The Sweet Service Award goes to Barry Lewis from Hermanus, a former Manager of Whale Cottage Hermanus, who came to the rescue when I had forgotten to bring my laptop charger back to Cape Town with me earlier this week. Barry was coming through to Somerset West the following day, his sister Carole told me, so I arranged for it to be collected from Somerset Mall, spending the rest of the day catching up on e-mails and Social Media postings. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Whale Cottage Hermanus
Mother Nature hits Mother City and Winelands, floods affect Tourism!
Mother Nature hit the Mother City and Winelands with a vengeance on Friday evening, with torrents of rain causing flooding and massive damage to tourist areas, which are closed for repair. More than 100 mm of rain was measured in most affected towns.
Accompanied by thunderstorms, the heavy downpours went on for hours, and the accumulated waters caused flood damage to many homes and businesses. Somerset West was worst hit, as the Lourens River burst its banks, flooding nearby houses, and the town received 200 mm of rain. The 125 patients in the Vergelegen Mediclinic had to be evacuated when water reached knee-height, the patients being sent to its Stellenbosch and Panorama branches. The N2 highway in the Somerset West area was closed on Friday evening, but has since been re-opened. In Strand Beach Road was closed due to flooding, and many home and apartment owners were stuck in 
garages during power outages. The X-ray unit of Strand Hospital caught fire due to an electrical short. The scenic coastal road between Gordon’s Bay and Betty’s Bay has been closed due to rockfalls. In Hermanus the local supermarkets were all flooded due to the volumes of rain. Whale Cottage Hermanus had water come in under the door, the volume of water not able to run off quickly enough. The road between Hermanus and Stanford is closed, as is the road to Creation wine estate*. Our Whale Cottage Franschhoek has a river running through it, and thankfully it did not break its banks Continue reading →
MasterChef Season 2: Predict the winner of MasterChef SA and win a whale of a weekend!
In 10 weeks we will know who our own MasterChef SA Season 2 winner is. We are curious to hear who our readers think will become MasterChef SA Season 2, and why.
We ask you to send your nominations with a motivation via Comment to this Blog (please add your name and surname and e-mail address). To thank you for your input, we will award one lucky reader a complimentary weekend of your choice location at one of our Whale Cottages in Camps Bay, Hermanus, or Franschhoek, subject to availability and inclusive of breakfast, but exclusive of other meals and transport, out of all of those entries correctly predicting the winner of MasterChef SA. Continue reading →
Desmond Jass Sweet Service and Leapfrog Sour Service Awards!
The Sweet Service Award goes to Desmond Jass, a builder in Hermanus, who amazed us with his reliability, reasonable rates, speed of working, meeting his promises, and ‘making a plan’ to fix a number of building issues and leaks at our Whale Cottage Hermanus, caused by the extremely wet weather experienced this past winter. For weeks we had sought quotes from building companies in Hermanus, and found few getting around to send a quote or even an invoice to progress the approved quotations, Hermanus having a poor reputation for building service companies. Mr Jass is a refreshing and highly reliable contrast to the Hermanus norm!
The Sour Service Award goes to Leapfrog in Onrus, and its agent Emile Cloete, office manager Phil Pienaar, Dealer Principal Riaan van Zyl, and its CEO Bruce Swain, for their unprofessional conduct in dealing with the rental of a property in Hermanus. The rental contract had serious omissions, materially affecting the relationship between the (international) tenant and landlord. The tenant was misled by Cloete in what he was paying, Cloete attempted to defraud the landlord, then walked away from the contract after he had cashed his commission and the contract preparation fee (despite the serious errors and omissions), not fulfilling the role prescribed for the rental agency in the contract. This action was condoned by Van Zyl and Pienaar. The request for Van Zyl to call the landlord was ignored. Cloete’s conduct was criticised by Swain when the story was related to him, but he has taken no action. Prospective tenants and landlords are advised to not deal with this unethical rental agency!
The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog. Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.
Restaurant Review: La Pentola brings international cuisine with local flavours to Hermanus!
A Hermanus restaurant space with one of the most beautiful views must be the new La Pentola (The Saucepan), previously the home of Mediterrea and Grilleria, on Marine Drive close to the Marine Hotel. Lunch yesterday, to celebrate the 16th anniversary of Whale Cottage Hermanus with our Manager Carole, was made all the more special with a school of dolphins escorting whales across the majestic Walker Bay, which La Pentola looks on to.
Carole had been to the restaurant before, having met Chef Shane Sauvage when he was at La Vierge restaurant on the Hermanus Wine Route. La Pentola opened a few months ago when Grilleria vacated the premises. Chef Shane also owns a restaurant with the same name in Pretoria, which he opened in 1995 and is now run by his sister. Chef Shane told us that his father is of French origin and his mother came from Seychelles, yet he does not speak French. He worked at Italian restaurants before opening his own restaurant, and this inspired the love for Italian cooking, and hence the Italian name of his restaurant. Chef Shane impressed by being on the floor regularly, chatting to his clients, and hugging those he knows. He is proud that he started as a ‘bus boy’, fetching plates, to being the owner of two restaurants today. He talks about the ‘fusion cuisine’ which his restaurants prepare, being French, Italian and Mediterranean dishes made with South African produce. The website emphasises that Chef Shane uses real butter, cream and fresh herbs, as well as olive oil, and that no MSG and artificial flavourings are used in their cooking! Only grain-fed beef, duck, and chicken is sourced. The dietary requirements of lactose intolerant and diabetic 
clients are catered for.
Chef Shane has already published two cookbooks: ‘The Edge of Fusion’, and ‘InFusion’, the latter book winning him a Gourmand World Cook Book Award in 2009. He proudly brought his books to the table to show us, and they are are available for sale in the restaurant. ‘InFusion’ focused on the ‘infusion of South African produce, liquor and lifestyle’, says its introduction, and contains Forewords written by Good Food & Wine Show owner Christine Cashmore and restaurant reviewer Victor Strugo, with beautiful food photography by Sarie Pretorius. Chef Shane is described by Strugo to stand for FRESH: Fruit, Real, Emotions, Seasons, Herbs. Alcohol is used in the preparation of most dishes.
The restaurant has wooden tables without tablecloths, and the chairs are covered in tan mock leather, the walls are painted in yellow/gold and tan, covered with an odd collection of paintings. 
The windows can open and are stack-able, allowing one to enjoy a superb unobstructed sea view over the bay, an ideal location for photography of the visiting whales. A new lounge-style seating area has been added in one corner of the restaurant. The tables have material serviettes, but an ordinary salt cellar and a cheap black pepper grinder. The menu and winelist are covered in black plastic, and both disappointed in their presentation, the menu just being a typed list of items with a hand-correction, and the winelist containing diagrams of the wine districts and regions, and of the Aroma Wheel, which probably were copied from coloured sources, but lose their impact in black and white.
The menu has ten starters, and Carole enjoyed her Mussels Provencal (R48), a hearty portion served with muffin-shaped rolls containing mushrooms, capers and oregano. Every menu item is described in detail in terms of all of its ingredients, and how the dish is prepared, rarely seen on menus. Outback Crocodile and Springbok Carpaccio are the two most expensive starters, at R60. Other interesting sounding starters are Angel snails (‘Spanish snails wrapped in bacon, pan fried with red onion, black pepper, butter, steamed in chardonnay, bound with cream and flavoured with origanum‘, the menu describes), Basil and port livers, and Afro Parisian pastry (smoked salmon, apple, served with phyllo pastry parcel filled with brie and mango pickle). Chardonnay fig and honey and African mampoer sorbets cost R10 each, and can be ordered as palate cleansers. The main 
courses range in price from R85 for Santorini Chicken to R 165 for seafood fillet (fillet steak with seafood, tawny port and basil and cream sauce) and Mozambican Prawns (served with a beer cream sauce). I enjoyed the kingklip prepared with red onion and tomato, basted in butter, served with ‘cream rice’ dusted with parmesan cheese, carrots and beans (R120), less complex than many of the other dishes in its ingredient combination. I was impressed that it came with a fish knife, seldom offered. Other main courses include a fillet flamed with 10 year old KWV brandy and served with Dijon mustard and green Madagascan cream sauce (R145), and Crocodile pastry (crocodile tail in curry cream sauce wrapped in phyllo pastry, R125). Pasta dishes are made from Overberg flour and Locke Stone farm organic eggs. Impressive is that the children’s dishes are healthy steak, fish and chicken, served with potato croquettes and vegetables (R45 – R50)
.
Desserts are affordable, none exceeding R50 (Strawberry Flambé with Belgium chocolate ice cream). Carole loved the Crème Brûlee, a deep
rich yellow colour, served with a strawberry sorbet, while I had the chocolate terrine served with cream, with an excellent cappuccino. Chef Shane sent two glasses of coffee liqueur to the table, but I declined, having to drive back to Cape Town.
The winelist states that BYO costs R30, explains the Aroma Wheel, and identifies the wine districts and regions in South Africa. Most wines offered are from Hermanus. Bollinger is offered at R1200, Van Loveren Christina NV costs R220, Goedverwacht Crane Rosé Brut R130, and Bonnievale NV R120. Few wines by the glass are offered, costing about R45. Vintages span more than one year, to save on reprinting the winelist, one would suspect. Three Shiraz wines are available: Reyneke Organic ‘2009/10’ (R140), Val de Vie ‘2008/9‘ (R360), and Porcupine Ridge ‘2011/2012‘ costs R135.
Chef Shane’s menu is interesting, most dishes unusual. His willingness to connect with his clients on the floor is a strength few chefs bother with. The presentation of the menu and winelist could be improved, to match the food, and the fantastic view offered in the restaurant. Service was not perfect, but our waiter was friendly. The website seems overwritten in its accolades. The most impressive part of our visit was the understanding by Chef Shane when we had to rush back to the guest house to check in guests just after we had ordered our food. Our order was placed on hold and our table was kept for us until we returned.
La Pentola, first floor, 87 Marine Drive, Hermanus. Tel (028) 313-1685. www.lapentola.co.za. Tuesday – Sunday lunch and dinner.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
Whale Cottage Portfolio celebrates 16th anniversary on Women’s Day!
Whale Cottage Hermanus celebrates its 16th birthday today, being the first of our Whale Cottages to be opened. Our first guests were welcomed on the Women’s Day weekend in 1996.
Initially located on Main Road in Hermanus, in a Victorian Cottage, we moved the guest house into a seafacing property ten years ago, to offer our guests the ultimate opportunity to see the magnificent Southern Right whales from our terrace, the lounge, breakfast room, and three of our bedrooms. Whale Cottage Camps Bay opened in 1998, and Whale Cottage Franschhoek in 2004.
To celebrate the 16th anniversary of the establishment of the Whale Cottage Portfolio, we 
have sponsored accommodation for the ‘Queen at the Ballet’ ‘Freddie Mercury’ singer Cito at Whale Cottage Camps Bay. The show opened last night, and runs at the Baxter Theatre until 18 August.
We are a proudly-women company, and only employ women to look after our guests. I salute my team of Carole, Teresa, Anna, and Hadjira for their contribution to our success. For Women’s Day we salute our lady guests in particular, and all the women who work for the supplier companies we deal with, and thank them for their support. We also admire the work done by our Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille and the Premier of our province Helen Zille, and all women who have broken through corporate glass ceilings, or who have started their own businesses, against tougher odds!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
Incredible Connection Sweet Service and Multichoice Sour Service Awards!
The Sweet Service Award goes to Incredible Connection in the Cape Town city centre, and its salesperson Fabien, who was very helpful in selling a new Acer mini-laptop, and cleaning it proactively to remove all finger marks on it, as I had told him that the laptop was a present for our colleague Carole Cessano, Manager of our Whale Cottage Hermanus. He made a plan to get a blue coloured laptop, to match our Whale Cottage corporate colour. The present was a huge joy to Carole, her first laptop, allowing her to easily transport her new computer between her home and our guest house.
The Sour Service Award goes to Multichoice, for its abominable call centre service. A recent requirement to upgrade one’s smart card created a problem for our Hermanus guest house, as physical collection of the card from their Cape Town service centre would have left the guest house without the Multichoice channels until a next visit. I was advised to get my staff to collect the smart card from Neil du Toit General Dealer, the Hermanus agents for Multichoice. One would have thought that some communication would have taken place between Multichoice and the retailer, to send the signal once the Premier Smart Card had been collected, but this clearly was asking too much. We called Multichoice, explaining the background, and asking them to send the appropriate signal for the new card, speaking to Nellie and then her supervisor Harriet. We Tweeted about the poor service received, and the @DSTV Tweeter asked for an explanation of the problem – in 140 characters this was impossible, so we provided our telephone number for them to call. It took at least an hour for Katleto Motingwa to call back. He must have looked up the call report from the night before first, as he was exceedingly defensive and rude from the start, and seemed to know all about my query before giving me a chance to explain what I needed. He told me that he was in the Complaints department, but he had no understanding of what I was requesting. I asked him to get his manager to call, which he did, and unfortunately I did not take his name. This gentleman was fantastic, understood my simple request immediately, had the new signal sent, and followed up telephonically thereafter to check if all was in order, although he called a few hours later instead of the promised ten minutes. The Multichoice staff are arrogant and rude. One wonders why Multichoice employs technically unqualified persons in its call centre!
The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog. Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.
May Day! May Day! Cape Tourism ship is sinking! Seasonality getting worse!
It’s been a bad May, and appears to be the worst month of the year for the Cape hospitality and tourism industry, and it has sunk to its lowest low in the six years in which we have been tracking occupancy. Sadly, the soccer tournament is not benefiting the industry. Cape Town and the Western Cape may be slipping back into a tourism crisis, as we experienced in 2011!
From occupancy for Whale Cottage Camps Bay at 68% in May 2008, and about 42% in May 2007 and 2009, occupancy dropped sharply from May 2010 onwards, to 19%, rose slightly to 23 % in May last year, and down to a shocking 10% this month, the lowest in the six year period. The May occupancy at our Whale Cottage in Hermanus is 8%, on a par with May figures for the past three years, crashing down in 2010 from about 24% per each of the May months in 2007 – 2009. In Franschhoek the same pattern is evident, with occupancy also at 10% over the past three May months, dropping sharply from 27% in 2009 (and even 58% in May 2008). Any tourism ‘politician’ that claims that Seasonality is under control and that the winter period is shrinking is deceiving the tourism industry!
The shocking tourism performance this month is a surprise, in that even business tourists from Johannesburg have not been seen to any great extent in Cape Town, often the mainstay of the industry in winter, perhaps a sign that the South African economy is not yet out of recession. The winter campaign in a downscaled marketing program, which Cape Town Tourism has launched appears to have had no impact on tourism at all, and neither has the Eight Nations Under 20 soccer tournament. The Cape Times reported earlier this week that the attendance support of the soccer event is so poor that Cape Town faces losing the event for 2014, no loss if viewed from a tourism perspective. The tournament was signed up and announced to the industry a week before its start, hardly an event timing that could be taken seriously. The newspaper also reported that the City of Cape Town is giving away a free ticket for a match for every Semi-Final and Final match ticket bought. Surprisingly, the City’s tourism body, Cape Town Tourism, is not marketing the event at all, proving that it too sees no tourism benefit of the soccer tournament! No other events have been held in Cape Town this month, and this is making itself felt. In Franschhoek the Literary Festival earlier this month led to a full house, proving that events do attract visitors to a town or village. Next month its ‘Cook Franschhoek’ is attracting good bookings, and in July the Bastille Festival and an Art of Living retreat are almost sold out already. Sadly, no events are planned for Cape Town nor Hermanus in the next few months.
Of even greater concern is that forward bookings from international tourists, which looked promising in April for early 2013, have all but dried up, demonstrating that the uncertainty of the Eurozone membership of Greece may be unsettling German travellers, who were planning their holidays far ahead. Increasingly one hears that travel to Greece is being curtailed, as tourists do not know if the Euro will be discontinued while they are travelling in that country, which could be an opportunity for Cape Town, if any marketing could be considered by Wesgro, Cape Town Tourism, or SA Tourism! Bookings from the UK market remain depressed and rare. At the time of international events, local tourism always suffers, and in the UK the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee next month, and the Olympic Games take place in London from July to August. Perhaps some Londoners may leave their city during this time, but we are not seeing bookings from this market. On 8 June the three week long UEFA European Football Championship takes place, shared between Poland and the Ukraine as host countries, which will capture the interest of many European travellers, preventing them from coming to South Africa.
Once again, we call on our tourism authorities to help the Cape Tourism industry in attracting events to the region in winter, and to generate any marketing activities that can attract domestic tourists to our area.
POSTSCRIPT 31/5: We would like to add that Wesgro has not issued any media statements nor shown any industry leadership since taking over Cape Town Routes Unlimited two months ago! We have written to Nils Flaaten, to ask him what is planned for the marketing of the Western Cape.
POSTSCRIPT 1/6: Good news is the potential of a soccer match between Ajax Cape Town and Manchester United on 21 July, a real soccer event, to be played in the Cape Town Stadium, as reported by the Cape Argus yesterday!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
Help predict MasterChef SA winner and win a whale of a weekend away!
In 15 weeks we will know who our own MasterChef SA is. We are curious to hear who our readers think will become MasterChef SA, and why. We ask you to send in your nominations with a motivation via Comment to this Blog (please add your name and surname).
To thank you for your input, we will award one lucky reader a complimentary weekend of your choice location at one of our Whale Cottages in Camps Bay, Hermanus, or Franschhoek, subject to availability, out of all of those entries correctly predicting the winner of MasterChef SA.
Whale Cottage Camps Bay is ideally located 500 meters from Camps Bay beach and 
25 restaurants on the Camps Bay Promenade. It offers secure parking on the property, with seven seafacing double rooms, and single rooms facing the Twelve Apostles and Lion’s Head.
Whale Cottage Hermanus is located on the seafront, with a wonderful view onto Walker Bay, in which Southern Right whales and their calves frolic from May – November. The region is also known for its excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines in particular, from estates such as Hamilton Russell, Hermanuspietersfontein, and Creation on the Hermanus Wine Route.
Franschhoek is best known as the Gourmet and Wedding capital of
South Africa, and some of its wine estates recognised as the best in the country. Whale Cottage Franschhoek is situated 200 meters from the main road in the village, up the road from Le Quartier Français and Reuben’s Franschhoek.
Jorgensen’s
Distillery has generously donated two of its brands to the runner-up of the competition to correctly predict MasterChef SA, their Savingnac Potstill Brandy (value R300) and Naked Lemon Limoncello (value R120). The Savingnac Potstill Brandy is made in Wellington, and has roots of brandy making on the same property going back more than 300 years. Specially made wine is double 
distilled in owner Roger Jorgensen’s copper pot still to concentrate the flavour and the alcohol, and then is matured for a period of ten years or more in French oak barrels. The Naked Lemon Limoncello is made from hand-picked organic lemons, hand zested, with the skins macerated for 12 days in fragrant wine spirits to infuse the spirit with the lemon oils, giving the liqueur the vibrant yellow colour. It is bottled at 30% alcohol, and can be served with desserts or drunk ice cold.
To get the ball rolling, a listing of the eighteen MasterChef SA finalists, and our predictions of the chances of some of them winning MasterChef SA, follows:
Babalwa Baartman – would it be feasible for her to run the MondoVino restaurant at Montecasino in Johannesburg for a year, being from Cape Town, if she wins MasterChef SA? No exposure in episode 4 and 6. Eliminated in episode 8.
Berdina Schurink – she auditioned in each of the three MasterChef SA cities, so determined was she to become a finalist. The MasterChef SA write-up describes her as ‘serious, determined and focused’. They warn viewers to not be fooled by her quiet and reserved nature. Pastry is her speciality. Berdina kept her pose when she fell into the bottom five for a childhood dish in episode 4, and her ‘pressure test’ koeksisters were judged to be perfect. She went into the ‘Pressure Test’ for the second time, but her lamb was undercooked, and therefore she was voted out by the judges in episode 5. Berdina has opened Bella Sophia Culinary Café in Riviera in Pretoria.
Brandon Law – little is known about him, but he has done fan signings at Eastgate. He is interested in molecular gastronomy. Could he become our next Chef Richard Carstens? No exposure in episode 4 and 6. Eliminated in episode 8.
