BUSINESS DAY WANTED
Let the Wood Speak, Master-Luthier Confides
The Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra’s recent national tour wasn’t just about electrifying performances and packed venues, as Ryan Enslin found out, it was also a masterclass in collaboration and craftsmanship, creating connections that resonated far beyond the music, uniting artistry with community impact.
Last week Wednesday saw the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of world-renowned Ukrainian maestro Kiril Karabits, conclude a three-city national tour, entitled Rhythms of Hope, with a sellout performance at the Cape Town City Hall. The tour also sold out in Johannesburg and performed in Bloemfontein. And while taking in Capetonian pianist Leo Gevisser performing Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue is a must for any classical music aficionado, a key initiative of the tour was in fact taking place off stage, and in the days leading up to each of the performances.
Internationally respected master-luthier (maker and repairer of stringed instruments) Antoine Gourdon, accompanied by colleagues Matilde Baulin and Alina Ehret, embarked upon a live violin build at each location.
From New York to Loop street, how a Japanese mixologist fell for the Mother City
Ryan Enslin steps into a world where cocktails are inspired by nature, art and music; a place where a Tokyo-born artist and mixologist is transforming the Cape Town bar scene, there along Loop Street.
Sometimes it takes seeing your country through someone else’s eyes to realise how rich it is in opportunities. This is what I experienced recently when I met artist, creative and mixologist-extraordinaire, Tetsuo Hasegawa, owner of Anthm Cocktail Bar and Restaurant on Loop Street in Cape Town. This new kid on the block is turning heads with artisanal craft cocktails and tantalising small plates.
Tetsuo attended a local art high school in Tokyo where art became his passion, all the while dreaming about his music idols across the ocean in New York. After completing his schooling, Tetsuo moved to New York, where he began bartending and continued to make art, eventually counting over 30 shows to his credit. Driven by a desire to build a community infused with his creative spirit, Tetsuo soon began to conceptualise his bar.
Of Foraging, Fine Art and Flavours
An immersive fusion of nature, art and culinary innovation at Terrarium restaurant.
I first met Chef Chris Erasmus two years ago in the Waterberg while on an early morning game drive. Seated on a game viewer, we rounded a kink in a dusty road and crossed a dry riverbed, only to reveal Chef Chris standing at a skottle braai preparing our breakfast. Then, in early autumn of this year, I met the legendary chef on the back slopes of Table Mountain as we went foraging for, amongst other treasures, slippery jacks and pine ring mushrooms. Last week, as this strange journey called life would have it, Chef Chris popped up in the heart of the V&A Waterfront at the five-star Queen Victoria Hotel, at his latest culinary venture, Terrarium.
If the name Chef Chris Erasmus rings a bell, it’s most probably Foliage, once to be found in Franschhoek, vying for attention from your collection of incredible-places-to-eat list. “We were almost in the forest there, up at the end of the street near the monument. It was a place where I could go foraging for ingredients,” shares Chef Chris with me as we catch up at the bar in the Queen Victoria Hotel. Foraging and naturally sourced ingredients are his passions.