Something Rare just happened in the Winelands

For those of you who know me, you will know that I love a braai. For me, there are few better ways of spending your time than around a fire, cooking food the way nature intended.

So to be invited to an event such as the Rare Tour, which celebrates glorious meat and the art of fire cooking by bringing together the world's top talent, was something I was both excited and intrigued by.

To give you some context, the Rare Tour is a series of global culinary events showcasing some of the globe’s finest chefs from the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants ranking.

A host restaurant - in this case Vuur located on Remhoogte wine farm in Stellenbosch - acts as the home kitchen, as a guest restaurant - in this case Los33 from Madrid, Spain - collaborates with the host to showcase their talents, meat creations and the reason for their ranking on the global list.

While I knew the steaks were going to be of the highest quality, cooked to perfection on the fire, I didn't realise the amount of effort that goes in behind the scenes. I was afforded the opportunity to sit at the chef's table, where I had a first-hand experience of what goes into a service for an event such as this.

The organised chaos was something quite interesting to behold; think a theatric performance with massive flames and tiny tongs to plate the variety of dishes on offer.

Shaun Scrooby from Vuur (ranked #88 globally) and Oswaldo Gonzalez from Los33 (ranked #15 globally) - along with their teams - worked their magic to produce some of the most delicious fire-cooked creations I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.

Scrooby's play on a braai toastie using grilled leek toast and the most soft Bavette steak tartare kicked off the evening's culinary adventure perfectly, while Gonzalez' Japanese wagyu cecina had me doubting whether biltong could ever compete on the world stage - it was outstanding.

My favourite dish of the evening came next, gemsbok flambadou with wagyu fat. I'd never had the pleasure of eating gemsbok before, but now that's all I want to eat. The wagyu fat cut through the gamey taste I imagine gemsbok to usually have, while the addition of spekboom and crispy red onion was genius in countering the fat used to cook the meat.

By this point, we had already been through six dishes - and we hadn't even hit the main event... the steaks.

Before we could tuck into the steaks, we were served leeks in burnt end sauce (yum!) and fired spinach with the most generous topping of parmesan (again, yum!). These two non-meat dishes broke up the dining experience perfectly, but now we were ready for the meat!

Los33, despite a few issues at customs, managed to bring some incredible meats with them to South Africa. Sixty-day aged Rubia Gallega Chuleta and 240-day aged Minhota Olf Ox Chuleta were served after being expertly cooked on the flames. The meats melted in my mouth, with the ageing process proving that patience has its rewards. Vuur provided the mouthwatering selection of local cuts, including a three-week ripened wagyu Denver MS5. Yeah, I also didn't know these cuts existed, but I am so glad I do now.

I think that while the food was all of the highest quality and something different in most cases, what really struck me and left a lasting impression was the passion shown by all the chefs. It truly amplifies an experience when you know the people involved care for their craft.

In total, I was treated to 19 different dishes. Yes, you guessed it, I was pretty full come the end of service, but it was an experience which I won't soon forget. Special mention must go to the bonemarrow sour dough roll just before the steaks hit the grid, with its accompanying blueberry and buchu jam and black garlic butter ensuring I will never look at the bakery section of my local grocery store the same again.

For more of what went down at Vuur for the Rare Tour, watch the video below: