New Media Publishing has made a surprise announcement about its 2015 Eat Out Restaurant Awards, which will be held on Sunday 15 November.
A number of changes (yet again) have been introduced, and one wonders how well they will go down with the chefs, for whom the Continue reading →
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* South Africa’s 2014 Eat Out Chef of the Year, Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient, is participating in the Audi Chef’s Cup SüdTirol in Italy, commencing next Monday, as part of her prize, with a total of 70 chefs from Italy and other countries, many whose restaurants have Michelin stars. Chantel’s dish for the competition is ‘Treasures on the Beach’, with scampi tails and rooibos in a tomato risotto. (received via newsletter from the Restaurant Mosaic).
* It is speculated that SAA may drop its Johannesburg – Beijing route, its worst performing route with losses of more than R300 million per year, especially given the introduction of AirChina flights to Johannesburg from March onwards.
* Chef David Higgs of five hundred at The Saxon has been selected as one of three chefs to judge the S.Pellegrino Continue reading →
Eat Out has announced the names of its six ‘celebrated chefs’ cooking at its 2014 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards Gala Dinner on 16 November at new (for Eat Out) venue Thunder City. It has also revealed that five judges will select the Top 10 Restaurants for 2015.
In the past the chef selection for the Gala Dinner has been a sure predictor of Eat Out Top 10 restaurant selection, but when this became too obvious, Eat Out selected a mix of chefs who made the Top 10 Restaurant list, with some that did not. We have predicted the Eat Out Top 20 Restaurant shortlist for this year. The ‘decorated chefs’ cooking the dinner are:
* Neil Jewell of Bread & Wine (a weird Top 20 Restaurant finalist last year), which will definitely not make Top 10.
* David Higgs of five hundred (last year’s Chef of the Year and the restaurant came second on the Top 10 list), which will definitely make Top 10 – can Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly let go of her ‘darling’ Luke Dale-Roberts, and give the top spot to Continue reading →
Today ends one of the less nice years, and the number 13 in it should have been a warning of how bad it could become. While it has many negative associations, it also was a year of highlights, from our perspective.
For me personally the year was overshadowed by the passing of my father, and while I was lucky to have him in my life for such a long time, reaching the ripe old age of 97, it still was a shock when he went in April. He brought our family to South Africa, and specifically to the Cape, for which I will be eternally grateful. He helped shape my interest in the business world, and took a keen interest in my Market Research, Public Relations, and hospitality careers. Added to this was the further loss of our beloved Madiba, who passed away on 5 December, a shock when it happened, despite one knowing that it was just a matter of time. It felt like a double whammy loss year. Heaven has gained two truly great gentlemen.
2013 has had some positive aspects: we celebrated the fifth anniversary of our Blog, well established and with more than 30000 unique readers per month. We thank our loyal readers and commenters, as well as the Public Relations companies which feed us with up to date information and invite us to launches, particularly in the wine industry. We particularly commend Waterford Communications for its professionalism in dealing with us as friends as well as writers, never taking any coverage for granted, always being willing to assist with more information, having a knack for choosing excellent weather days for client functions, and saying ‘thank you‘ for coverage received, a rare treat! The PR company leads an industry plagued by poor writers, who bombard one with media releases (often being irrelevant), repeating information already written about, and demanding proof of coverage granted to the client brand! Continue reading →