Tag Archives: Oyster Box

Looking back: 2011 the worst year ever?

2011: what a year it’s been for the world, South Africa, and Whale Cottage – unpredictable, up and down, and a year in which one had to rethink every way in which one has run one’s business and life.  Most would say that it’s been one of the worst years ever!  But despite the tough times, there has been a lot to be grateful for as well.  I have summarised some of the high and low lights of the year:

1.  The knock which tourism took, especially from May – August, in being one of the worst winters ever experienced, had an effect on all sectors of the economy.  Restaurants frantically offered specials to gain cashflow, guest houses went back to dropping rates as they do in winter, and few took rate increases in summer, unlike their hotel colleagues, who suffered poor occupancy too.  More hotels and restaurants closed down than ever seen before. The recession in the UK hit South African tourism and wine sales badly, previously our major source market. From 50 % of our business in the summer months in Camps Bay, the UK business will be no more than 5 % this summer.  High airfares and the crippling UK airport taxes have not helped. The tourism situation was so bad that we wrote an Open Letter to national Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, as Cape Town Tourism and Cape Town Routes Unlimited were not aware of how bad things were in the Cape, and therefore did nothing to market the region and to help the tourism industry. Cape Town Tourism spent all its energy on Twitter, not yet the medium of communication of our average tourist, and on wasteful promotions, and therefore we did not renew our 20 year membership. The welcome increase in German tourists has not made up this shortfall, but we have been delighted to welcome many more South African guests.   The World Cup has become a swearword, the reality of its lack of a tourism benefit becoming clear. A blessing from Santa has been a much improved festive season, with no snow-bound tourists or strong south-easter wind, as happened last year.

2.  Events are hugely beneficial for business, and the Argus Cycle Tour, J&B Met, and Cape Town International Jazz Festival attracted out of town guests. The U2 and Coldplay concerts helped fill beds and delighted Cape Town audiences.  A fantastic outcome of Coldplay’s performance is that the music video for ‘Paradise’ was filmed in our city, the Boland and the Karoo – no better part of the world could have been chosen for this song!

3.  Cape Town has had an exceptional year, the darling of the world, winning the World Design Capital 2014 bid, Table Mountain being named one of New7Wonders of Nature (amid some controversy and as yet subject to verification), named top destination in TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Destination (for what it was worth!), and featuring strongly in the new James Bond book ‘Carte Blanche’.  Our city hotels, especially the Cape Grace and Steenberg Hotel, featured on international top hotel lists. Good news was the sale of the V&A Waterfront to a local company, which is investing in the upgrade of and addition to the country’s most popular tourist destination.

4.   Despite the doom and gloom, there were more restaurant openings, and chef and restaurant staff changes this year than in many years: The Pot Luck Club, Hemelhuijs, Dash, Casparus, Dear Me Foodworld, The Franschhoek Kitchen, Il Cappero, Café Benedict, The Kitchen at Maison, Sotano by Caveau, Knife, De Oude Bank Bakkerij, Ryan’s Kitchen, Caffe Milano, Mozzarella Bar, Cassis Salon de Thé, Power & the Glory, Haas Coffee, Johan’s @ Longridge, Skinny Legs & All, KOS Coffee & Cuisine, Café Dijon @ Zorgvliet, Le Coq, Act and Play Bar at the Baxter, Sunbird Bistro, Societi Brasserie, Jason’s, Bird Café with new owners, Maria’s after a long renovation closure, Toro Wine & Aperitif Bar, Valora, Café Le Chocolatier, Haute Cabriere Cellar Restaurant after a renovation and chef change, Art’s Café, Spice Route, Mitico, Knead on Kloof, Chez Chez, La Bella, 5 Rooms, Terbodore Coffee Bar, Wale Rose Lifestyle, The Black Pearl, Bistro on Rose, Slainte, Babel Tea House, Rhapsody’s, Café Extrablatt, Harvest, McDonalds in the V&A,  The Mussel Bar, The Franschhoek Food Emporium, Makaron, F.east, Bean There Fair Trade, Sabrina’s, Harbour House in the V&A, MCC Franschhoek, Clarke Bar & Dining Room, Roberto’s, French Toast, Saboroso, Mezepoli, Rocca in the Cape Quarter, and Roca in Franschhoek opening their doors, and new suppliers Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants and The Creamery opening too.

5.  Sadly, the recession was noticeable as it hit restaurants, and it was some of the newer restaurants that were badly hit, including What’s On Eatery, The Olive Shack, Bella Lucia, Blonde, Jardine, Caveau at the Mill, Nando’s in Camps Bay, The Sandbar, The Bistro, Restaurant Christophe, Doppio Zero in Green Point and Clarement, shu, Oiishi Delicious Caffe, Hermanos, The Kitchen Bar, Wildwoods, The Green Dolphin, De Huguenot restaurant, Wildflour, Depasco, Kuzina, and 221 Waterfront.

6.  The eating highlight of the year was the tribute dinner to the closing of El Bulli, one of the world’s best restaurants, by Tokara, Chef Richard Carstens excelling in serving a 13-course meal to a packed restaurant on 30 July, earning him and his team a standing ovation.  This meal alone should have made Chef Richard South Africa’s top chef in the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Awards, but sole judge Abigail Donnelly proved that she was incapable of handling this new role and responsibility, not only in excluding Chef Richard from her Top 10 list, but also in awarding the new Boschendal Style Award to her client Makaron.

7.   Franschhoek evolved as THE wine region, Boekenhoutskloof being recognised as South Africa’s top winery by the Platter Guide, and La Motte the top wine estate in South Africa by the Great Wine Capitals Global Network.  In the latter competition, Tokara was selected as top wine estate restaurant in the country. The sale of the Franschhoek Graham Beck farm was announced, and the operation closes mid-year in 2012. The winemaking will take place at Steenberg and at Graham Beck in Robertson, while a Graham Beck tasting bar Gorgeous will open at Steenberg in February.

8.   Hermanus was in the tourism marketing spotlight, when miraculously both the committee of the Hermanus Tourism Bureau resigned, and the Cape Whale Coast Destination Marketing Organisation was disbanded by the Overstrand Mayor.  We had written about the self-interest which had been served by the previous leaders of these two bodies in ‘Lermanus’!  A welcome product for Hermanus is the recently created Hermanus Wine Route, marketing of which will be in the capable hands of Carolyn Martin of Creation.

9.   The Consumer Protection Act was introduced in April, and has shown benefits in product deficiencies and returns.  Little effect has been seen for the tourism industry.  The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa tried to change its accommodation assessment standards, which caused a huge outcry.  Despite changing back to what they had before, many accommodation establishments lost faith in the organisation, and have not renewed their accreditation.

10.  The wedding of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène in July put South Africa in the world spotlight, not only due to the televised broadcast of the wedding, but also as they celebrated their wedding with a second reception, at The Oyster Box in Umhlanga, now the country’s best known hotel.

11.  This year proved that the ‘social’ in Social Media is a misnomer in many respects, but it is the marketing platform which cannot be excluded.  We celebrated the 10th anniversary of our WhaleTales newsletter, the 3rd year of blogging, and our 1000 th blogpost this year.  We are grateful to our Facebook friends and likers, Twitter followers, and blog and newsletter readers for their support.

It is hard to predict 2012, and we will go with the flow.  2011 has made us tougher and even more thick-skinned, we have learnt to change with changed tourism times.  We look forward to a stable world economy, politics, as well as weather in 2012!

