Last Friday my French housemate and I went to eat lunch at Osteria Tarantino, the tiniest Italian restaurant in Cape Town, seating no more than 32 pax inside and outside. We had both wanted to try it, based on word of mouth, but were disappointed with our experience, and found it to be exceptionally expensive. I question whether any of the dishes are freshly made for diners. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Burrata
Chef Jenny Morris launches Yumcious Café in Durbanville! Exciting Tourism news from James Vos, Shadow Minister of Tourism!
Yesterday I attended the launch of Yumcious Café in the DeVille Centre in Durbanville, the second restaurant of Chef Jenny Morris, her first one being the very successful Yumcious Café in the Cape Quarter. Continue reading →
Giulio’s Café opens for Dinner on Thursdays and Fridays, launches fabulous new Summer Dinner Menu!
Last Thursday I was one of a number of writers who was invited to attend the Summer Dinner launch at Giulio’s Café, the restaurant opening for dinner trade for the first time, on Thursday and Sunday evenings. Continue reading →
Pierino Penati Ristorante at Villa 47: Michelin-star link, Cape Town’s best fine dining restaurant now open!
Cape Town’s first Michelin-star linked restaurant has opened on the third floor at Villa 47. Pierino Penati Ristorante at Villa 47 is the sister restaurant to the one-star Michelin restaurant Pierino Penati, established seventy years ago in Brianza close to Milan in Italy. It raises the bar of fine dining in our city, and is now the best fine dining restaurant in Cape Town! Continue reading →
A salute and toast to 2016: the best year ever!
I have rarely written about personal matters on my Blog. I am also long past formulating New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of a year. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine that the universe would present me with a year of years in 2016, to top any I have ever experienced! Continue reading →
Groot Constantia best-scoring 2016 WineMag Bordeaux-style red blend!
Gareth Ferreira first South African Sommelier of the Year!
Yesterday South African sommelier Gareth Ferreira of 67 Pall Mall in London was named as the winner of the first South African Sommelier Association Sommelier of the Year competition. He won against ten nominees, Continue reading →
Rossouw’s Restaurants confirms dominance of Western Cape restaurants in new 2016 Restaurant Guide!
It was a surprise that the Rossouw’s by Diners Club International 2016 South African Restaurant Guide was launched on such a low-key level at the Platter’s Wine Guide launch in Cape Town on Thursday evening. They might wish that they hadn’t launched it at all!
Publishing Editor JP Rossouw showed us the cover of the book briefly when he revealed the new blue cover of the 2016 Platter’s Wine Guide. That was it! Last year the Restaurant Guide (with twenty 5-star restaurants then) was surprisingly Continue reading →
Diners Club Winelist Awards 2015: Western Cape participation sharply down!
The participation by restaurants in the Western Cape in the Diners Club Winelist Awards 2015 is a shock, declining from 80 restaurants in 2014 (already a decrease from 96 in 2013) to 65 restaurants this year! Diners Club will have to find a solution to the declining interest in its Winelist Awards.
The Diners Club Winelist Awards acknowledge restaurants which take pride and interest in their winelists, and how the wines match the food Continue reading →
‘Chefs who Share – the ART of Giving’ raises R6 million in 3 years! Young Chef of Year 2015 crowned!
The 3rd ‘Chefs who Share – the ART of Giving’ Gala Dinner, held in the City Hall on Thursday evening, raised close to R2 million for two charities, bringing the total raised to R6 million in the past three years. It also crowned the first ever ‘Chefs who Share’ Young Chef of the Year.
The ‘Chefs who Share – the ART of Giving’ idea was conceptualised by Opulent Living co-owner Barbara Lenhard (who looked very glamorous) with Chefs Rudi Liebenberg and Bertus Basson, all 14 leading participating chefs as well as 7 sommeliers giving their time and expertise for the Gala Dinner at no charge. In the past two 
years R4 million net has already been raised through the last two Chefs who Share events. The monies raised from ticket sales (at R3000 a head and sold out on the same day as tickets went on sale), as well as from the Auction benefit Make a Difference Leadership Foundation and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Without the support of main sponsor Mercedes-Benz the event could not have been held in the past three years. Swiss International Air Line was also acknowledged for its sponsorship, bringing Chef Reto Mathis to Cape Town, and taking the winning Young Chef of the Year to Europe.
The chefs were paired as follows, each of them having one top Sommelier, and one Young Chef of the Year Finalist as an assistant too: Continue reading →