Duck breast with duck confit tartlet Port braised cabbage and Bon Courage Inkará Shiraz

Set the task of matching the winner of the Pick 'n Pay WINE magazine Shiraz Challenge, chef Peter Tempelhoff of Grande Provence in Franschhoek opted for a dish that brought a range of flavours into play. Fiona McDonald reports.

When Peter Tempelhoff starts speaking it's impossible to pin down precisely where he's from. Initially I thought it might be Aussie but then noticed the drawl was distinctly north American, and there was something so English but also South African too. . .

"Yeah, it's confusing I know," the tall, dark and handsome chef admits. "My mum was Canadian and I spent a few years living there - but also grew up in Joburg and Durban, then studied at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. . ." And he's just returned from seven years cooking at various top establishments in London.

"I tried to ensure that all the experience I gained in the UK was at Michelin star level - but London's no place to raise a family." Tempelhoff is thrilled to be in Franschhoek, finding the food culture and lifestyle inspiring. "I'm in it for the long haul. I'm not trying to take on the world but I realize there's definite room for improvement."

Tempelhoff impresses with his take on the wine. It's obvious that he's a chef who enjoys the liquid more than most. "I've taken it a bit further than most other chefs," he admits, having studied with the Cape Wine Academy to Certificate level. "I just love flavour in all forms - solid or liquid - and love the combinations that are made possible when bringing food and wine together!"

Tempelhoff chose duck breast specifically because he believed its fattiness would work well with the acidity in the Bon Courage Inkará Shiraz. "The wine had wonderful complexity with heaps of berry flavours. And the dryness of the tannin and that smoky, spicy element was crying out for some earthy balance - that's why I went with mushrooms and celeriac as well as something like star anise."

Hence the honey roasted duck breast dressed with a tartlet of duck leg confit, port-braised red cabbage and griotte cherries with star anise scented jus.

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Duck breast
4 small duck breasts or 1 per portion
Salt and pepper
20ml vegetable oil
20ml hot honey infused with 3 star anise

Add the oil to a hot ovenproof frying pan, season the duck liberally with salt and pepper and place the duck in the pan, skin side up, for about 45-60 seconds to colour. Turn so that the skin is in contact with the hot pan and place in a moderate oven (170°C) for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and baste with the honey. Once the dish is assembled, place the breast into the oven again for 2 minutes to heat it up, slice into 6 even sized pieces and serve immediately.

Duck confit tartlet
1 confit leg and thigh
100g diced and cooked portabellini mushrooms
2 sprigs of thyme, stemmed and chopped
70ml cream
100g celeriac puree
1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry

Blind bake the puff pastry tarts and store until needed. Remove the skin and bones from the duck leg and break into small pieces without shredding. Place in a pan with the mushroom, cream and thyme and cook until the cream has thickened (about 3 minutes). Divide the mix between four tartlet shells and fill, topping with the warm celeriac purée and a sprig of chervil or parsley. Place on the red cabbage in the middle of the plate.

Celeriac purée
1kg celeriac, peeled and chopped
2 onions, sliced
50g butter
200ml cream

Place the onion and butter in a pot with a tight fitting lid and sweat on low heat until soft. Add the celeriac and continue to sweat with a lid on. When the celeriac is soft, add the cream and boil for a few minutes. Tip ingredients into a liquidiser and blend until smooth, season and place in a piping bag and keep warm until needed.

Port braised red cabbage
1 red cabbage, stalk removed and sliced thinly
50ml vegetable oil
1 spice bag filled with cardamom, cloves,
cinnamon and peppercorns
80ml raspberry vinegar
250ml port
250ml red wine
30g sugar
Salt and pepper

Sweat the red cabbage in the oil on medium heat (add some salt at this stage). When the cabbage has softened (after about 10 minutes), clear a space in the bottom of the pot by moving the cabbage to the sides and pour the vinegar in so that it reduces quickly. When nearly all reduced to a sec, add the sugar, spices and alcohol. Place a lid on the pan and slowly cook until the liquid has cooked down to a syrup and the cabbage is soft. Check the seasoning and reserve until needed.

Star anise jus
200 ml of veal jus (reduced veal stock with red wine and port)
4 star anise
24 griotte cherries or any other kind of cherry available
Fresh lemon

Heat up the jus and add the spice and cherries, check for seasoning and add some lemon juice if it needs acidity - a few drops will do.

Serve at once.

To assemble
Place some cabbage in the middle of a large warm plate and put the tartlet on top of the cabbage.

Place three slow cooked onions around the tartiet, with a piece of duck breast on either side of each onion. Garnish the plate with six cherries and one star anise. Sauce the plate. Serve immediately.

Grande Provence, Main Road, Franschhoek. Tel: 021 876 8600.