A celebration of women in hospitality

9th Ave Waterside

Where: 2 Maritime Place, Durban Harbour, Durban

Open: Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 11pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm

Call: 031 940 4628

ONE of KZN’s top chefs is back in the province.

Kayla-Ann Osborn, who made her name opening the Chefs’ Table six or seven years ago, has returned home after a stint at Delaire in the Cape.

Three days in at 9th Avenue Waterside, and I’m invited to her first wine pairing menu.

What better way to celebrate Women’s Month than with one of the country’s top woman chefs and top woman winemakers?

Irene Waller is the star at La Bri, one of the oldest Huguenot-allocated farms in the Franschhoek Valley. Her journey took her from studying accountancy to teaching maths to following her passion for winemaking, cutting her teeth at Graham Beck.

She has been in charge of the La Bri cellar for more than 10 years. Waller has a refreshing style. No ponderous speeches pontificating each wine’s virtues. Instead it’s a pop in at the table

for a chat, about her passion for wine, food, life and everything.

First up, Osborn treats us to a cheeky item billed as salt and vinegar bait which talks to the chef’s Scottburgh roots. And why not take advantage of the greatest shoal happening on our doorsteps? These were tasty morsels of sardine, in the style of Spain’s famed white anchovies, marinated in salt and vinegar and served on a crisp flatbread. They tasted in equal parts of the sea and the fish and chip shop, and went down well with a lovely easy drinking Double Door, the

winemaker’s personal label, shiraz rose.

Next up with La Bri’s chardonnay was east coast langoustines, on a tomato chutney, with curry leaves, pickled turmeric and labneh. A rich seafood bisque was poured over it at the table, bringing all these tantalising flavours together. A beautiful dish.

I’ve always liked the way Osborn brings the curry leaf into her cooking. It’s something of her signature. She

says she’s so happy she can get them now. In Cape Town it had been near impossible, and if you did, they were tiny and didn’t taste the same.

La Bri’s popular merlot was paired with mushroom tortellini doused in smoked butter with crispy sage. Good earthy stuff topped with oyster mushrooms and a little Italian inspiration.

Duck has always been one of Osborn’s specialities, her duck confit being a fond memory at Traffords in Pietermaritzburg when she was fresh out of catering school. We had slices of beautifully pink duck breast with crispy skin on a bed of sweet potato with a duck croquette, served with dukkah and a lovely natural duck jus. An ode to good cooking served with the La Bri syrah, which was an ode to good winemaking.

La Bri’s Affinity is a big Bordeaux-style blend which paired perfectly with Karoo lamb with “all the trimmings”. This was succulent slices of lamb on a pea purée with baby potatoes and, well let’s just call it gravy. A delicious take on roast lamb and a lovely wine. What better way to end a meal?

Except dessert was still to come. Billed as Bo-Kaap crack, this was a Cape Malay-style koeksister with coconut sherbet, and lemon and ice cream, and nuts and mousse and things – it was a substantial dessert and all the more delicious for not being overly sweet. This was paired with a Double Door dessert wine, which was also refreshingly not overly sweet. A good combination.

9th Avenue Waterside offers regular monthly winetasting dinners, a sixcourse meal with wines coming in at R695 a head.

Food: 4½

Service: 4

Ambience: