Surprise news from Chef Bertus Basson is that fine dining restaurant Overture is closing down at Hidden Valley in Stellenbosch on 30 September, after operating for 15 years at the wine estate. It was the first restaurant Basson opened.
The informal restaurant The Deck at Hidden Valley is also closing down.
This reduces the number of restaurants which Chef Bertus owns in Stellenbosch to five. Continue reading →
What a shock announcement it was today: The Test Kitchen, South Africa’s best known restaurant internationally, having climbed up (and down) the World’s 50 Best Restaurants ladder over the past 11 years, and having worn the Best South African Restaurant crown for six years running, until 2017, is to close down at the end of September. This was announced in Cape Town today.
Top Ten restaurants which have also closed down since the beginning of Lockdown are Mosaic at The Orient and Waterkloof. Ironically both Mosaic and The Test Kitchen announced in 2019 that they would no longer accept nominations for The Eat Out Awards, the 2019 awards being the last to have taken place, due to the Covid pandemic and impact thereof on the restaurant industry since the Lockdown commenced on 27 March 2020.
Thursday 29 July 2021, Day 4 of Level 3 😷
Corona Gratitude 🙏
#Grateful to Kelly Szabo and Michele Antelme for being my guardian angels when the trolls strike; for good rain today, for most of the day, chilly at 15C; for a busy morning, writing copy for a newsletter and a promotion on top of my usual client posts ; for Earl Grey being his normal self again today; for seeing the staff at Utopia again, after 4 weeks, for my Status Meeting; for my Dinkel rolls waiting for me; for a fabulous wave shot when I went for a Camps Bay walk this afternoon; and for being happy, healthy and free. 🙏💙 Continue reading →
On the almost eve of the first anniversary of the Corona Lockdown in our country, a big shout out must go to Highbury Media, owners of the online publication Cape Town Etc, which is investing R1 million in the Cape Town Restaurant industry, one of the hardest hit sectors of our economy by the Covid-19 Lockdown. The company is providing marketing support to any restaurants requesting such, by writing and posting articles about restaurants and their special features. Continue reading →