The sixth Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club meeting takes place on Wednesday 20 October, from 6 – 8 pm, at the Rainbow Room at Mandela Rhodes Place, and will pair Tom Robbins from eatcapetown Blog, a restaurant review blog, and Simon Back, from Backsberg Blog. 
Tom Robbins was born on a dairy farm in Karkloof in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Tom hot-footed to live in cities as soon as he was old enough, though has never lost his rural roots. He has spent most of his career working as a journalist with one disastrous exception when he opened a café-bar in Pietermaritzburg in 1999. Tom’s career in journalism has spanned most beats from politics and the courts to travel and engineering. Most recently he worked as a financial journalist, covering the retail and consumer goods sectors for Business Report. A year ago Tom established the restaurant review website eatcapetown and continues to do odd jobs as a financial journalist. He has no formal training in cooking: he is a writer who enjoys cooking rather than a cook who enjoys cooking. Tom’s current addiction is roasting (both pot roasting and open roasting). What he knows about wine is dangerous, he says! Tom will be talking about restaurant reviewing, often a contentious topic, and will discuss review writing styles. He will also address the difference between PR and journalism in respect of blogging, and how this affects disclosure of gifts/freebies received. 
Simon Back has a Business Science degree, majoring in Economics, from UCT. He joined Backsberg, the family farm, in 2008. He is responsible for all aspects of marketing, and sales to North America. Backsberg is well-known for its environmentally-friendly approach to wine farming, being very focused on its carbon footprint, and how to neutralise it. The wine estate recently launched the first South African wines in plastic bottles, under the Tread Lightly sub-brand. Simon is particularly interested in the role of Social Media in the Marketing Mix. He was invited to represent South Africa in Germany earlier this year, as part of a panel at Prowein 2010 on ‘Social Media and other Marketing Innovations’. Simon will be talking about the future of blogging and social media. He will challenge bloggers in asking them to consider how blog readers will change over time, and how their blogs need to evolve to reflect these changes. He is looking to stimulate debate on the future of blogging and social media.
The Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club was formed to reflect the tremendous growth in and power of food and wine blogs in forming opinion about food, restaurants and wines. Most bloggers do not have any formal training in blogging, and learnt from others. Each of the two bloggers will talk for about half an hour about their blog, and what they have learnt about blogging. The Club will give fledgling as well as experienced bloggers the opportunity to learn from each other and to share their knowledge with others. Attendees can ask questions, and get to know fellow bloggers. The Club meetings are informal and fun.
Wines are brought along by the wine blogging speaker, and Simon Back will introduce the Backsberg wines served. Snacks will be served. The cost of attendance is R100. Bookings can be made by e-mailing info@whalecottage.com.
Venue: Rainbow Room, Mandela Rhodes Place (next to Taj Hotel), Wale Street.
Other bloggers that will be talking at future Bloggers’ Club meetings are the following:
Wednesday 24 November: Marisa Hendricks of The Creative Pot Blog, and Emile Joubert of Wine Goggle Blog, at the Grand Daddy Hotel, 6 – 8 pm.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.comTwitter: @WhaleCottage
20
3070
27k
20
As some-one who has never ‘blogged’, has not joined face-book and is yet to ‘join’/enrole…not sure of terminology Skype!! I look forward to this as an opportunity to become more connected…my thoughts are, ‘hey, if you can’t beat them, join them! (sure this gives my age away)! Would love to have some blogging with restaurant goers and input of those who would like to join a lunch club (or supper club) at Backsberg…will wait for Simons’ response!
Dear Dalene
Thank you for your comment. I don’t quite understand what you are suggesting – why don’t you join us at the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club meeting on 20 October – we hold a monthly meeting.
You seem to be from Backsberg, which confuses me even further?
Chris