Celebrating the New Year - Island Style

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

This past year has been one of great change for the Beacon Island and New Year’s Eve is an appropriate time to look back on this past year.

Traditionally, January marks the first day of the Gregorian calendar and is named for the Roman god, Janus. Known as the god of gates, doors and new beginnings, Janus is represented as having two faces, one looking towards the future and the other towards the past. This is a time of reflection and celebration of new beginnings and is true this year at the Beacon Island more than any other since its opening in 1972. The renovation of the hotel has both staff and guests looking towards the future with pleasure and anticipation of many more years enjoying the best of the “BI”.

To ring in 2012, the Island Diner put together an epic feast and party which will be remembered for many years. The Sea Lounge and Indigo Bay were decorated in a festive “Salsa” theme with a dance floor on the deck. The evening was warm and the excitement in the air was palpable.

To start the evening off, guests were served a welcome cocktail, bread basket and a salad bowl for the table. The feast began with a starter platter including crispy crumbed mushrooms, Beef trinchado and mild Peri-Peri chicken livers. In true Island Style, the main platter included fresh seafood: Queen prawns in lemon and garlic, fresh Line Fish, local Mussels in a creamy garlic, white wine and parsley sauce and crumbed calamari strips. Mouth watering! If that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, there was also juicy Rump Espetada and mushroom Chicken Fillet!

Dessert was white chocolate mousse with a sweet berry topping and biscotti, with champagne chilling in anticipation of midnight. Out on the deck, the music played a soundtrack to the end of a year and the beginning of a new one and it didn’t take long for the diners to digest their feast and put their party shoes on!

For those looking for a more elegant celebration, the Coral Reef restaurant was set up to see in the New Year in style. This uniquely organic restaurant, with unsurpassed views of the bay, served an exclusive menu. Welcome tastes and drinks were enjoyed in the cool restaurant: French champagne and Cape sherry, toasted almonds, marinated olives and spicy potato skins. The intimate tables were garnished with a bread basket and fresh organic salad. To get the party started guests were offered a starter of Beef Carpaccio, Salmon Nagiri, Coral Prawns, Fried Dim Sum or Caprese. The light and tasty starters served were all natural and organic.

Main course options continued to impress the revellers with an option to suit any fancy. There was a Fillet Roma served with hand cut chips and mushroom sauce, an indulgent shellfish platter with West Coast Lobster tails and Prawns and a slow roasted Karoo Lamb with mint béarnaise. Also on offer were roasted Chicken Breast with an orange and port sauce, fresh Line Fish served with a lemon and thyme sauce and an appetizing Vegetarian peanut satay pastry.

The delectable spread was well received by all diners and finished off with a variety of desserts including white and dark Chocolate Mousse and Crème Brulee then a cheese platter and coffee.

Meanwhile, upstairs the party was getting into full swing with dancers celebrating. The New Year was rung in true Beacon Island Style with the setting off of Chinese Lanterns and a vibrant fireworks display. A very memorable evening in a very memorable hotel!

A South African Christmas

Christmas traditions and meals have long been a part of so many of the world’s cultures and can vary greatly from continent to country. Meals vary depending on local produce and local custom. However, Christmas celebrations and good food have always gone hand in hand and for many people the thought of preparing a Christmas meal is filled with stress, kitchen disasters and hour after exhausting hour in front of the stove. Not so for those who booked their Christmas lunch at the Beacon Isle’s Island Diner this year.

Both restaurants: warm Indigo Bay and intimate Coral Reef offered two seatings on the 25^th of December this year. The restaurant staff was busy from early morning, preparing food and decorating the tables for a festive feast. The theme was a traditional red and green; red being the colour of “festivity” and green signifying “life”. But you won’t find roaring fires and snowmen! There is no need as a truly summer South African Christmas is nothing short of paradise!

The restaurant started to fill up with families for the first sitting. They settled in with laughter and chatter amidst the sound of Christmas crackers and bottles being opened. Families snapped photos of each other and the beautiful view of the bay, while Christmas Carols floated through the restaurant along with the appetizing smell of Christmas lunch cooking.

An interesting fact to note is that in 1899, Queen Victoria of Great Britain had, amongst other dishes, the following on her Christmas Buffet: boar’s head, game pie, woodcock pie, roast fowl and tongue! Naturally, local produce for the region and familiar dishes for the era, but the Island Diner had something quite different in mind.

The restaurant offered what must be the quintessential South African coastal Christmas meal and the menu consisted of fresh bread basket for the table and crunchy Greek and Roast Butternut salads. A fantasy Christmas Platter to suit every taste bud was the central dish of the banquet. Faces lit up with anticipation as waiters, sporting Christmas hats, started to serve the platters. Laid out for all to share and enjoy were Christmas staples of roast turkey and glazed gammon, tender and juicy. Tender rump cubes and roasted lamb spelled out a truly South African celebration and the addition of fresh filleted line fish and crumbed calamari steaks were stars of a truly Beacon Island feast. The platters allowed families to share their food and time with each other on the special day of Christmas.

By the time dessert was served, steamy Christmas pudding on Amarula milkshake the good times were well under way. Those that would normally be rushing off to the kitchen to wash dishes and stow leftovers could lean back in the seats, watch the tables being cleared and relax. This is how Christmas should be… sharing a meal with loved ones, simply served, delicious and oh-so-easy!