Tag Archives: Graham Wood

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 30 April

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   A new internationally recognised independent beer tasting competition for our country has been announced, organised by the same team that runs The South African Wine Tasting Championships.  The South African National Beer Trophy will be awarded to winners in various categories, brands to be entered by breweries, micro-breweries, and home brewers. No ciders or meads can be entered.  Entered beers will be blind tasted by a panel in July. Entries open on 1 June. (received via media release from the SA National Beer Trophy)

*   In a joint bid by various bodies in Cape Town and Uganda, the World Conference on Tobacco or Health will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in March 2018, with an expected attendance of 3000 Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 3 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The Mutual & Federal Agri Wellington Wine Route’s ‘Quest for the Best’  is coming to Cape Town tomorrow at the Southern Sun Waterfront Hotel, at the cost of R60.  Wellington wines will be offered for tasting, with the recently selected ‘Quest for the Best’ Top Ten Wines and Top Spirits. (received via Wellington Wine Route newsletter)

*   There are more than 40000 hotel rooms being built in Africa in the next four years, 10% of these in Lagos in Nigeria alone.  No South African city appears on the top hotel room construction list.

*   Retail sales only grew by 1,5% in the past year, and it is the low income shoppers who are shopping less and closer to home.   This has affected retailers at the bottom end Continue reading →

MasterChef SA bomb bursts about Deena Naidoo’s Tsogo Sun MondeVino Restaurant prize!

It was too good to be true. MasterChef SA came to a Grande Finale end earlier this week, and despite questions about the MondoVino restaurant being part of the R 8 million prize package not being answered satisfactorily, everyone accepted M-Net’s word that the winner of MasterChef SA would receive the restaurant.  Ironically the screening of the Finale, with the 18 Finalists present, was held at MondoVino restaurant at the Montecasino Palazzo Hotel on Tuesday evening.  At the ceremony, MasterChef SA winner Deena Naidoo received the ceremonial whisk to represent his prize of winning the restaurant from Graham Wood, MD of Tsogo Sun – Hotels.

Yesterday an explosive article appeared in The Citizen, disputing the prize and its value of R 7 million out of the R8 million package (the balance being R 250000 in cash from Robertsons, a car from Hyundai, a trip to Tuscany from Woolworths, and a course on winetasting by the Sommeliers’ Association of South Africa with a year’s supply of Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve). The article quoted Deena expressing his dissatisfaction with the prize value, saying that he only received a two year usage of the restaurant, and in fact will only be present at it ‘about five times a month’, according to the contract he signed with restaurant owners Tsogo Sun. The restaurant is to be renamed Aarya, after Deena’s daughter, and is currently being refurbished, for re-opening in November.  Deena will add his ‘own flair to the menu and the restaurant would be a reflection of South Africa’, the newspaper reported.

In all the comments made on our blog and on Twitter about Deena, his humility and passion for cooking were praised.  Uncharacteristic therefore was the quote which The Citizen attributed to him in their article: ‘I am not an R8 million man. The perception that I am sitting with that money is unfair and it is time for the public to know this.  I don’t want people to to look at it as if I am this guy sitting with all this cash’. It was also made known that Deena has no intention of moving to Johannesburg, from his home in Durban, saying that despite winning the MasterChef SA title, his family comes first.  He explained that the restaurant’s replacement value is R7 million, and this is how the R8 million prize package was quantified.

M-Net spokesperson Ingrid Engelbrecht denied that they had created a false perception that the MasterChef SA winner would receive his or her own restaurant, countering that Tsogo Sun had made ‘various, flexible options’ available for the winner, depending on where the winner lived, and their personal circumstances. We questioned the feasibility of the restaurant prize for non-Johannesburg residents, and received a similar reply from Ms Engelbrecht in April already:‘Regarding the restaurant prize, Southern Sun is happy to tailor-make the options in order to meet the needs of the winner and to ensure that all parties are happy going forward with this amazing prize. They will take into account factors such as the contestant not being from Johannesburg, having a family and any other obligations, and will assist to whatever degree is necessary’. Ms Engelbrecht is quoted in The Citizen article as saying that the winner of MasterChef SA won the position of Head Chef for a two year period, with a value of R 7 million.  Deena is to receive a percentage of the restaurant’s profits, but will not own its title deed.

