Tag Archives: Manley Communications

Manley Communications cannot distinguish between ‘copy and paste’ cribbing by Michael Olivier and a ‘review’ for the newly opened Grande Roche Hotel and Viande Restaurant!

It has been some years ago that I criticized lazy ‘copy and paster’ Michael Olivier for his lack of ethics in posting stories about wine estates and restaurants on his Blog. Earlier this week my eye caught a glowing thanks to Olivier by Manley Communications, as follows: ‘Thank you dearest Michael Olivier for the fantastic review’. Except that it wasn’t a review at all, it appearing that Olivier has not even visited the newly refurbished Grande Roche nor eaten at its new Viande restaurant! A PR company therefore praising its own media release content has morals as poor as those of the ‘copy and paster’ Olivier!

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Africa and The Test Kitchen scrapes back onto 2018 World’s 50 Best Restaurant List!

After a year of not having an African restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, The Test Kitchen In Cape Town has done our continent proud in scraping in at number 50 at the gala awards ceremony held in Bilboa in Spain this evening. The restaurant was praised for its emphasis on waterless cooking, giving the water scarcity in Cape Town. Last year the restaurant fell to 63rd position, when its arrogance in charging astronomically for lunch service, and for the presence of Chef Luke Dale-Roberts, led to its downfall. 

La Colombe made it onto the 51 -100 List, at number 73 last year, but has fallen right off the list this year, a karmic reaction to its involvement in restaurant politics, which was already evident in its slide at the Eat Out Awards in November last year.  Continue reading →

Honesty is my best policy! And it will always be! Even about unprofessional chefs and PR consultancies!

I could not have imagined that my review a week ago of Chef Bertus Basson’s Spek en Bone restaurant in Stellenbosch could have unleashed such vitriol, and become so personal in its attacks, despite my review not having been a personal attack against Chef Bertus. I am grateful for all the messages of support which I have received, reinforcing that I am known as the only honest writer in our country.  Continue reading →

Bosman Wines looks to Italian varieties due to climate change!

Wellington-based Bosman Family Vineyards has looked at Italian wine styles, grape varieties from Sicily being particularly suitable to plant locally, given climate change and our current shortage of water. The wine estate has been in the Bosman family ownership for eight generations already.  Continue reading →