Charles Canning – being based in Cape Town, can he afford to be away from his family panel beating business, a family with four children, and the Cape Town Highlanders, which he leads, to take over the MondoVino restaurant for a year? Both his childhood dish and ‘pressure test’ koeksisters bombed and he was one of two sent home in episode 4.
Deena Naidoo – his Butter Chicken was loved by Chef Pete in episode 1 and he finished it all, it tasted so good! He has been interviewed by the Sunday Times. on 15 April. There is no real story to the interview, entitled “Masterchef hopeful not just ‘curry guy’“, but it does state that he took unpaid leave to participate in the competition. Interesting is that he wears a MasterChef branded chefs’ top in the newspaper photograph. Interesting t
oo is that he is the only one of the 18 contestants to use ‘mcsa’ in his Twitter address. No exposure in episode 4. Made top curry dish of all in episode 6. Leader of winning Blue team in Navy challenge. Did well with Denningvleis dish in episode 8. Only finalist not yet in a pressure test. To go into his first Pressure Test in episode 12. One wonders how MasterChef SA could have chosen Deena as a candidate if he does not drink, given that a chef would have to know his wines, and pair them with his foods. Given that Nederburg is a sponsor, and a wine training course offered by the South African Sommelier Association is part of the prize, they could not have a MasterChef SA winner who does not drink wines. Deena made a superb Passion Hazelnut Gateau in his Pressure Test, to his own surprise, in episode 12. In Pressure Test in episode 13, but survived it, despite heavy criticism from Chef Pete Goffe-Wood of over-smoking his fish. Not very successful in his Springbok loin Pressure Test in episode 15. Won the bell for best dish, to call on Chef/Judge input in episode 17, in episode 16. Highly praised by Chef Michel Roux Jnr from La Gavroche in London. Deena won the best dessert in episode 17, winning him a test drive in the Hyundai Elantra for a picnic with his wife Cathy at Plaisir de Merle in Franschhoek. Deena has gone through to the Finale.
Fortune Kangueehi – could a MasterChef SA come from Namibia? The judges may vote this advertising executive out over time on this basis alone. Her childhood dish did not make it, and she forgot to add baking powder to her ‘pressure test’ koeksisters, and became the second person to leave in episode 4.
Guy Clark – from friends of friends we have heard that he has made it close to the top. He is not visible on Social Media. Has this former model and now property broker gone underground? Does this make him the winner? No exposure in episode 4 and 6. In Red Team ‘Pressure Test’ with not so good pig’s ear dish. Eliminated in episode 9 for his soufflé.
Ilse Fourie – 
she attracted attention for the most favourable comments of all for her hot cooking (salmon steak) in episode 1, and she was the fastest egg whisker of all finalists in episode 2. She has had a write up on Channel 24. She is also pretty, having been a lingerie model, and this would add an extra touch of spice to the award! No exposure in episode 4. Praise for her curry dish in episode 6, and pork shoulder in episode 7. Did well with Tripe dish in episode 8. Not visible in episode 9 and 10. Seen in M-Net promo ad for MasterChef SA on 15/6, in which she says she will move to Johannesburg, should she win. Eliminated in episode 14, after her mini Boerewors popped, and she struggled to debone her lamb shoulder in the resultant Pressure/Perseverance Test.
Jade de Waal – loved by some and hated by others for her odd English/Afrikaans/undefined accent, she is a true character. Her cardamon ice cream was loved by the judges in episode 1. She was interviewed extensively
after this episode by her aunt Sonia Cabano on the Robertsons Twitter account, when she still was the Social Media Manager for Robertsons. Jade received extensive ‘airtime’ in this Twitter interview, which no other contestant has received on this account to date. She has changed the name of her Twitter account, and has locked it as well, only allowing certain Tweeters to read it. Is she too hip, trendy, and frivolous for such a serious accolade? Based in Cape Town. Her Avo Ritz with a twist was highly praised in episode 4. She has announced that she has written a Cook Book on vegetables with her aunt. She was interviewed by Huisgenoot, she announced on Twitter. No exposure in episode 6. First criticism seen, for her Waterblommetjie bredie dish (with Sue-Ann Allen). She made a very poor soufflé, which should have seen her eliminated in episode 9, many on Twitter felt. In the Elimination Challenge in episode 10. Going into Pressure Test in episode 12. Voted out in episode 12, for a mess of a Passion Hazelnut Gateau. Reported to have written a cookbook ‘Luscious Vegetarian’ with her aunt Sonia Cabano, to be published in October.
Khaya Silingile – this Marketing Co-ordinator attracted attention in episode 1 for her highly praised scallop and smoked salmon dish, which she served with an unusual rhubarb tart. Her salmon childhood dish was praised by the judges in episode 4. No exposure in episode 6. Won the International Cuisine challenge in episode 9, with her French dish. In the Elimination Challenge in episode 10. Won best wine and food pairing in episode 11. Was beaten by 4-point margin by Chef Reuben Riffel in making his Seafood Fricasee – had she won, she would have won an Immunity Pin for the next five episodes. Announced her pregnancy in episode 13. In Pressure Test in episode 14. Eliminated due to her Springbok loin dish errors in episode 15.
Lungile Nhlanhla – this young fashion designer from Durban wants to create a link between fashion and food, says her MasterChef SA profile. No exposure in episode 4. Was praised for her curry in episode 6 and pork tail in episode 7. Came in on budget and her R150 budget meal acceptable in episode 10. Eliminated in episode 16 for not getting her chicken ballotine correct. It has been announced that Lungi has been appointed Junior Food editor of Drum magazine.
Lwazi Mngoma – appears very confident in his Tweets, and has been interviewed on Johannesburg radio stations Highveld Stereo and Kaya FM, and proud of it! Due to a less than satisfactory childhood memory dish, he went into the ‘pressure test’, and was lucky to have been retained, as his koeksisters were not perfect in episode 4. Back into ‘Pressure Test’ in episode 6, and was sent home due to his ‘Salmon Three Ways’ not meeting the judges approval.
Manisha Naidu – she cut short her honeymoon to audition for the show, says her MasterChef SA profile. She made the second best childhood memory dish, and was voted a team leader by the judges in episode 4. Commendably she elected herself into the ‘pressure test’ in episode 5, taking responsibility for her team losing the Harvest Celebration challenge, and she did not perform well in preparing the lamb rack. She will live with the conscience of having taken Berdina into the ‘pressure test’, and causing her elimination indirectly. No exposure in episode 6. Did well in Tripe dish in episode 8. Made top Budget family meal in episode 10. Her Boerewors dish voted best of all by the judges in episode 14, becoming a team leader in episode 15. In the Sunday Times on 8 July, a most honest interview reflected a sad past for Manisha, battling bulimia, a suicide attempt, and a divorce. But she remarried last year, and was on honeymoon when she received notification that she had been selected to participate, and therefore cut the honeymoon short. Manisha did not have to go into the Pressure Test in episode 17. Manisha forgot to add the pea shoot to her dish in episode 18, and made plating mistakes which cost her a place in the Finale, and she was sent home.
Mmutsi Maseko – as a ‘stay-at-home’ mum, she may not be able to take up the prize of the restaurant chef. She ‘cooks from within’, says her MasterChef SA profile, and her favourite foods to prepare are meat, pap, and chakalaka. Floundering in her childhood memory dish by running out of time, she redeemed herself in the ‘pressure test’, making perfect koeksisters in episode 4. She went into the ‘pressure test‘ for the second time in episode 5, but her rack of lamb was praised by the judges. No exposure in episode 6. Voted out in episode 7.
Samantha Nolan – also from Cape Town, and ‘stay-at-home’ mother of four children, according to her MasterChef SA profile, so the MondoVino restaurant prize may also be a problem. Her childhood memory dish was voted the best of all, and she was chosen a team leader too in episode 4. Best judge of spices in Chef Vanie Padayachee’s curry, and could choose main ingredient for curry in episode 6. Clearly leading the winning Blue team in the Navy challenge. First time in Pressure Test in episode 9, for having too many spices in her mince with the vetkoek. Voted out in episode 10 for Minestrone soup.
Sarel Loots – very quick to correct an error on this blog, asked to be followed on Twitter (a no-no), and subsequently blocked our account, possibly due to our Robertsons blogpost. He also auditioned at all three MasterChef SA venues. He loves making desserts most. Embarrassing poorly spelt Tweets were sent by him to Chefs Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, and Guy Fieri, all with the same message:”Love your programs. U insired (sic) me to enter @MasterChef_SA and made it to top 18 and stil (sic) going“! He also Tweeted ‘I will win this’, at a time when the MasterChef SA winner is known to some or all of the last 18 finalists. His poor English and Afrikaans spelling should be enough reason to disqualify him. No exposure in episode 4. Into Pressure Test in episode 6 due to his curry dish, but redeemed himself with an excellent ‘Salmon Three Ways’. In Pressure Test in episode 9, for not trying hard enough with his Brazilian dish. No exposure in episode 10. Second best Boerewors dish in episode 14, to be second team leader in episode 15. Except for his Bearnaise sauce, his Springbok loin dish for the Pressure Test in episode 15 was a close copy of the dish by Chef Andrew Atkinson. His peppadew stuffing of his chicken ballotine clashed with the truffle on his stuffed artichoke in episode 16. Voted out in episode 17, for forgetting the hazelnut gel.
Sue-Ann Allen – also from Cape Town, so the MondoVino restaurant prize may also be a problem. She was so dedicated to participate in MasterChef SA that she resigned her job as lighting designer.
No exposure in episode 4. In ‘Pressure Test’ in episode 6, and was lucky to not be voted out. Pork loin not well received by judges in Red Team ‘Pressure Test’ in episode 7. Criticised for poor Waterblommetjie dish in episode 8. No exposure in episodes 9 and 10. Sue-Ann is on holiday in Croatia (June). Due to her Boerewors becoming ‘droë wors’ in episode 14, she did a brilliant Rolled lamb shoulder in the Pressure Test, judged to be her best MasterChef SA dish. Her stuffed artichoke said to be closest to that of Chef Michel Roux Jnr, but her chicken ballotine, stuffed with cream cheese, less successful, in episode 16. Survived the Pressure Test in episode 17. One of the two Finalists going into the Finale in episode 19. Sue-Ann was the Runner-up to Deena Naidoo to MasterChef SA. She is doing a one-month apprenticeship with The Greenhouse, Eat Out‘s number one Top 10 restaurant, from 21 August.