Yesterday afternoon we received the media statement from Priya Naidoo, Tsogo Sun’s General Manager: Communication, refuting the explosive article in The Citizen. We publish it in its entirety, and leave it to the reader to decide what’s cooking at the MasterChef SA MondoVino Restaurant at Montecasino in Johannesburg:

‘M-Net and Tsogo Sun refute claims made by the Citizen newspaper today that MasterChef South Africa winner Deena Naidoo is disappointed with his prize package, and that he will not be getting his own restaurant. This is factually incorrect.  The total restaurant prize included (amongst other things) the full-time running and rebranding of the floor space. This arrangement was rent free, for two years. However, M-Net and Tsogo Sun structured the sponsorship to permit the MasterChef winner to choose between various options of participation in the restaurant, knowing that the winner might not be able to take up such a fantastic prize. Deena elected a joint venture operation where he will share in the restaurant profits and partake in the rebranding and relaunch of the restaurant. This will run for two years. This decision was based on the fact that Deena, his wife and children are unable to relocate to Johannesburg at this time.

“I consider myself privileged and am extremely grateful to have won this prize. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Naidoo. “At no point have I ever been disappointed with the arrangement I have with M-Net and Tsogo Sun. In fact, they have been extremely accommodating and flexible and are allowing me the chance to run this restaurant whilst keeping my current job in Durban. Tsogo Sun appreciates that my family comes first. I couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey with them.” M-Net and Tsogo Sun explained the terms and options available to the Top 2 contestants while the series was still being filmed, and all parties were fully aware of what they would be entering into, should they win the prize, which consists of: R250 000 in cash, a brand new car, a trip to Italy and an Italian cooking course, a year’s free supply of wine and a sommelier course, as well as the Tsogo Sun restaurant opportunity.  Naidoo adds, “I never expected to have R8 million in my bank account and any reports that suggest this are simply untrue. I wanted to clear up the misconception that this might be the case, and in the process, it was asserted that I’ve been let down by M-Net and Tsogo Sun. This is inaccurate.”  Naidoo will embark on his restaurant adventure in November’.

The Citizen has written a follow-up story, confirming the accuracy of their article: ‘We reaffirm the accuracy and veracity of the story and would like to express our disappointment with M-Net and Naidoo’s reaction’. The newspaper stated that Deena had provided the information to their journalist, and that she had followed up with him to make sure that he was happy with the quotes attributed to him.

The Cape Argus wrote on Tuesday that ‘the bulk of the R8m prize comprises the anticipated profits from “owning” the restaurant’, quoting Ms Engelbrecht.

A Direct Message to Deena yesterday afternoon via Twitter, requesting guidance as to which story to believe, has not been replied to.  Deena stopped Tweeting altogether after The Citizen article appeared yesterday morning. Whatever the outcome of this furore, the reputation of MasterChef SA, Tsogo Sun, M-Net, the chef judges, and its affiliated sponsors has been severely damaged by The Citizen article.  If Deena did speak to the media, this will have been a major wake-up call to him to deal with the media with kid gloves!

POSTSCRIPT 28/7: Deena Naidoo started Tweeting in the early hours of this morning again, ReTweeting a link to an iol.co.za article.  In the article he discusses the short-term future with his new restaurant: ‘While Mondevino has a strong Italian focus, Naidoo says, when he takes over, that will change. ‘Expect a menu of dishes ranging from pap and tomato gravy to milk tart and even my butter chicken.’ While Durban-born Naidoo said he would have liked to open a restaurant in his home town, this won’t be the case.  “The location was earmarked for various logistical reasons. It is in a vibrant area with huge potential and, as industry leaders, I understand and trust in Tsogo Sun’s reasoning.”  Even though a move to Joburg looks inevitable, he has no plans to uproot his family just yet.  “I’m only thinking about the next three months for now and I will continue working (for Nedbank) and we will continue to stay in Durban,” he said’.

POSTSCRIPT 29/7: Deena Naidoo is quoted in the same iol.co.za article that the MondoVino restaurant will come under his ‘expert hands from November’, which seems inaccurate given that he has never run a restaurant before, and will not be at MondeVino more than 5 times a month.

POSTSCRIPT 29/7: In the Sunday Times today the newspaper reports that Deena Naidoo has not made himself available to the media for clarification of this media furore, as we too have discovered, still awaiting his reply, implying that Deena is now under the strict media control of M-Net’s PR department, one of the prices he will have to pay for having won MasterChef SA.  The newspaper adds that Deena will receive a three month ‘business training’ programme, to teach him Financial, HR and Restaurant management.  An odd sentence, to explain why he would only be at the restaurant five times a month, is: ‘Also, if I start running the place, I will lose the passion that brought me into this competition, and that is to cook‘!  In contrast to media reports earlier this week, Deena is said to have indicated that he will not make drastic changes to the restaurant ‘just to show people that I am there‘!

POSTSCRIPT 30/7: There is another side to Deena Naidoo coming to the fore – from his gentlemanly and humble personality projected on MasterChef SA, he showed defiance when he Tweeted yesterday in reply to a question about cutting corners with the apples in his dessert he prepared in the Finale as follows: ‘instinct told me to do that hate following recipes‘!

POSTSCRIPT 31/7: Channel24 reported today that The Citizen has lodged a complaint with the Broadcast Complaints Commission of South Africa against Talk Radio 702 for describing its MasterChef SA report last week as ‘misleading’ and for M-Net’s Ingrid Engelbrecht calling it ‘very inaccurate‘.  The complaint is based on the code’s requirements that facts must be truthfully presented, that opposing points of view must be presented, and that a right of reply must be offered. The newspaper says that the radio coverage about the newspaper’s report did not meet any of these requirements.

POSTSCRIPT 2/8: Caryn Gootkin, blogger and media writer, has used her legal background to analyse the MasterChef SA prize package, and found various descriptions by M-Net about its MondoVino restaurant prize. The broadcaster’s PR department refused to make the contestant contract available, which we were refused as well.  She introduces the article by saying that the ‘ingredients for a disaster were there from the start‘!  She believes the issue could contravene the Advertising Standards Authority code on trust.

POSTSCRIPT 22/8: Channel 24 reported today that an anonymous person has lodged a complaint of ‘misleading advertising‘ against M-Net for its alleged misrepresentation of the MasterChef SA MondoVino prize at the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).  The ASA has confirmed that the complaint has been lodged, but has not revealed the identity of the complainant.  It is awaiting the response from M-Net’s legal team.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Deena Naidoo wins first MasterChef SA, sizzles at MondeVino Restaurant from November!

The 90 minute special Finale episode of MasterChef South Africa last night was the most tense of all, ending off with the good news that Deena Naidoo has won the title of MasterChef SA, after he and Sue-Ann Allen were put through the tests of a Mystery Box, an Invention Test, and a Pressure Test, in the company of their family and the other 16 Finalists, who were flown in for the final cook-off.

The episode started in Johannesburg, at the Montecasino Palazzo Hotel, where they were shown the Presidential Suite. In the room was an invitation inside a cloche to attend a private dinner at the MondeVino restaurant, one of the prizes of winning the MasterChef SA title.  Sue-Ann looked glamorous and beautifully made up for the dinner.  They were surprised to see the three chef judges Pete Goffe-Wood, Andrew Atkinson, and Benny Masekwameng, dressed in their chef’s uniforms for the first time, and they prepared dinner for the two Finalists.  The starter was a calamari dish, followed by a fillet steak, which was served with Nederburg Shiraz. A chocolate blini was served with seasonal fruit for dessert.

