Tag Archives: credit card

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Nedbank has rolled out its Pocket POS in Sport Taxis and City Cabs in Cape Town, and other metered taxi operators in Durban and Johannesburg, to allow customers to pay by credit and debit card in the taxi.

*   Clem Sunter and Justice Malala will speak at a Breakfast session on 10 June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on ‘State of the Nation’, looking at the next five years post the General Election. Cost R895. (received via e-mail from Front Foot Events)

*   Fourpure Brewery in the UK has won a competition to brew the perfect ‘Roux Brew‘ as a house beer to be served in the top-rated Landau, La Gavroche, and Roux at Parliament Square restaurants of Chef Michel Roux Jnr in London.   ‘The winning brew featured hand-zested fresh pink grapefruit zest, fresh Sicilian Navelina orange zest and coriander seed’, good for pairing with Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 6 March

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Mango is tightening up its credit card procedures, to prevent fraud, by demanding that tickets bought by credit card are verified with the actual card.  If the card is not with the passenger, he/she may not board.

*   ESKOM started load-shedding around the country today, without prior warning, the rain in Johannesburg allegedly wetting the coal and therefore affecting its supply!  The Cape has not been spared, with electricity cuts in Somerset West, Claremont, Durbanville, Tokai, Kenilworth, Parow, Elsies River, Wellington, and Hout Bay this morning, followed by Sea Point, Camps Bay, and many other Cape Town suburbs later in the day.  Our international visitors (other than those from other African countries) are shocked! (via Twitter)

*   Chef Chris Erasmus will leave Pierneef à La Motte in June, to open his own restaurant with his wife in Franschhoek in September.

*   The Bols Bartending World Champion Rusty Cerven chose Cape Town as one of his four world cities to visit, with Sydney, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro, as part of his prize when he beat 3000 bartenders from 66 countries.  In Cape Town he demonstrated Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 5 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Wine judge and writer Tim James, and winner of a number of wine writing competitions, including the inaugural Du Toitskloof Wine Writer of the Year as well as the Franschhoek Literary Festival wine writing award, has expressed his strongest criticism of the announcement of the 2014 Franschhoek Literary Festival wine writing competition.   It has been announced that the competition and its prize money will be split into short writing (less than 1500 words) and long writing (3000 – 4000 words).  No award will be given to any writing submitted of between 1500 – 3000 words!  Earlier this year the Franschhoek Literary Festival, and the convenor of its wine writing judging committee John Maytham, were lambasted when they chose to not award the prize at all, stating that no entry was of a good enough standard. (Note: the category definitions have subsequently been changed to under 1000 words, and 1000 – 4000 words)

*   Only 8% of South African tourism and hospitality businesses plan to appoint more staff, according to tourism consultants Grant Thornton, compared to 25% by their global counterparts.

*   South African restaurant brands operating in the United Arab Emirates include Nando’s, Butcher Shop, Meat & Co, Mug & Bean, and Debonairs Pizza.

*   Argentina is encouraging its citizens to stay home with a punitive 35% tax on all credit card payments made outside the country, to protect its monetary reserves.

*   The Stellenbosch Wine Festival will take place from 24 January – 2 Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 10 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   American Express credit card holders will be rewarded (undefined as to how) for posting reviews on TripAdvisor, and will be flagged as cardholders on the rating site.  They will also receive trend information.

*   Signal at the Cape Grace has been ranked 39th and Le Verger at the Le Franschhoek Hotel has been ranked 46th in the 101 Best Hotel Restaurants around the World, the only South African entries on the list.

*   Comair and Skywise are facing a Social Media backlash for having their interdict against the commencement of FlySafair’s flights from next week granted by the court, and are calling for a boycott against the two airlines!

*   Col’Cacchio has added Breakfast to its menu at select branches, the Continue reading →