Hilary Prendini Toffoli and her husband Emilio were at the bar when I arrived. Hilary always looks stylish and Emilio is as warm-hearted and likeable as ever. Martini in hand, Hilary launched her first salvo at me - was it appropriate for me to work in both the journalism and PR industries? The next one came in the form of the suggestion that I'd lost my carefree nature and had become serious. I fired two of my own - saying that I thought the piece she did in Style on Graham Howe and Tim James was unkind and the one in Fair Lady on the two Cape Town food shows pointless. With our guns safely holstered, we enjoyed the remainder of the evening together.

Abigail Donnelly was wearing the most divine pink skirt - raw silk with netting on top while the svelte Justine Drake, there with a new beau, was pretending to everyone she had a fat-roll that needed attention. Martina, resplendent in a black polar neck with redish jacket which she says came from Woolies and I thought looked smashing, held court gracefully.   Amanda and Gavin (she from Top Billing Magazine while he is in the building trade) showed themselves as a trendy well-traveled couple who met in London were sitting opposite me while Chris and Susan (he an Old Mutual statistician and she at Rooi Rose) were on my left. Kate and Hadley from Cape Etc magazine completed the table. Gerard made the point that some of the dishes were extremely popular with the media - many ordered the duck carpaccio to start and most ordered the frog's legs tart. The feeling about that dish was that we would have preferred the meat on the bone. Veal shank with the most divine veal sweetbreads was also popular as, interestingly I thought, was the cheese platter. My choice of endive salad, frog tart, ostrich and poached pear  was less than stunning. I should rather have had the mussels which were amazing and the meringue chocolate tower.

It is a pity that the most delicious thing in the kitchen isn't available on the menu.