Dining in the piazza
Lucky winner and friends spend a night wined and dined in the Irene Village Mall piazza.
Irene Village Mall treated one customer and nine of her friends to an incredible night out, wining and dining under the stars at the mall on Thursday 14 May.
The mall’s piazza was transformed into a glamorous dining hall, with trees decorated in bright lights and décor, with the centre piece the large dining table, beautifully decorated to provide a snug spot for the diners, away from the chilly autumn night. The evening was made all the better with beautiful music by accordionist Claudio Alho.
According to Irene Village Mall’s marketing director Leanne Nell, the night was part of a competition held by the mall. “To stand in line to win this prize, which was valued at R50 000, shoppers had to spend a certain amount at any one of the stores in the mall, and simply drop their till slip into a box. The night was a way to say “Thank you” to one lucky customer.”
The lucky winner, Natalie Gair, invited nine of her close friends and colleagues to join her, and said that she was thrilled to have won. “When I got the call to say that I had won, I had to ask “Are you sure?” several times. I am so glad that I won such a beautiful prize,” said Gair smiling.
The impressive night was complimented by an extraordinary dinner prepared by the equally extraordinary Seline van der Wat, top 3 finalist in the 2013 edition of MasterChef SA.
Van der Wat, who has been cooking since a young age with her sisters, said that the evening was a wonderful chance to cook whatever she liked, as the guests left the food up to her. “Being on MasterChef really prepares you well for situations like these, where you are cooking outside and not in a traditional kitchen. I love cooking at pop-up events like these.”
Van der Wat, who is releasing her first cook book together with her sister Leandri in September, and finished as runner-up in the 2013 MasterChef competition, prepared a five-course feast for the 10 guests, taking the time to explain each dish before it was served. She was accompanied in the kitchen by her fiancée Jaco Pieterse, and her younger sister Nelia. Jaco’s brother Omri was the maître d’, ensuring that the guests were happy and that the food was served promptly.
After dinner, the guests and the hosts spent the rest of the night chatting, happy to have shared a wonderful meal together.
