09 Jul 2018 | By Sun International
The Table Bay celebrates the humble sugar cookie
A stickler for tradition and all things delicious, The Table Bay pays homage to the humble sugar cookie. For Sugar Cookie Day on 9 July, a platter adorned with seal-shaped sugar cookies takes pride of place in the hotel’s lobby inviting guests to share in the delight of the sugar cookie celebration.
“Of all the cookies in the world, the sugar cookie might be the simplest yet we think it is the most delicious. Synonymous with family and holiday baking, the sugar cookie in any shape or form is part of everyone’s history"
“A sprinkle here or some icing there, this unassuming treat can be styled to grace the plates and tables of almost every occasion. For Sugar Cookie Day, our humble sugar cookies take the shape of Oscar the Cape Fur Seal. His story is intertwined with the history of The Table Bay,” says Sarah Prins, Public Relations manager at The Table Bay."
The origins of the sugar cookie stem back to the 1700s in Nazareth Pennsylvania in the USA. It was there that the German Protestant settlers first created the round, crumbly and buttery cookie that became known as the Nazareth Cookie. This biscuit was unleavened and could be stored for many months after it was dried. The Nazarene Sugar Cookie was later adopted as the official cookie of the Commonwealth in the House Bill of 1892. Sugar Cookie Day is celebrated on the 9th of July annually. Observers bake, decorate, enjoy and share sugar cookies in an array of sizes, shapes and forms.
The Table Bay’s sugar cookies are in the shape of The shape of Oscar the Cape Fur Seal whose statue at welcomes guests at the entrance of the hotel. Oscar’s statue is more than a testament to the Cape Fur Seal - an integral part of harbour life at the V&A Waterfront. In fact, his story is the stuff of legends. Oscar was named after the kindhearted fisherman with whom the seal shared an unlikely friendship. The two would meet every day on the pier near The Table Bay. After the fisherman’s passing, Oscar continued to visit members of the hotel’s opening team during the construction. He is fondly remembered as the “Original Protector and guardian of The Table Bay”. His pups still visit the hotel’s jetty to bask in the sun and are popular photographic attraction. The legend of Oscar the Cape Fur Seal, his friendship with the fisherman and how his golden statue came to be at the entrance to the hotel has been beautifully told in a book, Oscar!, by award winning photographer and publisher, Marc Hoberman.