Category Archives: Whale Cottage Portfolio

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 19 of Level 4, 19 May 2020.

 

Tuesday 19 May 2020, Day 19 of Level 4, after 35 days at Level 5 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for another beautiful day, without any clouds to block the sun, feeling much warmer than the 20C forecast; for a very long sleep last night; for a warm Exercise Time, slightly busier, walking up to Clifton 2nd Beach, my heart exertion not being as good as on the previous days, as I had to keep picking up litter, there was so much of it en route today; for the luck of being gifted two Maison J croissants, it being their first day of selling them again; for the even greater luck of crossing the road from Maison J to almost bump into #eyecandy, then walking back home together, he living just down the road from me 😳🙃; for finally facing the last filing which I’ve been looking at and ignoring… until today, throwing away old notes and notebooks filled with restaurant reviews, and organizing financial files; for loving dancing to Kfm 💃; for the prospect of being able to first foster and than adopt a little girl kitty Minsky after Lockdown ends, if I am approved 🐱, with huge thanks to Michele Antelme for seeing this on a DARG post; for rearranging my terrace, a new beginning of sitting and writing outside; for an excellent weekly report by FitBit, with 126000 steps and 90 km, and a new Lockdown record of an average of 18000 steps and 13 km per day this past week; and for feeling happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →

How safe will it be to eat at restaurants again after the COVID-19 Lockdown is lifted?

 

 

Other countries are ahead of us in terms of timing, in being allowed to serve meals in restaurants again. How restaurants will amend their food offering and service will depend in part on the law of the country/state concerned, and the hygiene expectations of restaurant patrons.

After weeks of home-cooking, and tasting the first luxury of Restaurant Food Delivery to  Homes, will locals still want to return to restaurants? This question can only be answered if restaurants reassure their patrons that the strictest hygiene protocols are being adhered to.

New York Times Restaurant Critic Pete Wells wrote an article last week, about the safety of restaurants, and how the perception around food and hygiene safety will influence patrons supporting restaurants in general, and individual ones in particular.  As it contains pointers for restaurants around the world, all having been in the same COVID-19 boat, I have posted it in full below:

 

‘Restaurants are slowly returning in many states. Just because you can eat out again, though, does not mean that you should. And if you decide to go back before the virus is under control, it will not necessarily be clear which dining rooms are safest.

Continue reading →

Africa and The Test Kitchen scrapes back onto 2018 World’s 50 Best Restaurant List!

After a year of not having an African restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, The Test Kitchen In Cape Town has done our continent proud in scraping in at number 50 at the gala awards ceremony held in Bilboa in Spain this evening. The restaurant was praised for its emphasis on waterless cooking, giving the water scarcity in Cape Town. Last year the restaurant fell to 63rd position, when its arrogance in charging astronomically for lunch service, and for the presence of Chef Luke Dale-Roberts, led to its downfall. 

La Colombe made it onto the 51 -100 List, at number 73 last year, but has fallen right off the list this year, a karmic reaction to its involvement in restaurant politics, which was already evident in its slide at the Eat Out Awards in November last year.  Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Mirazur French foraging restaurant in Menton, 6th World’s 50 Best Restaurant, Michelin 2-star!

A visit to Europe became more exciting when I decided to add a visit to France, dining at one Michelin star JAN restaurant in Nice, and continuing my World’s 50 Best Restaurants journey, eating at Mirazur in Menton (6th best), and at L’Arpège (19th best) and Septime (50th best) in Paris. Mirazur is the most highly ranked French restaurant, and has two Michelin stars. Mirazur means ‘look at the blue sea’. Last year I ate at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in New York, and in London.  Continue reading →

Melissa’s Sweet Service and iFix Sour Service Awards!

imageThe Sweet Service Award goes to Melissa’s in the V & A Waterfront, and its new franchisee owner Matthews Mazibuko, who comped the ice coffee I ordered as it had not been correctly made (I have one almost every day at the Kloof Street branch) and also had it remade, so that he too could see what it should look like. I was at the outlet to while-away time while my phone was being repaired at iFix (see below). He has only been in the store since the beginning of Continue reading →

Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Awards Gala Lunch chefs announced!

imageEat Out has announced which chefs will be cooking at its Top 10 Restaurant Gala Lunch on 15 November, when the country’s Top 10 chefs will be announced at Mistico Equestrian Centre outside Paarl.

In the past all chefs invited to cook were seen to be sure winners,  When this became so predictable, half the chefs cooking were awarded Top 10 status, while the other half were Top 20 Finalists who did not make it to Top 10. This year Eat Out has Continue reading →

25th Veritas Awards crown KWV as 2015 king of the wine industry!

imageLast night KWV was crowned as the king of the wine industry for the fifth year running, winning 5 Double Gold and 9 Gold Awards for its wines, more than any other winemaker. Nederburg (2 Double Golds and 11 Gold Awards) and Spier (2 Double Golds and 8 Gold Awards) followed in second and third place, respectively, awarded at one of the highlights of the wine industry, a function attended by about 400 wine industry staff and media, with their partners. Kanonkop won the Best Performance by Entry title for 10 wines or fewer entered, while KWV won the title for more than 10 wines entered.  A total of 57 Double Gold, 157 Gold, 473 Silver, and 662 Bronze medals was awarded.  A mix of local and international judges evaluated the entries.

Not only were the wines with their winemakers and related staff celebrated, so too was the 25th anniversary of the Veritas Awards. The highlight of the evening for me was seeing how many women Continue reading →

Gumtree Sweet Service and City of Cape Town Sour Service Awards!

imageThe Sweet Service Award goes to Gumtree, the website that allows one to advertise furniture, electronic equipment, and a myriad of other products and services for free, with immediate reaction and action. We have advertised a number of furniture items in the past two days, and the response has been phenomenal.  We have met such lovely ‘shoppers’, one of them being a reader of our Blog, and have been touched about how kind the shoppers have been to help each other in loading fridges, beds, headboards, and other items. Continue reading →

21st Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc vintage launched!

Hamilton Ruell Right 2015We have had a very soft spot for Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage at our Whale Cottages, the Hamilton Russell second brand suiting our guest house perfectly. It was one of the first wines we added to our wine list (joined by Creation’s Whale Pod more recently) when we opened our first Whale Cottage in Hermanus 19 years ago.

The Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc 2015 has just been launched, its 21st vintage. The wine has won ‘Best Value’ five times in Wine Spectator. It has complexity, depth, dry minerality, and ‘age-worthiness we are proud of’, explains the media release received from Hamilton Russell.

The Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc is unique in that : Continue reading →