POSTSCRIPT 2/1: The most read posts on our blog in 2011 were the restaurant winter specials, the Festive Season packages, the marriage of Prince Albert and Princess Charléne, the review of Casparus, the restaurant summer specials, the review of Gaaitjie in Paternoster, the death in Cape Town of the President of Ferrero Rocher,  the listing of restaurant openings and closures, the Consumer Protection Act, and Table Mountain making the New7Wonders of Nature.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

Twelve Apostles Sweet Service and Cape Town parking guard Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award goes to The Twelve Apostles Hotel for their The Spa launch function earlier this week.   Guests received a personally delivered invitation, were given directions as to where to park some distance from the hotel, were driven in courtesy cars to the function venue, received a generous gift pack of Elemis, B.AFRICA and Dermalogica product samples, and met the charming hosts Toni and Victoria Tollman, all on a picture perfect afternoon.  Delicious and healthy light snacks were served with champagne and water.  The three local Red Carnation Hotel chefs Henrico Grobbelaar from The Twelve Apostles, Kevin Joseph from the Oyster Box (he says that Princess Charlène and Prince Albert look really happy when the cameras aren’t around), and Floris Smith from Bushmans Kloof did the food preparation.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Cape Town parking marshalls, who are becoming increasingly cheeky, rude and even aggressive, as I experienced in Sea Point outside SPAR recently.  After parking, I was followed by a parking marshall, who touched my arm, and told me that I was not allowed to ‘f…ing’ park where I had parked in a legitimate parking bay.  He refused to give me his name, and had removed his name badge when I had returned to my car.  The rude behaviour of parking marshalls is a major deterrent to doing business at shops and restaurants in the city centre, in Sea Point, and in other suburbs of Cape Town.  Sharing the Sour Service Award is the City of Cape Town, which did not react to a Tweet, in which I asked for a contact person to report the incident to!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

SA wedding reception with oysters for Prince Albert and Princess Charlène at The Oyster Box!

Prince Albert and Princess Charlène will be hosting a second wedding reception for not only South African friends and family, but also for some of the dignitaries attending the 123rd International Olympic Committee session, at the Oyster Box in Umhlanga later today.

While the details of the wedding menu and the attendance at the cocktail function have been shrouded in secrecy, some information about the wedding meal and its 450 guests have been found.  The guests at the lunch will include FIFA President Sepp Blatter, FIFA ex-President Joao Havelange, International Association of Athletics Federation head Lamine Diack, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (who both attended the Monaco wedding), Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Princess Anne, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, IOC member Sam Ramsamy, King Mswati of Swaziland, and Vivian Reddy, report The Times and Sowetan.  The couple was invited to lunch with President Zuma at King House, the presidential residence in Durban, yesterday.

Executive Chef Kevin Joseph of the Oyster Box Hotel will prepare the meal, saying it is not the largest event that he has catered for, but certainly the most high profile.   With nine years at the hotel, and previous experience at Raffles in Singapore, the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta and the Milestone in London, he is confident that he and his team will do a great job today.  Asked why Princess Charlène had chosen the hotel for the reception, he said that her father “is part of the horse-racing fraternity and the Oyster Box has always been a big part of that world”, reports the Sunday Times.  Earlier this year, Princess Charlène stayed at the hotel, and loved its Indian food.

The menu is a secret, but Chef Kevin says that he was given carte blanche for it, but with the specification that it should contain both South African and French cuisine.  The colour theme for the decor is the Monaco red and white.  Local produce will be organic, and fish, meat and cheeses will come from KwaZulu-Natal. All breads, pastries and ice creams will be made in-house.  An oyster bar will offer oysters prepared in different ways, a butler service keeping guests topped up with ‘beautifully plated’ food.   Boerewors and mealie pap will be on the menu too, as will sardines.  Dombeya Chardonnay and Samara will be served, and Haskell winemaker Rianie Strydom will be one of the reception guests.

“Of course I hope the bridal couple enjoy it, but I really want the guests, international and local, to leave with the conviction that South African hospitality is amongst the best in the world. I want our guests to go home and say, ‘You’ve got to go and experience South Africa – and particularly Durban!”, he said.

