The 2022 edition of the Platters by Diners Club South African Wine Guide has announced the 234 wines that have achieved its prestigious five star rating.
Red Blends (46) and White Blends (27) achieved the largest number of 5 star ratings, followed by Chenin Blanc with 27, Chardonnay with 19, and Cabernet Sauvignon with 15 wines. Last year 212 wines received 5 stars. A total of 13 judges evaluated the wines eligible for the 5 star rating. Continue reading →
I have only just paged through the Eat Out 2020 magazine, and was interested in the article on restaurants trends observed during 2019 whilst Eat Out Head Judge and Chef Margot Janse and her team of judges roamed the country to evaluate our country’s top restaurants for the 2019 Eat Out Awards. Personally, I’m happy to see that table cloths are back in. Nothing worse than eating at a bare table, Continue reading →
The Eat Out judges are doing the rounds in evaluating our country’s Top 20 restaurants, from which they will pick their Top 10 Restaurants for 2015, to be announced at a Gala Lunch at Mistico Equestrian Centre outside
Paarl on 15 November.
Last year a number of restaurants made it to the Top 20 shortlist, possibly by default, as the largest number of chef changes ever took place in 2014, making the restaurants linked to those chefs ineligible to be considered for an Eat Out Top 10 award. This affected Hartford House (Chef Jackie Cameron starting her Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine), Delaire Graff (Chef Christiaan Campbell Continue reading →
Last year New Media Publishing changed its annual Eat Out magazine, having featured 1100 restaurants in earlier years. Last year the Eat Out Top 500 restaurant guide was based on applications sent by restaurants themselves, and the top 500 selected by 50 food and restaurant writers and lovers. This year the Eat Out 500 top restaurants could be nominated by anyone, mainly the public, and chosen and reviewed by a panel of 30, mainly food writers.
Earlier this week Eat Out announced the Top 20 Restaurant shortlist, which will guarantee those restaurants a space in the 2015 Eat Out Top 500 Restaurant Guide.
The selection and evaluation of the Eat Out Top 500 is sketchy: ‘...a list of candidates was selected (how, on which criteria?), rated (on which scale, on which criteria?), and reviewed by the panel‘ (the criteria for reviewing are mentioned as food – defined as menu composition, seasonality, and presentation – and ambiance, service, and wine/beverage selection). Surely they mean that a particular member of the panel reviewed a particular restaurant? The end result is described by Eat Out (twice in its media release) as a ‘power list of great restaurants‘! Someone alerted me to the hard sell to new restaurants by Eat Out to be listed on Continue reading →