Tag Archives: David Grier

A whale of a Hermanus FynArts Festival: 5 – 16 June! A feast of food, wine, music, art, books, and more!

Hermanus FynArtsI did a quick visit to Hermanus yesterday, and at a stop at Rivendell Restaurant, between Bot River and Hermanus, I was told that Chef Thomas Sinn was coming back from his overseas holiday especially to participate in a super-sounding feast, for which he is one of eight chefs cooking on Monday evening. The staff brought a copy of the programme, and I could not believe what the organisers have planned for the 11-day Festival, ‘A Celebration of South African Arts’ its 80-page Festival brochure proudly proclaims!

The programme consists of different themes: Continue reading →

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

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*    The Garden Route is one of nine Best Coastal Drives in the world, selected by CNN Traveler, and described as follows: ‘Drive along the #GardenRoute @GoToSouthAfrica absolutely stunning!” —@SuryaSadisivan’ .  Other coastal drives on the list includes the Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway, the Amalfi Drive in Italy, the Road to Key West in Florida, and Sea-to-Sky Highway in Vancouver.

*   Horst Frehse, Executive Director of the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent Red Carnation Hotel Collection Staff Appreciation Awards held in London. Continue reading →

WhaleTales: Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 16 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

* La Residence in Franschhoek is the joint Best Hotel in the World, on the Conde Nast Top 100 Hotels as chosen by its readers, and Singita Sabi Sand and Bushmans Kloof Wilderness are in joint 3rd place. Lion Sands, Phinda Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, and Singita Kruger have all made the Top 100 Hotel list.

*   Cape Town has been ranked joint 11th Best City in the World, out of 25, on the Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, following San Miguel de Allende in first place, followed by Florence, Budapest, Salzburg, Charleston, San Sebastian, Vienna, Rome, Siena, and Quebec City.

* ‘All these must see lists are nonsense because they sell books, magazines and they push websites but there is no truth behind it. What makes sells a place is if you had a great experience there and that’s something only you can do’ writes Lonely Planet Guide writer Doug Lansky about Continue reading →

Col’Cacchio ‘Celebrity Chef’ Series 2013: eat good, do good!

Col’Cacchio has announced the ‘Celebrity Chefs‘ who are endorsing its ‘Celebrity Chef’ Series 2013, none of whom are in fact ‘celebrity’ nor chefs linked to a restaurant!  Despite the misnomer, the concept of the promotion is a noble one, as R5 of each of the Celebrity Series pizzas goes to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, which does excellent work in caring for children from all over Africa.  A donation of around R100000 can be expected from the pizza promotion this year.

Last year I attended the awards evening of the Col’Cacchio Pizza Challenge, in which pizza lovers competed for the honour of having their pizza added to the Col’Cacchio menu for the month of August, alongside pizzas designed by Chef Chris Erasmus from Pierneef à La Motte, Chef Jackie Cameron from Hartford House, and Chef Coco Reinarhz of Sel et Poivre.  This year Col’Cacchio has called for pizza lovers to enter their Pizza Challenge Live, Continue reading →