KwaZulu-Natal |

It’s an Eat Out week, with the restaurant guide announcing not only its Top 30 Restaurant nominations for 2018, but also celebrating the top Everyday Eateries for the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal. Generally most would find the Eat Out Everyday Eatery choices to be acceptable, but could question why in some categories restaurants were not awarded. (more…)

Tags: 9th Avenue Bistro, A Tavola, Active Sushi, Afro-Boer, Asian, Avontuur, Best African, Best Foodtruck, Best Mexican, Best Tapas, Bistro, Boston Coffee, cape Rown, Chef's Warehouse, Cheyne Morrisby, Chris von Ulmenstein, David Higgs, Eat Out Everyday Eatery Awards 2018, farro, Gauteng, Gemelli, Giulio's Cafe, Indian, Italian, Jerry's Burger Bar, Johannesburg, Karoo Art Hotel, KwaZulu-Natal, Kyoto, la Coco C, Liam Tomlin, Marigold, Momo Soko, Norval Foundation, ons Huisegenoit, pajamas & jam, Phil de Villiers, Rare Grill, saint, seabreeze, seafood, SHIO, Skotnes, Somerset West, Terbodore, the Great Eastern Food Bar, the green peppercorn, the Indian Chapter with Prim reddy, The Local Grill, Urbanologi, Vanie Padayachee, Western Cape, WhaleTales blog, Wood & Fire

Last year I visited Hartford House for the first time, better known to me over the years as the leading award-winning restaurant in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) when it was headed up by Chef Jackie Cameron. I found a young passionate chef in Constantijn Hahndiek, and an excellently run boutique hotel by GM Duncan Bruce. On my return visit this month, I found that the bar had been raised even higher at Hartford House.

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Tags: Cheryl Goss, Chris von Ulmenstein, Constantijn Hahndiek, Dave King, Duncan Bruce, Eat Out Top 20 Restaurants, Enaleni, Francois van Zyl, Gaynor King, Hartford House, High Tea, Jackie Cameron, KwaZulu-Natal, Laibach, Mick Goss, Richard Haigh, rosemary Dimitriades, The Farmer's Daughter, The gourmet greek, The Ladybird, Tijn Hahndiek, Tijnhuis Tea House

Recently Penguin Random Struik had a copy of Chef Jackie Cameron’s new ‘Baking with Jackie Cameron’ Baking book delivered to my home, jam-packed with 80 recipes of her favorite cakes, puddings, pies, and desserts. (more…)

Tags: Anna Trapido, Baking with Jackie Cameron, Chris von Ulmenstein, Christina Martin's school of food and wine, Ckking at home with Jackie Cameron, Hilton, Jackie Cameron, Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine, KwaZulu-Natal, KZN, penguin random Struik, WhaleTales blog

Despite the weaker Rand, international tourist arrivals have not increased dramatically as one would have expected. Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom has encouraged locals, (more…)

Tags: Cape Town Tourism, China, Chris von Ulmenstein, Derek Hanekom, domestic, Grant Thornton, India, International, KwaZulu-Natal, Parliament, portfolio committee, Russia, Stats SA, tourism, Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tourism Business Index, visa regulations, Westwrn Cape, WhaleTales blog

The year is coming to a close, and has seen a major change, in that we sold all our guest houses, to create a new beginning (more…)

Tags: 2015, 2016, Brazil, Cape Town, CarbClever, China, Chris von Ulmenstein, climate change, Cyril Ramaphosa, Department of HOme Affairs, Department of Tourism, Donford BMW Motorrad, Eat Out, Europe, Food tours, Harvey's Restaurant, hotel industry, India, Jenny Morris, Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Nhlanhla Nene, Pravin Gordhan, President Zuma, Rand, refugees, Restaurant guides, restaurants, Truffle, visa regulations, WhaleTales blog, Winelands, Woolworths, Yumcious

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 (more…)

Tags: 95 Keerom, American Express, Anna Trapido, Aubergine, Bird's Cafe, Bombay Brasserie, Boschendal, Bread & Wine, Burrata, Camphors at Vergelegen, Camps Bay, Carne, Chapman's Peak, Chef's Warehouse & Canteen, Chris von Ulmenstein, Creation, Cube, Diners club Wine List Awards, Diners' Club International, DW Eleven-13, Five Hundred, Foliage, Gaaitjie, Gauteng, George Jardine, Giorgio Nava, Golosi, Grande Provence, Greenhouse, Highly Recommended, Ile de Pain, Indochine, Joostenberg Bistro, Jordan restaurant, JP Rossouw, Karoo, KwaZulu-Natal, Kyoto Garden Sushi, La Belle, La Colombe, La Mouette, Little Havana, Marianna's, Nobu, Overture, Pierneef a la Motte, Pot Luck Club, Restaurant at Newton Johnson, Restaurant at Waterkloof, Restaurant Mosaic, Ritrovo, Rossouw's Retaurants, Rust en Vrede, Suzy Holtshausen, terroir, The Kitchen at Maison, The Local Grill, The Tasting Room, The Test Kitchen, Tokara, Trafford's, Western Cape, WhaleTales blog

The Western Cape winners of the 2015 Best Everyday Eateries were announced last night, and many are horrified by most of the ten eateries on the Western Cape list, there being no consistency with previous Best Of restaurant awards!

Eat Out seems to like making changes to its Awards on a regular basis, this year the Best Of awards getting a new umbrella name of Best (more…)

Tags: 2015, Addis in Cape Ethopian, Afro-Boer, Beefcakes, bEst Everyday Eateries, BMW Motorrad, Boiler room Cafe, Boston Bistro, Bridge Street Brewery, Cafe del Sol, Cape Town, Century City, Chef's Warehouse & Canteen, Chris von Ulmenstein, Durban, Eastern Cape, Eat Out, Facebook, Food FUndi, Fresh at Paul Cluver, Gala lunch, Gauteng, geet Indian, Great Eastern food Bar, Il Leone, Inside & You're Out, jeera, Johannesburg, Karoux, KwaZulu-Natal, La Terasse, Lentswe Bhengu, Maharajah, Mercedes Benz, Mpumalanga, Nam Jai sushi and Thai, oaklands Country manor, Pirates, Pretoria, Rushing Sushi, Stellenbosch, The deckhouse Crab shack, The Local Grill, Tjing Tjing Torri, Tribe 112, Truth, Western Cape, WhaleTales blog, Winelands

It was Futurist Faith Popcorn who predicted a trend of ‘Recareering’ back in the ‘Seventies, one having multiple careers in a lifetime, at a time when I myself was in my first career as a Futurist. I could not have foreseen that my career path from Futurist to Market Researcher, Marketing Lecturer, Research Consultant, Food PR Consultant, and then Guest House owner for the last 19 years would lead me to my new and seventh career, to that as a (more…)

Tags: Airbnb, B&B, Barry Lewis, Bed & Bondage, Camps Bay Info, Cape Town, Carole Cessano, Chris von Ulmenstein, Faith Popcorn, Food PR, Food tours, Frasnchhoek, Fresnaye, futurist, Guest House Association, Guest House owner, KwaZulu-Natal, Liz Westby-Nunn, market research, MHi, newsletter, Noseweek, Pick 'n Pay, Plettenberg Bay, Portfolio, PR consultant, Recareering, seasonality, Seeff, social media, Stefanus Malherbe, Stellenbosch, Tripadvisor, UK market, visa regulations, Whale Cottage, Whale Cottage Portfolio, WhaleTales blog, Winelands

Eat Out is really trying hard to be different in its Top 10 Restaurant Awards this year, and comes across as rather silly. Now it is starting to release its Top 20 Restaurant shortlist, but in batches of five restaurants at a time (ten today, in two batches), with another two batches of five to come. Instead of releasing the list of names, one has to watch a video to see the name of each Finalist restaurant. We will expand upon this Blogpost tomorrow, as the further ten restaurant names are revealed. (more…)

