Chef Liam Tomlin is a doyen of the restaurant industry in the Cape, owning Chefs Warehouses in Franschhoek, Constantia and at Tintswalo, as well as Thali.
Tuesday 15 March 2022, Day 166 of Level 1 😷
Corona Lockdown Gratitude 🙏
#grateful for getting home safely, after 12 hours on the road from Plett to Cape Town; for a last breakfast at The Grand, granola with fruit and yoghurt, and scrambled egg and Avo; for filling up the car and testing tyres and oil at Shell Plett; for the morning drive until Swellendam going smoothly with little traffic, and roadworks only just before the town; for a much better lunch at Grace & Merci in Swellendam today compared to the one at Old Gaol five days ago, closed as we drove past today, I suspecting that ‘In die Sop’ may be doing an image and menu overhaul for the restaurant; for our Continue reading →
Monday 24 January 2022, Day 116 of level 1 😷
Corona Lockdown Gratitude 🙏
#grateful for a relatively cooler day, with a South Easter blustering this afternoon; for a very busy writing morning, posting for clients and a newsletter deadline coming up; for my visit to the dentist to remove a broken implant turning out to be better than I feared, he not getting the implant out but able to add a new one as well as a new bridge, without any pain, and no bill; for a scrambled egg and toast treat at the WCafe at the Waterfront, both the egg and service not being as good as usual 😱; for Continue reading →
Friday 5 November 2021, Day 36 of Level 1 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#grateful for a special day, having to get up early to work, to do what I needed to do in a short working morning; for organizing balloons for Zest Chef Pavel’s birthday today, also celebrating that his Instagram account reached 1000 followers today, a year after I opened the account for him; for Patso Ivanov and I taking Chef Pavel to Lunch at Homespun by Matt Schreuder at the Andros Hotel in Claremont, only having 2 hours for the lunch, just enough time for the three course menu, joined by Chef Matt at the end of our lunch, comparing notes about opening a new restaurant during Continue reading →
Thursday 15 July 2021, Day 18 of Level 4 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#grateful for a beautiful day, feeling like summer at 17C, wearing shorts and a sleeveless top on my midday walk; for an uninterrupted sleep last night 🙏; for packing in a lot of writing and client work this morning, preparing for two Status meetings this afternoon; for my Dinkel poppyseed rolls being ready for me; for meeting a wonderful Facebook Friend Celia Mauerberger for the first time, who is so kind, supporting my Facebook Stories in the early hours of the day, at Frosted in Sea Point, where they make delicious cupcakes ❤️❤️❤️; for making myself the most cosy bed with a second duvet Continue reading →
Wednesday 24 February 2021, Day 61 of Level 3 Adjusted, Day 336 of Lockdown 😷.
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Gratitude for a lovely sunny day, but with a strong wind blowing now; for an organized writing morning and meeting preparation; for Minsky returning home at 8h00 this morning after galavanting for 12 hours, being very worried about her and sleeping very badly; for a very quick walk through Bakoven and its lanes, too short a walk to make any impact with Discovery; for returning to Labotessa Café which I discovered last week, having a breakfast lunch; for a good first Status meeting at Anatoli; for a meeting with Juanita Levetan, a member of the Sea Point, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay Ratepayers & Residents Association, exchanging experiences about cleaning litter in Sea Point and Camps Bay; for a partly nerve-wracking Live Cook Channel cooking of pan-roasted prawns and hake, with linguine and a fennel crème, designed by Chef Reuben Riffel; for topping up petrol at BP President on Regent Road, only needing a third of a tank added, happy that Michael was on duty, a fabulous petrol attendant; for two Discovery Gameboard plays, one generating 500 points, and a total of 675 between the two, allowing me to buy a Woolies R100 voucher; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →
Thursday 18 February 2021, Day 54 of Level 3 Adjusted, Day 330 of Lockdown 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Grateful for a very good food day; for getting my writing done before 10h00, attending a meeting with Councillor Nicola Jowell, Imtiaz, and Xolani Ngqakayi , City of Cape Town Head of Cleansing for an area which includes Camps Bay, long overdue; for a croissant treat at Firefly Café, and doing one Camps Bay walk; for my Mohnbrötchen waiting for me at Dinkel Bakery; for a very good Status meeting with my client, it feeling like ages since we had last seen each other, but it was just four days; for an amazing new food discovery, Parliament Street becoming a new food lane 💙; for another Camps Bay walk; and for being happy and healthy 🙏💙 Continue reading →
The Sweet Service Award goes to the Twelve Apostles Hotel, and its F & B Manager Hilton Ruch. On my way home from dancing at Constantia Nek recently, I stopped by at their Café for a dry cappuccino. Not expecting Hilton to be at work after 22h00, I asked one of the staff to pass on my regards to him. She told me he was still at work, and called him. He chatted, and told me about their new Vegan High Tea, a first in Cape Town it would seem, as well as other news. The dry cappuccino was perfectly made, and they have marshmallows too, a weakness. When I requested the bill, I was told that Hilton had taken care of it,
Continue reading →
Last week I was at Chinchilla Rooftop Café & Bar three times, for coffee, for lunch, and for a cocktail, not having been there since its opening (with Bilboa sister restaurant) in November. Continue reading →
The Sweet Service Award goes to Exclusive Books Café in the V & A Waterfront, and its barista Gugu Gumede. I was deciding between two books by the same author, and sat at one of the Café tables to do so. Gugu appeared with a dry cappuccino, perfectly made, without taking my order, remembering from a previous visit how I love my cappuccino. I only visit the Café infrequently, and have rarely had good service there in the past, making Gugu’s proactive service even more remarkable! I bought both books in the end! Continue reading →