The dinner was an opportunity for flashbacks, to remember the highs and lows of each contestant. Sue-Ann spoke about giving up everything, to become a chef. Her turning point was the 12 hour Pressure Test which she did with Ilse Fourie and Khaya Silingile. For her the high point was being announced as one of the final two. Deena said his lowest point was the food and wine pairing, and he regretted that he had not ‘researched liquor and pairings’, he said.  The chocolate mousse cake was another challenge, and he was close to giving up, when a ‘wave of energy came over me‘.  His highlight was meeting Chef Michel Roux Jnr, and receiving the fantastic accolade from him, when he said that Deena’s attention to detail would make a professional of him.  Sue-Ann was said to have fought ‘tooth and nail‘, Chef Benny saying that ‘whoever wants this most will be King or Queen of this place’. Chef Benny was the chef at MondeVino before he became a MasterChef SA judge, and now is one of the Executive Chefs of Tsogo Sun, responsible for the restaurants in the hotel group.  Deena said the dinner was a defining moment in his life.

Returning to the MasterChef SA kitchen at Nederburg, the 16 eliminated Finalists met up with Deena and Sue-Ann, to support them, and to be present for the announcement of the winner. Deena’s wife Kathy, his stepson and his sister came too, while Sue-Ann’s mom Gail, her sister, and best friend Lauren also attended. Finalist Fortune Kangueehi commented that it was like a ‘family reunion‘.  The Finalists were reminded that the MasterChef SA prize package to the value of R8 million is the biggest in the history of reality TV in South Africa. Sue-Ann was described as the ‘Queen of Pressure Tests’ by Chef Pete.

All work stations but two had been removed from the MasterChef SA kitchen, and were positioned so that Sue-Ann and Deena faced each other, Sue-Ann jokingly saying that they would have to take out their boxing gloves. The day started off with a Mystery Box, from which they had to prepare ‘an incredible dish with the most exciting Mystery Box ever’, within one hour. A beautiful box contained Fairview Chevin cheese with baby winter vegetables, such as radishes, endives, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, and blue potatoes. Deena said that he would use as many of the vegetables as possible, to serve them with oven roasted root vegetable and a parsnip purée, whereas Sue-Ann chose those that she likes to eat best, making a beetroot and goat’s cheese samoosa served with ribbons of crispy fried vegetables and a herb mayonnaise.  She prayed that her mayonnaise would emulsify, which it did. Sue-Ann made more portions than required, something she had learnt whilst being on MasterChef SA. Deena was criticised by the judges for having ‘no coherent idea’, and for wanting to serve a starter with a combination of hot and cold items.  Both contestants finished within time, and Deena started ‘fiddling’, by adding additional items, being warned by his colleagues looking from above that he should stop. Thys Hattingh summarised the dishes of the two Finalists, Sue-Ann being ‘less is more’ and Deena focusing on ‘extravagance‘. Deena’s starter was praised for his texture being ‘spot on’, said Chef Andrew, but Chef Pete asked ‘what on earth the raw radishes are doing on the plate‘. His cutting skills were praised. Sue-Ann’s starter was praised for its ‘neat presentation’ by Chef Andrew, with good colours, being simplistic, and ‘an uplifting chive mayonnaise‘. Chef Benny said the samoosa had ‘an absolutely perfect taste‘,  but that her vegetables were overcooked.

The Invention Test was a ‘proudly South Africa‘ one, and they were tasked to show what they had learnt while at MasterChef SA. Deena said that he would make the ‘meal of his life’.  Sue-Ann chose to make a poached fillet of beef with shelled peas. Deena made a coriander crusted lamb loin with spinach bhaji. Chef Andrew questioned Deena’s mix of citrus juice and spices.  It looked like he would run behind on time in getting his lamb loin prepared, but recovered.  Manisha Naidu commented that Sue-Ann always does ‘minimalist plates’.  Sue-Ann said that she was happy with her dish, but felt that she could have done more. Chef Benny said her main course was ‘simple sophistication’. Chef Pete praised her fillet, but said her mushrooms were bland. Chef Andrew said that her dish had a delicate flavour, and said it ‘was very well done‘.  Deena’s dish was criticised for having a ‘very brown presentation’, and that it had a lot of lamb on the plate.  Chef Pete liked the coriander and cumin, Chef Benny praised the light batter but criticising the potatoes. Chef Andrew was critical of the citrus glaze, saying that it overpowered the lamb loin. But the lamb itself was deemed perfect.  Overall the ‘marriage’ of the elements did not work in Deena’s dish, the judges said, and the taste of Sue-Ann’s dish did not live up to its presentation promise.