Tags: Abigail Donnelly, Arno Janse van Rensburg, Azure, Benny Masekwameng, Bertus Basson, Borage BIstro, Boschendal, Bread & Wine, Camphors at Vergelegen, Cape Town, Chantel Dartnall, Chef's Warehouse and Canteen, Chris von Ulmenstein, David Higgs, Delaire Graff, Dlaire Graff, DW Eleven-13, Eat Out, Eat Out Top 10 Restaurants, Eat Out top 20 restaurant shortlist, Equus, Five Hundred, Foliage, Franschhoek, Gauteng, George Jardine, Grande Provence, Hermanus, Indochine, Jackie Cameron, Jordan, KwaZulu-Natal, La Colombe, La Mouette, Liam Tomlin, Majeka House, Makaron, Marthinus Ferreira, Mercedes Benz, Mosaic, Overture, Pierneef a la Motte, planet, Richard Carstens, Rust en Vrede, Ryan's Kitchen, Siba Mtongana, Singita, Somerset West, Springfontein Eats, Stellenbosch, The Greenhouse, The Kitchen at Maison, The Orient, The Pot Luck Club, The Restaurant at Newton Johnson, The Tasting Room, The Test Kitchen, Tokara, Virgil Kahn, Waterkloof, Whale Cottage Portfolio

The Eat Out judges are doing the rounds in evaluating our country’s Top 20 restaurants, from which they will pick their Top 10 Restaurants for 2015, to be announced at a Gala Lunch at Mistico Equestrian Centre outside
Paarl on 15 November.

Last year a number of restaurants made it to the Top 20 shortlist, possibly by default, as the largest number of chef changes ever took place in 2014, making the restaurants linked to those chefs ineligible to be considered for an Eat Out Top 10 award. This affected Hartford House (Chef Jackie Cameron starting her Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine), Delaire Graff (Chef Christiaan Campbell (more…)

Tags: 'Best of' awards, 9th Avenue Bistro, Abigail Donnelley, Adele Grewar, Alistaire Lawrence, Arno Janse van Rensburg, Azure, Babel, Babylonstoren, Belmond Mount Nelson, Benny Maskwameng, Bertus Basson, Borage BIstro, Boschendal, Bosmans, Cafe Chic, Camphors at Vergelegen, Cavalli Estate, cellars Hohenhort, Chantel Dartnall, chef Christiaan Campbell, Chris Erasmus, Christo Pretorius, Constantia Uitsig, Constantijn Hahndiek, Darren Badenhorst, David Higgs, Dear Me, Delaire Graff, Delaire Graff Botmaskop, DW Eleven-13, Eat Out, Equus, Eric Bulpitt, Five Hundred, Foliage, Food Network, Frank Marx, Franschhoek, Gala lunch, Grande Provence, Grande Roche, Gregory Czarnecki, Hartford House, Harvey's, Henrico Grobbelaar, Hetta van Deventer, Hylton Espey, Indochine, Jackie acamwron School of Food and Wine, Jackie Cameron, Jardine at Jordan, judges, Juergen Schneider, KwaZulu-Natal, La Colombe, La Mouette, Le Quartier Francais, Leeu Collection, Maison, Majeka House, Makaron, Marthinus Ferreira, Masterchef SA, Mercedes Benz, Michael Cooke, Michael Deg, Michelle Theron, Mistico Equestrian Centre, Mosaic, Overture, Pajama Vadas, Peter Tempelhoff, Pierneef a la Motte, Planet Restaurant, Restaurant Awards 2015, Richard Carstens, Rudi Liebenberg, Rust en Vrede, Ryan Smith, Ryan's Kitchen, San Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year, Siba Mtongana, Silvermist, Spice Route, Springfontein Eats, terroir, The agog House on the Werf at Spier, The Greenhouse, The Orient, The Pot Luck Club, The Restaurant at Newton Johnson, The Tasting Room, The Test Kitchen, The White Room, Tokara, Top 10 restaurants, Top 20 shortlist, Twelve Apostles, Ultimate Braaimaster, Vaness Marx, Virgil Kahn, Waterkloof