Wine, chocolate and cheese pairing party

’MAKERESEMESE LETUKA

MASERU – Khahliso Travel and Adventure planned a successful escape from the ordinary – setting the stage for a special experience bringing together three divine creations: wine, chocolate and cheese. The event was held at Maseru Club Hall, on Saturday, where the first paring was of white wine paired with three different cheeses and mini meatballs pasta; the second pairing was a shot of port with dark chocolate and fresh orange slices.

The third take was red wine with chicken biryani or sea food pasta, with the fourth pairing comprising whiskey and truffles with fresh pear slices. The final pairing comprised Amarula with fruit skewers and cake. The wine, cheese and chocolate event started as a small intimate event to pair different wines and other liquors with really good food, initially about 20 people were expected. However, it was fully booked in a week and organisers were forced to create space for more people and ended up hosting over 55 people.

Partakers were given a chance to explore all different pairings on offer or those of their choices and parallel the tastes all together, while enjoying soft music. Most people seemed to be enjoying whiskey with dark chocolate and fruit skewers. “We were inspired in this event by a trip we took to Cape Town where we were able to explore and learn about different types of wine and how well they pair with different foods.

We achieved everything and more. We could not have done it without our wonderful guests, Chef Mikey and a really great team made up of friends and family who have always been there, our aim is for everyone to create memories, have fun and hoping to have a fun event going on at least once a month,” says one of the organisers Rapelang Semakale. One of the guests who attended, Makara Marekimane, told Life&Style that the event’s setting was on point, deco, good music, easy meal, good drinking and the conversations were flowing. He says she got to network with people, eat and exchange light moments of laughter together.

“I learned a lot about wine pairing and I feel like this should happen often, we had a good safe space to chat about almost everything. I enjoyed short of port surprisingly than the usual steak with dry wine, it was something I have not tasted before,” he adds. On the other hand, one of the challenges organisers say they encountered was when everyone failed to arrive on time, which saw them faced with keeping those who were punctual interested while also not avoiding to start without those that had not yet arrived.

“It is very complex with an event like this because it’s a step by step experience and we did not want anyone to miss out on any part of it. We also had to improvise with heating to keep the hall warm,” he says. However, the event was considered successful as they were able to successfully pull out five pairings in about five hours and still made it an experience for their wonderful clients. People got to network, some people travelled all the way from Lesotho. The last wine pairing event was in January and the next one will be held before the year ends.