The Pressure Test was the toughest ever, being a Deconstructed Milk Tart with ‘apple moes‘, apple gel, and a spun sugar spiral. Sue-Ann blew Deena kisses for good luck.  Despite being reminded that exact ingredients and temperature in a recipe must be followed, Deena cut out the core of the apples and peeled them, and halved the quantity, to save time.  This was a problem, said the judges and some of the other Finalists, as the pectin in the skin and pips is needed for the gel.  It also affected the blending of his apples for the mousse.  Disaster struck for Sue-Ann when her pastry burnt and her sugar had darkened, she calmly saying that she would remake both, but she could not make the spun sugar spiral as she used a spoon with crystallised sugar on it, which affected her second batch of sugar, Thys explained.  Deena had never made spun sugarwork before, and made a relatively good attempt at it.  He prayed whilst making the sponge.  Deena was criticised by Chef Andrew for not sticking to the recipe, and for his ‘rustic apple mousse’. Chef Pete praised the consistency of the cooked pastry and the smooth custard. His milktart was described as ‘creamy smooth‘ and ‘delicious’ by Chef Benny, but he had only made half the spun sugar.  He was told that it was a close resemblance to Chef Benny’s dish.  Sue-Ann’s biggest weakness was the missing sugar spiral. She was praised by Chef Pete for the attractive look of the dish, also looking like Chef Benny’s, said Chef Pete, but her custard was undercooked. Chef Benny said that the pastry was flaky, and had the right colour and tight crispiness.  Chef Andrew added that the apple mousse was ‘superb‘.  It was disappointing that the very last dish cooked by the two Finalists, for such a big title and prize, had unforgivable errors, which could have led to both being eliminated in previous episodes, and the reality TV series ended on this note of imperfection.

Recapping the three dishes prepared by Sue-Ann and Deena, and highlighting that they had survived 30 challenges throughout the MasterChef SA series, beating the best amateur cooks in the country, it was announced that Deena had won the right to carry the first MasterChef title in South Africa.  It must have been a close call for the judges to make the decision, as both Finalists appeared to make an equal number of errors throughout the episode.  Deena appeared in fewer Pressure Tests than Sue-Ann, however.

Tsogo Sun sent out a media release shorty before midnight last night, announcing that it had signed a two year contract with Deena Naidoo, commencing at MondeVino restaurant at SunSquare Montecasino Hotel in November. ‘The restaurant concept will be a testament to Deena’s passion and love for food combined with our knowledge and expertise’, said Graham Wood, Managing Director of Tsogo Sun – Hotels. He added that Chef Benny will ‘be on hand to guide and support Deena’.

We wish all MasterChef SA Finalists all the best in their future careers, and look forward to Season 2, which is speculated to be on the cards for 2013. Tuesday evenings without MasterChef SA won’t be the same for a long time to come!

POSTSCRIPT 25/7:  Tsogo Sun’s PR agency has clarified the changes that are to be made at MondoVino Restaurant, which they hinted at in their media release: ‘It is an existing restaurant but it will be re-launched with a new menu in November and redone accordingly to Deena’s wishes’.

POSTSCRIPT 25/7: In an interview on Kfm, Sue-Ann Allen has hinted that she will be doing training with Chef Peter Tempelhoff at The Greenhouse, Constantia Hohenhort Hotel.  Alternatively, it may be with Chef Luke Dale-Roberts at The Test Kitchen.  A series of cookbooks is also on the cards, the Cape Argus reported earlier this week.

POSTSCRIPT 28/7:  A bomb burst yesterday, when The Citizen reported Deena Naidoo’s alleged dissatisfaction with the misrepresentation of the Tsogo Sun MondoVino restaurant prize, which was subsequently denied by M-Net and Tsogo Sun, quoting Deena too!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage