Tag Archives: Middle East

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12 January

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   South Africa’s 2014 Eat Out Chef of the Year, Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient, is participating in the Audi Chef’s Cup SüdTirol in Italy, commencing next Monday, as part of her prize, with a total of 70 chefs from Italy and other countries, many whose restaurants have Michelin stars.  Chantel’s dish for the competition is ‘Treasures on the Beach’, with scampi tails and rooibos in a tomato risotto. (received via newsletter from the Restaurant Mosaic).

*   It is speculated that SAA may drop its Johannesburg – Beijing route, its worst performing route with losses of more than R300 million per year, especially given the introduction of AirChina flights to Johannesburg from March onwards.

*   Chef David Higgs of five hundred at The Saxon has been selected as one of three chefs to judge the S.Pellegrino Continue reading →

Chef Reuben Riffel: 2014 was a very busy year! More MasterChef to come!

Reuben Riffel Whale CottageYesterday I met Chef Reuben Riffel for a Day of Reconciliation coffee at Crisp in Franschhoek, around the corner from his Reuben’s restaurant, a follow-up from our reconnection at the Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Restaurant Awards.

As he sat down, Chef Reuben apologised for not feeling 100%, starting a cold, and expressing that he is exhausted after a very busy year, but seems to have enjoyed every minute of it. Ironically he and his wife Maryke had planned 2014 last year, wanting it to be a less busy year than 2013, but looking back, he said it was even busier. In the past year he has done the following:

*   filmed MasterChef SA Celebrity Edition, a series we are yet to see, in January 2015, in which he cut his MasterChef judging teeth, apologising that he was still new at being a TV cooking show judge.  Food24 reports that the 10 celebrities, cooking for a prize to be donated to  charity, are Singer Patricia Lewis, Comedian Chris Forrest, Comedian TolAss­Mo, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 3 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Cape Town Tourism has launched a campaign focused on Capetonians, to celebrate Tourism Month this month, encouraging locals to experience their own city.  Based on the view that locals may not always appreciate the beauty of the city, they have been invited to photograph the yellow frames giving a different perspective on Table Mountain, erected to celebrate World Design Capital 2014 throughout Cape Town (in the V&A Waterfront, at Look Out Hill in Khayelitsha, as well as in Blaauwberg), with their friends and family. The winning photograph will win a Cape Town experience valued at R30000. (received via media release from Cape Town Tourism)

*   Western Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde hopes that the forthcoming tourism season will be the best yet, despite the damage that the Immigration Regulations can do to families wishing to visit our province.  He will be hosting a ‘Tourism Plenary‘ later this month, to draft a Western Cape Cycling Tourism Strategy, in how to attract 100000 cyclists to the province annually.   New tourism routes in rural areas of the province are on the cards. (received via media release from Minster Winde’s office)

*   Global air travel increased by 5% in July relative to the twelve months prior, says the International Air Transport Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 1 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   A substantial number of Americans are scared to fly internationally since the airline disasters this year.  In the poll 36% said they were scared to fly due to political turmoil, 42% of women expressing their fear.

*   Wesgro CEO Nils Flatten welcomed Sean Penn to the Western Cape, and presented a gift of an artwork from the Robben Island Legacy Collection, using a piece of fencing retrieved from the island.  Penn is scouting locations for ‘The Last Face’ movie he is producing, which will be filmed in the province.  (received via e-mail from Wesgro)

*   La Residence in Franschhoek has been included in the list of top 10 Best Small Hotels in the World with 20 rooms or Continue reading →