-filled event with a contagious energy that allowed everyone to talk to each other and embrace who we are. I had the opportunity to speak to Cancer survivors, people undergoing treatment and was blown away by their zeal for life.”

Hotel School’s Bryony Petersen explained to the crowd why the School took part in this initiative.

Said Petersen: “ Being part of moments like these allow us be grateful for who we are and who we have in our lives, and we chose to make a difference, be that with our time, our support or our love. Being part of spaces such as these reminds us that we have the unimaginable potential to grow together.”

Conceptualising a five course meal for industry experts can be an intimidating experience but Food and Beverage students took this in their stride at their latest practical assessment.

The third year students prepared a feast which included homemade brioche, rosemary chicken goujons, butter basted Chateaubriand with a crispy potato rose flower and for dessert a black sesame macaroon with a yogurt and honey panna cotta paired with iced coffee.

The meal was accompanied by a wine pairing and front of house students were also expected to act as sommeliers and explain how the wine complimented each course.

At the end of the meal the front of house staff joined the kitchen staff for a face to face critique from industry experts, alumni, suppliers and staff.

Allister Esau the Vice President of the SA Chefs Association gave a lengthy critique on each course and complimented the students on a job well done.

“When we judge we always start at 100% and deduct from there but rarely go below 50% because we don’t want to break anyone’s spirit,” he says.