The Winter months are always tough on restaurants, as diners are not keen to leave their homes when it is cold and wet. With the reduced trade, added to Loadshedding, and the earlier Curfew start time, restaurants are keen to attract business by offering Winter specials.
I will compile an ongoing Restaurant Winter Specials list for Cape Town and Winelands Restaurants, updated regularly. I welcome all information about Winter Specials. Continue reading →
Tasting Menus have had a reputation in our country to offer endless numbers of courses (over 20 at The Test Kitchen in pre-Covid Lockdown times), with a price ticket to match!
Seeing the prices charged by Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen at his new Restaurant KLEIN JAN at Tswalu, as well as his Innovation Studio pop-up in Cape Town, I did some research to check what is being charged at some of our top restaurants. I have listed the number of courses and the prices, and then calculated an average price per course with and without wines..
The Test Kitchen and Restaurant KLEIN JAN offer the most expensive Tasting Menus on a total price as well as on a per course basis. It is a shame that the La Colombe Group Menus are almost all designed according to the same formula. Interesting too is that most top Restaurants charge a Premium on their Vegetarian/Vegan Tasting Menus. Continue reading →
During earlier Levels of Lockdown last year I was invited to participate in the Live-Cook Channel cook-alongs, starting with none less than Chef Luke Dale Roberts of The Test Kitchen. I had the assistance of my MasterChick Jenny Stephens at my side, and she did most of the cooking and I made notes, poured the wine, and took photographs. This was to become our pattern in three such Live-Cook Channel challenges. Yesterday I decided to challenge myself to do the cooking of Chef Reuben Riffel’s Pan-roasted prawns and hake on my own, making it a real hands-on experience.
It was a nerve-wracking experience in preparing it on my own, but I am proud of the end-result.
La Colombe has been announced as Best South African as well as African Restaurant in the inaugural 2020 World Culinary Awards. Its sister restaurant Epice at Le Quartier in Franschhoek was named Best New Restaurant in Africa. South Africa was named Best Culinary Destination in Africa.
The World Culinary Awards ‘serves to celebrate and reward excellence in the culinary industry through our annual awards programme. World Culinary Awards is the sister event of World Travel Awards, itself inaugurated in 1994’, its website states.
I have been fortunate to eat at a number of the award-winning restaurants.