Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Chapman’s Peak has re-opened, while  the Franschhoek Pass remains closed, reports Kfm News. (update: The Franschhoek Pass was re-opened today)

*   Signal Hill in Cape Town may have a controlled access system between 22h00 and 5h00, to control crime during the evening.

*   The 2013 Sustainable Tourism Marketing Guide is about to be published, co-sponsored by Cape Town Tourism.

*   Travelers in the UK, USA, and Australia use a mix of e-mails (for reminders), mobile apps, and online (to make bookings) before, during, and after their holiday. Surprising is that 70% switch off whilst on holiday, especially the UK tourists.  Most of those sharing their holiday information and photographs do so when they return from their holiday.

*   BA is introducing more flights between Cape Town and London for the summer season, and will add the A380 to the Johannesburg route from 12 February. More flights to other African destinations are planned, and its facilities at Heathrow for passengers flying to our country will be upgraded to Terminal 5 standard.

*   SA National Parks is offering local residents free entrance to any of their parks between 9 and 13 September, with the exception of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Boulders, and Namaqua National.

*   Chef Craig Cormack will host a monthly four course Fleur du Cap Unfiltered wine and artisanal salt dinner at Fleur du Cap, on the last Friday of every month, commencing on 27 September.  Dishes served are prawn gumbo, margarita sorbet, steak, egg and chips, and blancmange topped with chili syrup and a pinch of black lava salt. (via media release from GC Communications)

*   Exciting restaurant news is the opening in two weeks of The Restaurant at Newton Johnson in Hermanus, a town not well endowed with good restaurants, with Chef Eric Bulpitt at the helm.  The restaurant was previously called ‘Heaven’, and has undergone extensive renovations in preparation for the new restaurant. An open fire for cooking has been built. Patrons can book a seat at the chef’s table for ten guests, or a table overlooking the Hemel-and-Aarde valley and Walker Bay. Chef Eric worked with George Jardine, his mentor and financier in this new venture, at Jardine’s, before moving to The Roundhouse. The ‘land to table‘ menu will change regularly. Eric believes in supporting the local community of farmers and small organic producers, and he himself was one of the first foraging chefs in the Cape, long before it became trendy! The planned opening of the restaurant appears to have caused quite a stir on the Hermanus Wine Route, probably upping the game of all the restaurants on the Route! (via media release from the restaurant)

*   The Robertson Wine on the River will be held alongside the Breede River from 18 – 20 October on the Goudmyn farm, on the R317 between Robertson and Bonnievale.  More than 300 wines from over 40 wineries will be available to taste.   There will be food stalls, tutored Chardonnay tastings, and a Farmer’s Market. (via media release from Hazell PR and Wine Consultants)

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage