Tag Archives: chefs school

Michelin inspectors: dining detectives or normal diners?

 

South Africa does not have the Michelin Star Restaurant rating system, because there are not enough Michelin tyres sold in our country, it is said.

Yet when travelling overseas, eating at Michelin one, two or three starred restaurants has an intrigue,  because they appear to be far better than our own local best restaurants, which is not necessarily the case at all.

We are proud to have two South African chefs linked to two Michelin star restaurants: Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen owns one star JAN Restaurant in Nice, awarded for the seventh time earlier this year, and Chef Jean Delport heads up the one star Restaurant Interlude at Leonardslee Gardens in the UK, the star having been awarded for three years running. Co-incidentally both chefs studied at the former Chefs School at Zevenwacht.  Continue reading →

Imibala Restaurant: fresh foods add colour to new Somerset West Rupert eatery!

Imibala interior painting Whale CottageIt was a ‘wow’ reaction when I entered newly opened Imibala Restaurant on Bright Street on Monday, at the invitation of Ian Downie representing the restaurant owners Johann and Gaynor (Ian’s sister) Rupert, and of PR Consultant Ann Wallis-Brown. The Imibala Trust, its Gallery and its Restaurant is focused on giving back to the Helderberg community through the monies that it raises, a very noble initiative.

Ian and I connected immediately, very interested in good food, Ian having founded Gastronauts in Johannesburg when he still lived there.  We both have been members of Slow Food in Cape Town, when Jos Baker was Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 17 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Cape Town will see the opening of a new chefs school in February, the Sense of Taste Culinary Arts Cooking School being set up by chefs Peter Ayub and Angie Boyd.  They plan to become the leading cookery school in Africa in the next five years, and want to prepare their students for the hard-working, non-glamorous, non-MasterChef SA side of being a chef.

*   SAA has increased its business class and economy class fares to the UK and Germany by between 2 – 10%.

*   ‘Ordinary Love’, the U2 song for the movie ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom‘ has received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, the only nomination for the movie.  It won a Golden Globe for the same category earlier this week.   The movie cost $35 million to produce, and is South Africa’s highest grossing movie at R20 million to date.

*   Brenaissance has opened a new Wine Deck for wine tasting in its plum orchard Continue reading →