Category Archives: Constantia

SA restaurants awarded with stars for the first time in 2022 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards!

 

The Eat Out Restaurant Awards were held for the first time in three years today, an eagerly awaited event, given the impact of the Lockdown on the restaurant industry, and the change in the restaurant awards system, restaurants no longer ranked, but rated with 1, 2 or 3 stars.

It was a surprise to read a year ago that Eat Out would reintroduce its Awards this year, and that Abigail Donnelly was heading up the judging for the awards again, after an absence of a number of years. Continue reading →

Cape Town one of the six top ‘Hot Spots of Summer’ for Germans!

 

Yesterday the German Gala online magazine posted an article about the ‘Hot Spots of Summer’, paired with outfits supplied by LASCANA for each of the six cities on its Hot Spots list.

Cape Town is one of the six Hot Spot Summer destinations on its list.

Continue reading →

Camps Bay hosts first African Padel Tournament, an Olympic-recognised sport!

 

The world’s newest and fastest growing sport Padel, and growing by the minute with 18 million players around the world, is setting the sport world on fire. Hosting the African Padel Tournament on the Camps Bay Sportsfield will create even more interest in the sport.

In Camps Bay the Padel demand is so large that the historic Rotunda at the Bay Hotel has been transformed into a Padel court. The Camps Bay Retreat has transformed its tennis courses into Padel courts.

Padel will be an Olympic sport played at the 2028 Los Angeles Games for the first time. Continue reading →

Sweet Service Award goes to Labotessa Hotel; Sour Service Award goes to Constantia Fruit Truck!

 

The Sweet Service Award goes to Labotessa Hotel and Café and its owner Johan du Plessis, for his continuous generosity in spoiling me when I pop in there for their wonderful Appeltaart or all-Day Breakfast, sitting at their outside tables. It is a wonderful inner-City refuge with friendly Service, a Dutch-inspired interior design, and good food.

Continue reading →

‘Fancy Finnish Food’ a fabulous Finnish Food Feast in Constantia!

 

As a food writer, I do strike it lucky once in a while. One of the highlights of this year’s invitations was that from the Finnish Embassy to attend their ‘Fancy Finnish Food’ Dinner held at the home of the Finnish Honorary Consul Philip Palmgren. The aim of the event was to communicate to South Africans what Finnish cuisine and spirits are all about.

My friend Gary Peterson joined me for this exciting event, which was attended by 26 guests seated at one long table.  We knew no one else, but I did know of Chef Dion Vengatass, a former Chef at the Mount Nelson Hotel.  Continue reading →

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 61 of Level 1, 30 November 2021

 

Tuesday 30 November 2021, Day 61 of Level 1 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#grateful for a fabulous day, warm at 22C; for having a morning meeting cancelled, which gave me uninterrupted time to do my client work today; for a walk to Woolworths to buy fruit; for meeting Gary Peterson at my house and driving through to Stonehurst Estate at Westlake, to the home of the Honorary Consul of Finland, Phillip Palmgren, to attend an evening of ‘Fancy Finnish Food’, hosted Continue reading →

Platter’s announces 2022 award-winning wineries, and cultivar winners!

 

At an event in Stellenbosch on Friday, the new 2022 black-and-gold cover design and a refreshed corporate logo for the Platter’s by Diner’s Club 2022 South African Wine Guide  was presented, the three Award-winning wineries announced, and the Wines of the Year Awards in 28 categories were presented.

This 42nd edition of  the Wine Guide features more than 900 wine producers, merchants, and brands, including 36 new ones, more than 8000 locally produced wines, as well as brandies, husk spirits, and sherry-style wines.

For the first time in eight years the Platter’s Awards were not presented by its Publisher JP Rossouw, who left the publication earlier this year.

Continue reading →

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 28 of Level 1, 28 October 2021.

 

Thursday 28 October 2021, Day 28 of Level 1 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#grateful for making the best of today, with 5 hours of my working day being affected by Loadshedding, using some of it to catch up on sleep, a walk in Bakoven, and shopping at Ultra (looking very different) and Spar (looks like a mini-Ultra when you walk in); for getting my Dinkel rolls and free range eggs; for doing a large part of my writing after the first Loadshedding this morning, at 2h30 😱; for a good meeting for Utopia and Anatoli, with a spoil of biscuits for tea, I joking with my client that they were to celebrate my first anniversary of working on the Utopia Continue reading →

Creation one of three SA wine estates to make the 2021 World’s 50 Best Vineyards, makes 10th Best !

 

In the third year of The World’s 50 Best Vineyards being announced, the 2021 Top 50 Vineyard List includes three South African wine estates.

Creation has made the 10th rank on the list, with Delaire Graff (Rank 30) and Klein Constantia (44th Rank) on the Top 50 List too. Creation jumped dramatically from outside of the Top 50 List in 2020, while Delaire Graff slid dramatically from 14th Best in 2020. Continue reading →

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 24 of Level 3, 19 August 2021

 

Thursday 19 August 2021, Day 24 of Level 3 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#gratitude for a sunny day but only 17C, and a very chilly evening and a strong Southerly wind; for a busy day to catch up on all my admin, not having any meetings today; for walking to Pick n Pay Camps Bay to get an Atlantic Sun, to see the lovely article written by Shahied Joseph, about my litter cleaning in Camps Bay 🙏💙; for a late afternoon Bakoven walk; for my right hip ache of the last few days having gone; for meeting German walkers walking their cat on a lead, a ginger too, so I had to photograph the cat 🙀; and for being happy, healthy and free. 🙏💙 Continue reading →