Heston Blumenthal is regarded as a self-taught gastronomic genius who has influenced chefs and cooks from around the world and he is heading to South Africa for his first ever appearance at the Johannesburg Good Food & Wine Show.

This food and culinary extravaganza takes places at the Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg from September 21 to 24 and, like previous years, is expected to be a sell-out.

Blumenthal joins a host of international and local chefs including Indian cookery expert Anjum Anand; popular Masterchef Australia winner Adam Liaw on his second visit to Joburg thanks to overwhelming public demand; Rastafarian musician turned Caribbean cooking fundi Levi Roots and children’s TV presenter Katy Ashworth.

Heston is known throughout the world for his acclaimed Michelin-star restaurant The Fat Duck as well as his appearances on TV where he has become known as a food alchemist: “There’s both a greater confidence and much more questioning of our food. We’re more interested in where our ingredients come from than ever before. I think all of that is combining to give us greater confidence in our food culture and greater confidence about eating out in restaurants and cooking at home,” he says.

Apart from his appearance at the show. Blumental will afford South Africans the rare opportunity of sampling a gourmet feast that he will especially devise for diners. It will be prepared by the South African culinary team with Blumenthal supervising. The evening of gourmet wining and dining takes place at the Maserati showroom in Bryanston on Saturday, September 22, and costs R1500 per person. All proceeds go to charity.

Adam Liaw wowed audiences at last year’s Jozi Good Food & Wine Show. What can audiences expect this time around? “I want people to go away and make the dish. They must leave with a few tips and understand how I feel about food. It’s not about showing them what a great cook I am but how easy it is to make food in your own home.”

Anjum Anand’s new book takes you through the history of India and her childhood experiences: “People’s experience of eating Indian food in the west is not a true reflection of the real food we eat at home, which is lighter, fresher and far better balanced than the offerings at Indian restaurants. I try to showcase the true face of Indian food,” she says.

Reggae musician Levi Roots – who once sang Happy Birthday for former President Nelson Mandela – won an entrepreneurial competition thanks to his secret homemade sauce. This lead to a hugely successful food and TV career.

Says Levi:  “I always use one reggae word and that’s ‘fabulocious’ and that’s something better than fabulous, because you know it’s all about the merging of the music and the food and those two are my two greatest passions! For me, it’s not about Levi Roots, it’s about Caribbean food. So I’m hoping to put Caribbean food up there with the rest of the cuisines we see on our TV all the time.”

Ashworth has written a fun-filled programme especially for The Good Food and Wine Show. Says Katy about the programme: “The recipes are all very straightforward but very tasty. They don’t require lots of complex equipment and children can do the majority of the work themselves, with some supervision and perhaps a helping hand when needed. I think it is so important for children to understand where their food comes from so I explain this and even suggest they grow some produce themselves!”

This year’s show is bigger and better than ever before with something for everyone of all ages including fantastic shopping, celebrity chef demonstrations, hands on workshops, wine tasting and a restaurant area.

From the elegant gourmet and dessert specialists to a braai area – this jam-packed programme has something for everyone. With loads of exhibitors from small producers to big brands this year’s Good Food & Wine Show is the perfect place to pick up gift ideas and recipe inspirations to impress friends and family.

All the visiting chefs will be staying at the Southern Sun Palazzo MonteCasino.

Entrance tickets to the show (R95 for adults and R50 for children; children under 2 are free) can be bought through Computicket.

More details on www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za