In theory, Oscar’s role at Cloof encompasses the various marketing and sales requirements of the commercial side of the business. While he does appear to be active in these areas, he drifts into the kitchen so often that one has to wonder which role has precedence.

Wearing his chef hat (well, figuratively) he last week represented Darling at the Kontrei Cuisine evening during Cape Wine 2006, the bi-annual wine trade event that takes place in Cape Town. Each of the 16 main wine-producing regions had a stall (all the rest thankfully run by proper chefs) serving tapas-sized portions of a dish carefully selected to partner each region’s chosen wine speciality.

It was a perfect Cape Town autumn evening in the Company Gardens, as 800 local and international guests worked their way through the wonderful diversity of dishes prepared by some of the Cape’s best chefs. The mood was completed by a variety of live performances of local music that were made throughout the evening.

With Shiraz being the wine of choice for Darling he produced ravioli filled with springbok denningvleis (traditional casserole) flavoured with Kapokbos (pictured alongside), a kind of Fynbos. The ravioli were served with a rich red wine sauce, which included some cocoa beans and nutmeg to ensure a perfect match with the wine