I cannot resist writing a story about Chef Bertus Basson’s latest TV series, ‘In die Sop: Restaurant Evolusie’ on kykNet, a Gordon Ramsay-style ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ reality TV series in which restaurants are given 72 hours in which to be transformed. It is aired on Wednesdays on KykNet at 20h00, the first episode airing last week. The title of the series ‘In die Sop’ refers to restaurants being in trouble.
The irony is that Basson himself has been no expert in restaurant design when one considers his ‘crap’ Spek & Bone off Dorp Street (one of the most widely read reviews on my Blog), and De Vrije Burger on Plein Street, both in Stellenbosch. Surprisingly, Basson admits to his restaurant faults: ‘I’ve achieved great success, but I’ve also made a lot of mistakes and learned lessons that have cost me dearly. I want to share these insights with other restaurant owners.’! His admission should lead him to unban me from his restaurants! Continue reading →
I saw an article by Post & Courier recently, randomly as I do not follow this publication, and was attracted to its topic, being the impact of restaurant reviews and their power to close a restaurant down. Being our country’s harshest restaurant reviewer, this got me thinking about why the top chefs in our country, including Giorgio Nava, Bertus Basson, Peter Tempelhoff, Liam Tomlin, and Scott Kirton & Co are so sensitive to constructive criticism by banning (or attempting to) me from their restaurants, yet new (to our country) chef Wunderkind Rikku O’Donnchü of Gåte Restaurant welcomes it so! 
I was sent a copy of Eva Mazza’s ‘Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch’ by Jacana Press, to review, my first Book Review. Whilst I waded through the sex, and sex, and sex, I wondered how I would write this review, this being a family-friendly Blog. But it was right at the end that the message of the book was clear: no matter how terrible the life experiences one goes through, there is always growth and an opportunity to transform, and lead a better life, echoing my two ‘SwitchBitch’ books which I published last year.