Thys Hattingh – received high praise for his dessert in episode 3, when the challenge was to make the best braai dish. Not a ‘braaier’, by his own admission. No exposure in episode 4. Made second best curry dish in episode 6. Leader of losing Red team in Navy challenge in episode 7. Did well in Denningvleis dish in episode 8. Came second with his Moroccan poached pear dish in episode 9, even if he poached it in Nederburg wine, Morocco being a Muslim country! Into Pressure Test in episode 12. Struggled greatly with his chocolate mousse in making the Passion Hazelnut Gateau in the Pressure Test, and was lucky that Jade de Waal’s Gateau was even less perfect than his. Eliminated in episode 13, for overcooking his fish in Zanzibar.
We look forward to your votes – please keep them coming!
POSTSCRIPT 16/4: M-Net’s Senior Publicist Ingrid Engelbrecht provided the following information about the restaurant prize: ‘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’.
POSTSCRIPT 19/5: Die Burger ran a poll today, asking readers to vote who will win MasterChef SA. This is how they voted:
Ilse Fourie 32 % 367 Stemme
Jade de Waal 6 % 70 Stemme
Sarel Loots 15 % 175 Stemme
Thys Hattingh 22 % 246 Stemme
Deena Naidoo 5 % 59 Stemme
Khaya Silingile 5 % 56 Stemme
Lungile Nhlanhla 3 % 33 Stemme
Manisha Naidu 2 % 20 Stemme
Samantha Nolan 4 % 41 Stemme
Sue-Ann Allen 6 % 68 Stemme
POSTSCRIPT 27/7: The winners of the MasterChef SA Winner competition are the following:
* Weekend at a Whale Cottage guest house in Camps Bay, Hermanus, or Franschhoek: Francesca Tiganis. Her motivation for nominating Deena was as follows: ‘My vote is for Deena Naidoo – I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching him evolve with such passion and confidence, but in the most humble way. The way he listened so carefully to Chef Michel Roux and Chef Margot Janse really helped him execute his dishes so very well – he deserves to win Masterchef SA!’
* Jorgensen’s Distillery’ Savingnac Potstill Brandy and Naked Lemon Limoncello: Alicia Peter, for nominating Deena as follows: ‘I nominate Deena Naidoo – because he has managed to impress the judges and audience with almost all his dishes. To impress THE Michel Roux Jnr himself is simply superb! He is so talented yet so humble. I take my hat off to him…Go Deena!’
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage whalecot@iafrica.com
Tourism Seasonality in the Cape: it’s getting worse!
Every year Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited, both bodies tasked to market Cape Town, tell the tourism industry that Seasonality is a problem unique to the Western Cape, and that they have planned events for the quieter months and scheduled more advertising, to address the problem which swallows up in the winter months the income generated in the summer months.
To evaluate Seasonality for our Whale Cottages, we went back to our Occupancy information as far back as 2007, and found interesting trends:
* Occupancy for Whale Cottage Camps Bay was at 72 % on average in 2007, 70 % in 2008, and dropped every year, to 63 % in 2009, 56% in 2010 and 41% this year to date.
* During the period May – August, the Cape winter season, Whale Cottage Camps Bay Occupancy declined year on year, from 54 % in 2007, to 45% in 2009 and 2010, to 28% this year, an almost 50 % decline in Occupancy between 2007 and 2011! Despite an average Occupancy of 70 % over the World Cup, from 11 June – 11 July last year, the World Cup had no effect on 2010 Winter Occupancy, as the good June and July performance was negated by a sharp decline in Occupancy before (19 % in May, being the lowest Occupancy ever in the five year period) and after (36% in August last year, vastly down compared to previous years) the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
* Every individual month has seen a decline in Occupancy for Whale Cottage Camps Bay over the past five years, February 2011 showing the least decline in Occupancy (88% in 2011, our best month by far this year, compared to 97% in 2007), and September 2011 showing the most drastic Occupancy decline (28% in 2011, compared to 60 % in 2007).
* These trends apply to Whale Cottage Hermanus and Whale Cottage Franschhoek too, both towns having seen Occupancy in 2007 (on average around 50%) halve this year for the period January – September.
* Hermanus recovers from Seasonality more quickly in winter, due to the arrival of the Southern Right whales from May. However, in the last two winters the average Occupancy was around 10% (despite the World Cup, which made no impact on business to this town), compared to 40 % on average in 2007).
* Franschhoek shows a similar Seasonality decline, but is at a far lower level in winter, dropping by half from 16 % in 2007, to 7% this winter. The World Cup made no impact on business. The village has seen a decline in the number and size of weddings, and despite an increased activity in hosting events, which fill up the guest houses for the two days of the event, the remaining 28 days remain close to empty! The trend is for a vastly reduced Occupancy, from 41 % on average in 2007, to 13% on average this year, for the period January – September. September has been the month with the most drastic decline in Occupancy in the past five years, but Occupancy declined consistently year on year in each of the months.
* The Occupancy trends reflect the changed tourism pattern, with more international tourists staying in Cape Town, and not travelling to inland towns to stay over, doing a day trip to Hermanus and Franschhoek at best. Cape Town Routes Unlimited is responsible for marketing the Western Cape, and it appears to have failed in its work, if our figures are taken as a benchmark. It shocked me to hear that Cape Town Routes Unlimited has lost both its Marketing Executives David Frandsen and Itumeleng Pooe, and that all marketing is now handled by the CEO Calvyn Gilfellan. Cape Town Tourism’s Marketing Manager Velma Corcoran has only been in the job for a month, and has not made her mark in any way. She has no tourism marketing experience specifically, and no marketing experience generally.
Not having a firm statistic as to the contribution of UK tourists to our Whale Cottage business, we checked our country of origin statistics over the past years. This source market has represented as much as 53 % (November 2007) of our bookings over the past five years, but the average has been at around 33%. It is this percentage of bookings which we will miss this summer, as bookings from the UK are extremely rare, due to the economic woes of the United Kingdom. German bookings for Camps Bay have represented as much as 24 % (December 2007), but have seen a steady decline over the past five years, averaging at about 10 – 15 %. Our forward bookings show a strong increase in German bookings for this summer. Not surprising is that the proportion of South African bookings has climbed steadily, as we have lost international business, and this may also be due to our Whale Cottages still charging affordable 2007 rates, and discounting rates by close to half in the winter months.
A Carte Blanche programme on Sunday highlighted the tourism crisis. Portfolio of Places CEO Liz Westby-Nunn spoke about 52 of her client establishments having closed down in the past year. She has been in business for about 25 years, and business is so bad that she has consolidated her three Portfolio Guides into one, and has dropped her advertising rate by about 50%, just to hold on to her clients. Mrs Westby-Nunn has been a feisty business person, who took 20 % advertising rate increases year on year in the past. Clive Bennett, Managing Director of the One&Only Cape Town, said that “We aren’t seeing growth we should be seeing, and you couple that with the surplus number of beds, sadly there are going to be closures”. Bennett added that the recession had hit South Africa post-World Cup. Shamwari’s Tom Jager said that business for them has seen ‘a big drop’. SA Tourism’s Chief Marketing Officer Roshene Singh said she would look at the impact of the tourism industry’s poor performance on jobs at the end of this year. SATSA President Heather Guiterrez was controversial in stating that blaming the recession is a convenient excuse: “There is 4% tourism growth within tourism worldwide, and we’re not seeing it in South Africa. In fact, we are seeing a huge decline of tourism into South Africa”. She blames the lack of post-World Cup marketing for the current status. ‘South Africa went dead. People don’t go to a country that goes dead’, she said. SA Tourism defended its work, stating that April had seen a 7,5 % increase on the year before. Ms Guiterrez said that SA Tourism does not have enough marketing money to market South Africa on international TV, and this was confirmed by Ms Singh, stating that their marketing budget is minuscule relative to their main competitors. Mrs Westby-Nunn was critical of the official arrival statistics, stating that the 8 million figure should be closer to 1 million. The tourism players interviewed said that the impact of the decline in tourism is its effect on job creation, the target of 250000 having been set, and would not be achievable. Both Bennet and Protea Hotels CEO Arthus Gillis called for more flexibility in the airlines, allowing charter flights, and making SAA the tourism loss leader, to bring as many tourists to the country as possible. Gillis says his business is predominantly focusing on domestic tourists, being their ‘saviour’.
We received the following response to our latest WhaleTales newsletter from Herbert Henrich, a fellow guest house owner in Franschhoek, and he hits the nail on the head in confirming the poor state of the guest house industry: “Thank you for your most comprehensive ‘Tales’ and the detailed information contained therein. For one, like me, sitting on the hospitality industry outer parameters, your reports provide much insight in what would remain obscure otherwise. Our business suffers. The reasons are probably a) global recession and b) lack of exciting promotion of South Africa as a special tourist destination. The most remote parts of the world are being offered to potential tourists on TV almost daily. Very little – if anything – from the RSA. But promotion alone will not re-instate what once was a flourishing industry. There will still be the economic millstone around the consumers’ neck. Hence, business will shrink and establishments will close down, bringing about further lack of income and loss of jobs. Our operational cost go up, however, irrespective of the business slowing down. Municipal rates, levies, electricity, taxes – you name it, will be collected whether there is income or not. I would suggest that it is time that the government will consider easing up on us somewhat. Why do we still have to pay inflated rates for business premises which bring no business? Is it not time the government supports those who do not close down in order not to increase the number of job-less ? Those who actually subsidize the government rather than the other way around ? I think the hospitality industry, which has no alternative replacement business option , should make a united appeal to provincial and national government departments to reduce their every increasing fiscal demands and allow some time to regroup and allow the business to come back to some sort of reasonable level”.
We once again call on Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited to involve our industry in utilizing our information as a predictor of tourism activity for the season ahead, and to focus on the domestic market, in getting them to Cape Town. Our tourists are not on Twitter and Facebook, in our experience, and need good old-fashioned advertising and articles in newspapers and magazines to attract them to our beautiful Cape.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage