Ill de Pain | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Winter has set in, and the rate of new restaurant openings has almost ground to a halt, as has the move of chefs between restaurants. This list of restaurant openings and closings and restaurant staff movements is updated continuously, as we receive new information:

Restaurant Openings

* Open Door has opened at Constantia Uitsig, the third restaurant to be opened by Neil Grant and his business partner Barry Engelbrecht (of Burrata and Bocca), previously the River Café. (photograph)

* Michael Townsend of the Harbour House Group is planning to open two new restaurants on the Muizenberg beachfront: a 160-seater Live Bait, and Howlin’ Wolf, a burger and beer quick service restaurant. Continue reading →

Inspector Louis Albert Péringuey was a powerful man in the 19th century, in his role as Inspector-General of Vineyards in the Cape. Yesterday Gary and Kathy Jordan of Jordan Wines paid tribute to the man who led the fight against phylloxera, and who supervised the importation of American rootstocks onto which vineyard varieties were grafted. They have named their 2014 vintage Chenin Blanc Inspector Péringuey, ‘as Chenin was the first varietal we planted in 1983, that being the oldest block on the estate‘.

The Inspector collected museum artifacts in Africa, and moved to the Cape in 1879. He specialised in Coleoptera (the study of beetles) and prehistory. He was a teacher, worked for the South African Museum, and also worked as the Inspector-General of Vineyards. He has a leaf-toed gecko, an adder, and an ant named after him Continue reading →