In Singapore today The Test Kitchen moved from 50th position last year to number 44 on the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, and was recognised as the Best in Africa. Mirazur in Menton was named the World’s 50 Best top restaurant, not without controversy surrounding a significant change in the rules regarding the top spot this year. The 18th ‘truly global’ ceremony of the Awards was women-dominated, to make up for their past under-representation. Continue reading →
Category Archives: France
Michelin-star JAN restaurant gets a younger brother, KLEIN JAN to open at Tswalu Kalahari; to open JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town!
Fresh from the Easter weekend break, Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen made a dramatic announcement yesterday, introducing a new KLEIN JAN restaurant, to be established at Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve, as well as a JAN Innovation Studio, set to open in Cape Town. Continue reading →
Chef Kevin Grobler does full career circle, returns to Delaire Graff!
In 2015 I met Chef Kevin Grobler at JAN Restaurant in Nice, the now one Michelin star restaurant, a week after he had started working in South Afrca’s Best South African cuisine restaurant. He had left Delaire Graff Restaurant to join dynamic and creative Chef Jan-Hendrik at JAN, and last week he went full circle, in starting at Delaire Graff as Head Chef again. Continue reading →
JAN the JOURNAL Vol 2 2018: Honours timelessness, feasting, KZN, and Nice, is more commercial than before!
JAN the JOURNAL has published its second volume of 2018, just before the year closed. It has taken me almost two months to look at it after buying a copy at Woolworths, the 297 page manuscript of The Jan Hendrik Group (PTY) Limited being more than intimidating in thickness, and time required to do it justice in reading it. Despite having an editor for the publication, one wonders how Chef Jan-Hendrik manages to find the time to collate such a heavy-weight Journal in his role as Editor-in-Chief, given his commitment as chef to his one Michelin star restaurant JAN in Nice, and his regular trips to Cape Town and SA. Continue reading →
SA Top restaurant JAN in Nice receives one Michelin star accolade in France for the fourth year running!
JAN Restaurant is our country’s best restaurant, despite it being based in Nice, not only in serving traditional South African dishes in fine din8ng style, but also in being the only South African Michelin-star restaurant. Yesterday JAN Restaurant received one Michelin star for the fourth year running! Continue reading →
Restaurant Review: Café Paris not French at all, other than a poster of the Eiffel Tower!
A very recent restaurant opening is that of Café Paris in Green Point, a space I was watching being transformed when I drove past on Main Road. As my friend from Paris is visiting again, we decided to give it a try for a late breakfast/brunch yesterday. Continue reading →
Is Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient SA’s joint Best Restaurant with The Test Kitchen, despite their ranking drop at the Eat Out Awards 2018?!
The Eat Out judges have a hard time in deciding on the ranking of our country’s top restaurants, especially when our top restaurants are increasingly performing on international restaurant list rankings! This year they seemed to markedly not have considered the top performance of two internationally crowned SA restaurants, The Test Kitchen, and even more so, Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient outside Pretoria. Both these restaurants have just made the prestigious 2019 Top 200 of the La Liste international Top 1000 restaurant List, rubbing shoulders with the world’s top chefs. Continue reading →
JAN the Journal volume 1 takes food lovers on a journey, in SA and to Italy!
Whilst I wrote SwitchBitch Book 2 in Apricale in Italy earlier this year, I saw JAN the Journal Volume 1 lying in the Apricus Locanda B & B. I was intrigued by its look and feel, and content, knowing Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen, Chef and owner of one star Michelin restaurant JAN in Nice, to be highly creative and meticulous in what he does. Continue reading →
SwitchBitch Book 2 ‘My Journey of Transformation in walking the Camino, Sole to Soul’ my best 18th birthday present!
Earlier this year I published SwitchBitch Book 1, ‘My journey of transformation from Sour to Sweet’, documenting my physical transformation in losing 45 kg in changing my eating habits, and in expressing my love for dancing.
SwitchBitch Book 2 ‘My Journey of Transformation in walking the Camino, Sole to Soul’ follows in its footsteps, pardon the pun, having walked the Camino in Spain, and documents my journey on this three-week journey. The book also shares further transformational changes since SwitchBitch Book 1 was published in January this year.
Launching my second book this year, celebrating it today with my very special friends, some even flying in from Paris and London, is my best 18th birthday present. Continue reading →
Restaurant Review: Victoire Boulangerie, Pâtisserie, and Bistro brings France to Cape Town!
It was at a dinner with Katie Friedman of Urban Lime that I heard about the opening of Victoire, a French Boulangerie, Pâtisserie, and Bistro in the newly redeveloped Speakers’ Corner building on Church Square in Cape Town. I attended the opening, as well as had breakfast at Victoire the following day. Continue reading →