Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
*. Durban has been given the go-ahead to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, a potential boost of R11 billion and employment for 11500 forecast. The cost to host the event is estimated at R 6,4 billion. The announcement of the winning bid will be made on Wednesday, and is likely to be awarded to Durban, as the former competitor city Edmonton withdrew earlier this year.
* Volkswagen has announced that it will invest R4,5 billion in the Continue reading →
About ten days ago Orphanage Cocktail Emporium co-owner Katie Friedman introduced me to new eateries Mother’s Ruin Gin Bar and Palma in the next street block on Bree Street, being landlord to both. My experience of Palma on that evening differed vastly from that of our dinner last night.
I had invited my friend Whitney to join me, and we chose an outside table, given how hot it still was when we arrived. It was lighter than on my previous visit, and the ‘less is more’ interior design impressed. General Manager Roberto Carluzzo did not seem to recognise me, or to react to the Facebook posts and the blogpost I had written about the 26 eateries on Bree Street subsequent to my first visit. The doorman did however welcome me back, a nice touch. Mama Palma Carluzzo was in the bar, putting on finishing touches to leaving, and I was disappointed, as we had been told that she is the chef, in charge of Continue reading →
The eleventh episode of MasterChef SA Season 3 was a close contest between Ian Young and Sipho Mdlankomo for the Immunity Pin, and between Penny Fitchet and Francois Zietsman in the Elimination Test. The episode ended off on a high for the seven remaining contestants.
Having won the paired Team Challenge last week, Ian and Sipho had been promised a surprise, and we recognised the Old Biscuit Mill, and the building in which The Pot Luck Club is housed. Chef Luke Dale-Roberts was introduced, and a video link showed him speaking to the camera, being at least a year old in that it was incorrect about when The Test Kitchen and The Pot Luck Club had opened. Chef Luke’s The Test Kitchen is in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, but this was misrepresented by M-Net, as the contestants were at The Pot Luck Club, which is not on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, 
but was made to appear as if it is! Instead of being served a lunch by Chef Luke, the two contestants were presented with a cloche by Reuben Robertsons Riffel, which when opened, contained an Immunity Pin. Sipho and Ian had to cook a dish created by Chef Luke, and the one replicating it most closely would win the Pin. The two contestants were given a recipe for Chef Luke’s braised pork belly served with apple, a miso and soy glaze, julienne vegetables, and a steamed Chinese bun, and they tasted a sample dish. They were given 90 minutes to complete the dish, cooking in the kitchen of The Pot Luck Club. It was a delight to see Chef Luke smile, Continue reading →