my views

Gloria Serobe, this picture appears on the Wiphold website On Thursday, 14 August 2014, I was privileged to attend a talk by Gloria Serobe . Many know Gloria as a founder of Women’s Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited ( Wiphold ), one of the first Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment companies with all women owners. Like many great stories, Gloria's has humble beginnings from the township of Gugulethu  to being the director on a number of companies' boards. The reason for Gloria's talk was in celebration of women's month and recognising the fairer sex.  Her intro was very powerful as she spoke off the cuff and said she wasn't going to elaborate on the stats as we know what they are. She asked us why we think there aren't more women in top positions, why there are not more success stories like Wiphold, what are we doing wrong or why are we not challenging the status quo and the structures that are holding us back. She said women have stopped being activ

Macarons are a little French dessert, which primarily consists of meringue combined with almond flour and icing sugar. It is flavoured with essence, coloured with powder and sandwiched together with a filling (usually ganache but sometimes buttercream, curd, Nutella or even preserves). In the video below I demonstrate how to make macarons, using a hot method recipe, and navigate the intricacies of perfecting these little meringue-like biscuits. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I've enjoyed making it. Happy Baking, Imtithaal If you enjoyed watching this video then I recommend reading my review of the Lindt Chocolate Studio’s The Art of Macaron making  Masterclass, which I attended and where my passion for perfecting macarons started. You might also enjoy my instructional videos on how to make a  Chocolate Chiffon Cake  and the  Red Velvet Cupcakes  that have become my signature dessert.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway offers sunset special One of the most beautiful sights in the world is definitely catching a sunset. This experience is further enhanced if you are surrounded by the natural beauty of this lovely planet we call home and have a spectacular view. Table Mountain On Tuesday (12 November 2013), my family and I had a delightful experience when we enjoyed a cable car ride to the top of the world’s 7th wonder, Table Mountain, and were fortunate enough to witness a magnificent sunset with perfect weather conditions. It was a fairly warm evening, with no wind. The cable car has a revolving floor so you are indulged with a 360 degree view. We watched the sky change from a pale turquoise through the various hues of yellow, orange, pink and coral to the eventual darkness, which was lit up by the city lights. The view from Table Mountain is absolutely spectacular and reaffirms why it was voted as the 7th wonder of the world. Click here to read the fu

Last night I was privileged to spend my Halloween in the company of the crème de le crème of South African comedy and other VIPs at Kurt Schoonraad’s relaunch of Jou Ma Se Comedy Club at their new venue, The Pumphouse at the V&A Waterfront . Jou Ma Se Comedy Club opens Friday, 1 November  In attendance were Mel Jones , Rob van Vuuren , Stuart Taylor , John Vlismas , Loyiso Gola , Carl Weber , Dalin Oliver , among others. Also mingling with the invited guests was hot new actor-comedian Siv Ngesi whose recent Race Card show at the Baxter won rave reviews and sold out in no time at all. The club is a platform for up-and-coming comedians to entertain alongside the more familiar names and also sometimes hosts international guests. Jou Mas Se Comedy Club officially opens tonight (Friday, 1 November 2013) just next to the Red Shed and behind the Food Market (Old CD Wherehouse/Musica building). They were previously situated, in the now very trendy, Albert Road in Woodstock.

On 1 September I started Yoga. Much like the change in season and its associations with spring-cleaning, renewal and regrowth, it was an opportunity for me to try something new that offered a host of health benefits. Actually, it was suggested to me by Margaret Ellis  from All Over Health . I affectionately call her my blood lady because I’ve been going to her for live blood analysis for about a year now. She is a qualified Reflexologist and Iridologist . A few weeks ago, after she performed iridology on me, which entailed taking a number of high resolution pictures of my eyes at various angles and analysing it, she said to me that I’m vegetative spastic. She keeps reassuring me every time she says this that she’s not insulting me :) What this actually means is that “it’s a disposition of a highly energetic personality, someone who is goal-orientated, driven and prone to overwork and then burnout”. I’ve always just assumed that my go-go-ness was part of who I was and for as long