The Final Muratie vs Du Toitskloof Wines Cook-off

In October 2017, Muratie Estate and Du Toitskloof Wines, two of South Africa’s well-known wineries who are also famous for their culinary skills, met up for the sixth and final time to contest this annual championship.

The two cellars, hailing from opposite sides of the Boland mountains, met at Muratie in Stellenbosch to draw battle lines in an open-fire ‘pork war’, each preparing two different cuts of pork. The fires were lit early, with the two teams hard at work, while the guests - who would later be judging the winning team - kept an eye on the respective braais.

The Du Toitskloof team, headed up by winemaker Shawn Thomson and his wife Elrine, opted for neck steaks prepared with honey, mustard, orange, garlic and ginger, and short ribs marinated in red wine and star anise. The Muratie team, Kim Melck and winemaker Hattingh de Villiers, chose a deboned neck, smoked and drizzled with ginger, honey and soy, and rashers prepared with lemon juice, rosemary and coarse salt.

After a gourmet spread of note, the votes were cast and counted, and it was celebrity chef Pete Goffe-Wood who had the pleasure of announcing the 2017 champion.

A very proud Du Toitskloof team took the honours for the second year in a row, taking home the championship trophy, hand-made by Hattingh de Villiers.

And so, the great culinary rivalry between Du Toitskloof and Muratie comes to an end with the history of the competition showing one draw, two wins for Muratie and three for Du Toitskloof.

Cheers to this great projects of friendship and great food.