The night before our lunch at Eleven Madison Park, a Michelin three-star restaurant and named in June as third best in the World’s 50 Best Restaurant ranking, I could barely sleep from excitement, the reason for my trip to New York. Of the seven top restaurants I am booked for in New York and London Eleven Madison Park tops them all in stature, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Daniel Humm
David Higgs’ new Johannesburg restaurant opens in March!
During my dinner at five hundred at The Saxon in Johannesburg last week, I asked Chef David Higgs about his new (as yet unnamed) restaurant. Whilst guarded about many of the details, he did reveal some information about it.
The location: Chef David had indicated publicly that the Continue reading →
World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2015: The Test Kitchen ranked 28th, El Celler de Can Roca number 1 restaurant in the world again!
Chef Luke Dale-Roberts’ The Test Kitchen was named the 28th best restaurant in the world and Best in Africa, at the 14th The World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony in London last night, a 20 place climb from his 48th position last year, and 61st position in 2013. El Celler de Can Roca was 
ranked as the Best Restaurant in the World, the second time it has received this honour. Regular winner Noma dropped to third place. Spain received the most 50 Best Restaurant Awards (7), followed by the USA (6), and France (5). Both The Test Kitchen and World’s 50 Best Restaurants trended on Twitter last night.
El Celler de Can Roca is based in Giron in Spain, and is run by the three Roca brothers Josep, Joan,and Jordi, who opened their restaurant in 1986. They pioneered sous-vide cooking, and are described as creating ‘magic without undue theatrics’. Brother Joan is the head chef, Jordi is the Pastry Chef, and Josep is the Sommelier and Front of House. In 2013 they were also named the best restaurant in the world. Continue reading →
Restaurant Review: SeaFood at The Marine very grey, poor seafood, very poor service!
After seeing a Tweet by The Collection by Liz McGrath Executive Chef Peter Tempelhoff about the new interior of SeaFood at The Marine earlier this week, I decided to lunch there yesterday, being in Hermanus for the day. It was a most disappointing experience, given the five star and Relais & Chateaux status of the hotel.
The Marine hotel has a long heritage and was bought by Mrs McGrath a number of years ago. and sat on its own on the cliffs overlooking Walker Bay, technically a magnificent location, but little is made of the beautiful view. A recent flurry of development across the road from the hotel has given it a lift. Mrs McGrath appears to be like Le Quartier Français owner Susan Huxter who renovates her establishment annually. Mrs McGrath did the latest interior design of SeaFood at The Marine, her staff told me. The colour scheme now is grey, with grey chairs, grey tables, and grey Continue reading →