In a major change, Eat Out 2022 Head Judge Abigail Donnelly has announced her four fellow judges on the panel evaluating our country’s Top restaurants for the November 2022 Eat Out Awards.
The Eat Out Awards will be hosted for the first time in two years. No date or venue details are available to date.
Another new introduction is that the top restaurants will be rated and no longer ranked! The industry’s ‘unsung heroes’ will be recognised too.
While a few restaurants already announced their closure at the beginning of March, when the COVID-19 Virus Lockdown had not yet been announced, a flood of restaurant closures is expected when restaurants are allowed to reopen to the public in Level 1 again, at an unannounced date in the future.
A shock closure announced by Chef Luke Dale Roberts during Lockdown Level 5 was that of The Shortmarket Club, and with it neighboring The Commissary. SMAK Delicatessen and Eatery on Bree Street, La Bottega in Woodstock, Empire Cafe in Muizenberg, Buitenverwachting Restaurant (under the guidance of Chef Edgar Osojnik for the past 20 years), and Mariner’s Wharf in Hout Bay have also thrown in the towel.
As a restaurant writer it is interesting to me to observe how our country’s leading chefs are coping with the Corona Virus lockdown. Ten out of ten to the chefs giving unselfishly to their communities. Less impressive are the chefs trying to raise monies for their staff or selling vouchers to cover their cash flows. Surprisingly few are using the captive audience of Lockdown diners to communicate with them! Continue reading →
In the latest issue of SARIE KOS (Summer 2020), the reader receives a detailed introduction to the new KLEIN JAN restaurant which Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen, of Michelin one-star restaurant in Nice, plans to open in November 2020 at Tswalu Private Game Reserve in the Kalahari Desert. It will become even more South African in its cuisine than its big brother JAN. Continue reading →