In a major change, Eat Out 2022 Head Judge Abigail Donnelly has announced her four fellow judges on the panel evaluating our country’s Top restaurants for the November 2022 Eat Out Awards.
The Eat Out Awards will be hosted for the first time in two years. No date or venue details are available to date.
Another new introduction is that the top restaurants will be rated and no longer ranked! The industry’s ‘unsung heroes’ will be recognised too.
I have the highest regard for Chef Matt Schreuder of Homespun in Blouberg, for the creativity of his world class Secret Supper Club in particular, and his Tasting Menus which are of a Top 10 Restaurant standard.
Ahead of the official opening on Friday 18 June, I was invited to a ‘friends and family’ preview of Chef Matt’s new Homespun at The Andros 5 star Boutique Hotel in Claremont on Saturday evening. It was my first visit to the Hotel. The Hotel has an old-world charm and dates back to 1908. It was designed by renowned Sir Herbert Baker. It has 15 rooms. Parking is available on the propperty. It has a delightful Champagne Bar. Continue reading →
On Tuesday I heard about Chef Matt Schreuder opening his second restaurant, at the luxury The Andros Boutique Hotel. When I ate at Homespun by Matt in Blouberg one and a half years ago, I predicted that this restaurant was destined for great things, it being one of my best fine-dining eating experiences in our country. Continue reading →
Thursday 25 February 2021, Day 62 of Level 3 Adjusted, Day 337 of Lockdown 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Grateful for a lovely day, super organized, and goals achieved; for sleeping well, having Minsky in the house last night; for a victory with the apartment Trustees today; for a walk to Clifton and back, earning 300 Discovery points, struggling to walk back against the strong wind; for picking up my poppy seed rolls at Dinkel Bakery; for a quick German Deli shop at Hartlief, and at Woolies, using my Discovery voucher and grateful for a number of surprise Woolies discounts; for a very good Status meeting with my client, ordering ice cream, having a craving; for another ice cream at Häagen-Dazs on Kloof Street, topped with Smarties; for a most wonderful evening again at ëlgr Restaurant, with Barbara Lenhard and Florian Gast; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →
Tuesday 8 September 2020, Day 22 of Level 2, Day 166 of Lockdown 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Grateful for a beautiful day; for a quick walk this morning to get some steps, energizing me to write my Blogpost when I got back home; for being well organized in leaving for a Roadtrip, with my school friend Jenny Stephens ; for meeting Chef and Restaurateur Prim Reddy Chapter at her new Indian Chapter in Blouberg for the first time; for a lovely drive to Darling, visiting Evita se Perron, Darling Brew, and had tea and scones at The Marmalade Cat; for staying over at Waylands Guesthouse on the Waylands Farm, seeing flowers on the way already; for walking the last steps of the day on the Farm; for ending a lovely day with a Braai; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →
Jean-Vincent Ridon, South Africa’s colourful French Sommelier, has published his first book, bursting with more than 100 beverage-paired dishes reflecting our country’s diverse cuisine, but also some of the favorite dishes of JV (as he is better known) from France, his home country.
There is no better person in South Africa to pair the right wine or beverage with the right dish, JV having spent his career in serving wine in a French family restaurant, then in his own restaurant in France, Continue reading →
Monday 7 September 2020, Day 21 of Level 2, Day 165 of Lockdown 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Grateful for another beautiful day, at 22C, summer is almost here, but not for long; for a happy sunshine spirit after all the grey rain days; for a good admin and writing morning; for a call to Verishnee Mayer; for a sunny walk through Camps Bay, popping in at Firefly Café, checking if they got their tea ordered from Dilmah, at Tindlovu to check a menu detail with its GM Chris Papayannes, and at Ivor Ramsay at Law Enforcement to assist a local resident deal with a tented settlement going up opposite her house; for a visit from Ines, who cycled all the way from Hout Bay to buy SwitchBitch Book 1, having connected with each other via Facebook, she being very interested in local restaurants too; for loving my new black shorts I bought at Pick n Pay Clothing, fitting perfectly and comfortably, not having been able to try them on in the shop, so much so that I’m going to buy another pair 💙; for a sunset walk through Bakoven; for meeting a township gardener in town to buy two lemon trees, going into pots; for receiving a copy of Sommelier and winemaker Jean Vincent Ridon’s new book ‘Passion for Pairing’, personally hand delivered, for reviewing; for no Loadshedding for us today; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →
I had no plans to visit Santiago in Chile. The Chileans are very friendly, maybe a little like South Africans. Two Chilean couples I met on my trip, unrelated to each other, invited me to come and visit them in their city, and stay over. As I only had four days in Chile before a last day in Buenos Aires, at the end of my trip, I split the visits into two two-day stays. I am so happy I took up their invitations, getting to know more about their wine industry, and being able to eat at Boragó, the 26th Best Restaurant in the world! Continue reading →
Through a stroke of luck I was invited to visit Santiago in Chile for four days, and in this time I was able to drink some Chilean wines. I also visited Casablanca, a wine region outside Santiago, with my friends Guy and Pia, who live near Casablanca. Continue reading →
Before arriving in Buenos Aires on this my second visit to the city, I had not prepared for my visit from a wine perspective, my main goal in spending a month in Argentina being to learn to dance the Tango. I have planned to visit Mendoza, renowned for its Malbec, have attended a wine tasting and food pairing evening at COWI in Buenos Aires, drunk three wines at the dinner at Buenos Aires’ Tegui, 86th Best Restaurant in the World, one wine at Don Julio, the 34th Best Restaurant in the World and Best in Argentina, and two wines at dinner at 1884 Restaurant in Mendoza. I have summarised my initial knowledge about the wine industry of Argentina, the fifth largest in the world, to which I have added some research information too. Continue reading →