Autumn Magazine’s Mover & Shaker Feature: Matt Manning

Autumn Magazine's Mover & Shaker Feature: Matt Manning
WineStyle asks private chef Matt Manning how it all began, and found out a few of his ‘ingredients. If you missed out on a copy of the Autumn Magazine here’s our Mover and Shaker! Be sure to subscribe for the next 4 magazines.
knives‘Discovering a love for food as a young lad was the beginning – I always enjoyed an early morning Sunday breakfast with my father. Home for us was in the Norfolk countryside where I started to work as a kitchen porter, cleaning and preparing vegetables, but more than that I was given an opportunity to work alongside some ambitious chefs who taught me the art of the culinary world. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere of the kitchen and the passion that seemed to follow.’

>> What does the future hold for Matt Manning?
Just more cooking, more wine and perhaps some collaborations with other foodies in Cape Town this year.

>> What do you love about living in South Africa?
Coming from England obviously the weather has a big influence. But actually it’s the great buzz around the up-andcoming food and wine industry. It’s getting better and better. South Africa makes some of the best wine in the world and to be able to use the top ingredients in the country and pair them with that makes a chef truly grateful. Oh and the beautiful women.

>> What do you miss most about England?
Family, friends and Michelin star restaurants.

>> What’s your earliest wine memory, i.e. when did you actually start appreciating wine?
I don’t really have an earliest, but my fondest was seeing the sommelier take a bottle of Petrus ’64 from the wine cellar for a guest who had just purchased it at Restaurant Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley.

>> Which ingredient is in every dish you cook?
Every dish needs love.

>> What’s in your fridge right now?
Bacon, eggs, rhubarb compote, craft beer and butter.

>> What’s your favourite autumn pastime?
Wild mushroom picking.

>> Favourite drink?
Jorgensen’s gin and tonic on a hot summer day.

More about Matt: Matt hosts ‘One Ingredient Dinners’, which are special dining experiences for Cape Town foodies that involve Matt choosing one ingredient and using it in four courses spread over an evening. It’s amazing what can be done with just one ingredient! After demonstrating each course Matt then hands over to patrons to re-create two of the courses and present them like pros, before enjoying them with a carefully selected wine pairing from an exclusive wine farm and live music.
For more info visit matt-manning.com/one-ingredient

For more exclusive and awesome food, wine, travel and lifestyle features wrapped up in a beautiful coffee-table style magazine subscribe today for only R140 per year.


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