Introducing Oded's Kitchen

Greetings

I am proud to announce the establishment of Oded’s Kitchen – a company dedicated to creating gourmet products to please the taste buds. The creative culinary force behind the company is Oded Schwartz, an authority on kitchen crafts and author of over 10 books (Preserving is his most famous) – you can also catch him on local and satellite TV from time to time. Oded has been in the industry for over 30 years and has worked mainly in London for companies such as Fortnum & Mason, Tesco and Marks & Spencers.

Oded’s Kitchen offers a delicious and unique range of preserves, available for both resale (260ml bottles) and wholesale (1, 2.5 & 5 litre bottles) purposes. Batches are hand produced and limited in number to ensure our exacting standards are maintained.

Our initial product offering is below - note the range will change during the course of the year to take advantage of seasonal produce (denoted with an *):

Carrot & Almond Chutney - (based on an old Middle Eastern recipe for carrot jam called 'angels hair' this recipe is updated for the new millennium, incredibly versatile; great with cheese, cold and hot meats)

Harrief - (a smoky roasted red pepper and chilli sauce. A pasta sauce as is; mix with yoghurt to make a marinade for chicken/meat or mix with mayonnaise to make the perfect “peri-naise” dip)

Caramelised Onion Marmalade - (a sublime combination of flavours. Adds instant flavour to a stir fry during cooking or add a tablespoon to your pan after cooking and make a delicious gravy.)

Onion Konfyt - (sweet, delicious and great with pretty much anything! An original alternative to the traditional fig konfyt.)

Quince Jelly* - (a seasonal product – it looks amazing, almost too good to eat; great with pork and game meats or smother a piece of brie and enjoy.)

Quince Chutney* - (also seasonal – a fresh and young flavour; works great as a garnish. Just like “ouma” used to make...only better!)

Membrillo* - (a fruit cheese/jelly – one of the crowning glories of the Spanish kitchen, excellent on your cheese platter together with some hard, strong cheeses)

Moroccan Lemons* - (the cornerstone of any Moroccan dish or instant flavour to any dish)

Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any additional info – pricing or trade enquiries are most welcome. We’d love to arrange a meeting for you to sample our wares.

Regards,

Lewis & Oded

21 June 2009

Great news – we are beginning our monthly cooking classes. Limited to 10 people maximum and taking place in Tamboerskloof in Oded’s actual kitchen. The classes will be hands on with participants getting involved in the cooking process. The first class will be taking place on Sat 4 July from 14:00 onwards – duration should be around 3 hours, but subject to cooking time.

The topic will be preserving and this will be divided into 2 main sections – a general intro to preserving (basic concepts, techniques & equipment) followed by cooking of 3 recipes including “Tannie Zelda’s Pickled Cucumber”.

The price for the course is R400 and this includes notes, recipes, a couple of jars to take home and a small meal.

We are planning on doing a class on the either the first Wed or Sat (please let us know which day you think will be better) of each month with other topics being:

1. “Mediterranean Sauces”

In this workshop the participants will be able to make and experience some of the most intriguingly delicious yet simple sauces of the Mediterranean - the cradle of western cuisines. The sauces will include the ancient Roman Agro Dolce, Sauce Verde, the Greek inspired Sokodilia, Provencal and Sicilian anchovies and caper sauce and the North African Charamola - all these ancient classic flavouring sauces are claming their place in our contemporary fusion based kitchen. At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to sample the sauces, together with a roast chicken, cheese and a delicious glass of matching wine as well as to take home a sample of the sauces they made.

2. “And you thought the cucumber was boring “

This short history of the humble and very Jewish gherkin, tells a fascinating story of the role the cucumber has played in domestic preserving of the Old World and therefore in many of the colonies of North America, Africa and the rest of the former British colonies. How the dill pickle became one of the most identifiable image of Jewish American food. The participants will be able to make and taste relishes such as olive oil relish, cucumber relish, Mustard pickle, sweet and sour dill pickle and many more icons of the Jewish delicatessen store.

3. “Slow & Mellow – fire and smoking”

A fair weather (no rain allowed!) course in which the participants would be able to taste and experience simple and affective methods of smoking fish and meat. Methods like tea smoked fish, marinated smoked chicken and smoked marinated brisket will be discussed, explained and consumed at the end of the workshop, together with a delicious matching wine and salads.

4. “Preserving Master Classes”

Building on the first preserving course – adding additional skills, tips and recipes (this class will be on a more frequent basis as and when there is sufficient demand)

At each class participants will receive recipes and notes and in most cases get to take home a little bit of what has been cooked during the class.

Sign up for 4 classes and receive a free Oded’s Kitchen Apron!

If you are interested in attending one or multiple courses, please contact me on my email.

We are proud to inform you that we are now readily available in these fine stores:

Andiamo’s (Cape Quarter); Sinn’s Deli (Wembley Square); Main Ingredient (Sea Point); Organic Living (Constantia Village); Organics Alive (Muizenberg); Michael’s (Rondebosch).

If you would like to arrange for Lewis to come round and give you a tasting, please contact us on lewis@odeds-kitchen.co.za or 0848040748.

Our range now consists of the following items:

Carrot & Almond Chutney

Quince Chutney & Quince Chili Jelly

Onion Konfyt & Caramalised Onion Marmalade

Smoked & Roasted Harrief Sauce

Ginger Relish

Vanilla Products (Pods, Syrup, Sugar, Paste, Extract & Powder)

Pickled Gherkins

Preserved Moroccan Lemons

Cheese Biscuits made with Gruyere and Extra Mature Cheddar....yummy!

That's all for now...happy eating...

Lewis & Oded