Princess Charlène flies to Cape Town tomorrow, to attend a function of the Giving Organisation Trust with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Noordhoek, and visiting the Cotlands HIV/AIDS hospice and the Fynbos Project at Lourensford, both in Somerset West.

POSTSCRIPT 8/7: A special Oysters Charlène dish was created by The Oyster Box for the function, reports AFP, being oysters baked with creamed spinach, curried lentils and asparagus.

POSTSCRIPT 9/7: Princess Charlène’s visit to Cape Town was low-key, but her acceptance of the trusteeship of the Giving Organisation from Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a highlight.

POSTSCRIPT 11/7: Now that the reception is over, and confidentiality agreements no longer apply, more details of the reception menu have been made available by The Sunday Independent.  A total of 60000 canapés, prepared for the 500 guests by a team of 30 chefs, included crayfish with lime and palm sugar glaze and wasabi egg puree; seared tuna loin with Japanese seven spice, crisp seaweed salad, soya and mint dressing;  ostrich bobotie and raisin spring rolls; Dargyl duck liver and truffle paté; mini raspberry and honey Pavlovas; a duo of opera chocolate slices, mini chocolate and bitter orange éclairs; French apple tartlets with frangipani topping; and malva pudding.  Moët et Chandon was served, as well as Dombeya and Bouchard Finlayson wines, the latter wine estate owned by the owners of The Oyster Box.  The wedding cake was a lighthouse, the icon of The Oyster Box.  Sad if true, is the report in The Times today that Prince Albert and Princess Charlène stayed in different hotels whilst in Durban. 

Quick to make capital of the most high profile event The Oyster Box has ever hosted, parent company Red Carnation Hotels has launched a “You’re One in a Million” R1 million wedding package at The Oyster Box and sister hotel The Twelve Apostles in Camps Bay.  The two night stay at The Oyster Box includes a Rolls Royce transfer, accommodation in the Presidential Suite on the wedding night, a microlight trip, ‘free-flowing oysters, champagne, strawberries and chocolate fountains throughout their stay’, use of the spa, a pre-wedding spa party for the female guests, a Zulu dance welcome, a gourmet seafood evening, champagne breakfast, golf for the groom and three friends, hair and make-up for the bride, flowers for the wedding, horse-drawn carriage, the services of a photographer and videographer, a parting gift of an oil painting of The Oyster Box, and two nights at Phinda.  The Twelve Apostles package includes a return business flight, a silk Madiba shirt, champagne, canapés, rehearsal dinner, South African smorgasbord and seafood barbeque, entertainment by Cape Minstrels and a jazz band, champagne breakfast, hair and make-up, manicure and pedicure, barber service for the groom and best man, as well as massages and mini manicure and mini-pedicure, scenic drive for waiting wedding guests on Harley Davidsons or vintage cars, the wedding ceremony, a music trio, butterflies, marriage officer, photographer and videographer, a cheetah for photographs, venue decoration, seven-course banquet, Bouchard Finlayson wines, champagne, wedding cake, a jazz trio, a one hour scenic helicopter flight, a half-day cruise, and a two-night stay at Bushman’s Kloof.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Hotel Review: Queen Victoria Hotel chic and classy – fit for a Queen!

The Queen Victoria Hotel, which opened about a month ago in the business section of the V&A Waterfront, is a chic and classy addition to the accommodation collection in Cape Town, and is a unique tribute to Queen Victoria, after whom the V&A Waterfront is named, with her son Alfred.   I felt like a queen for the stay with the royal treatment we received, it co-inciding with Mother’s Day.

A Google search led me to a review of a biography of Queen Victoria, and I learnt from it that Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837 at the tender age of 18, and was a short (“less than 5 feet tall”) and feisty lady, who took to wearing “black robes with white caps and veils” after the death of her husband Prince Albert.   These two colours, to which Newmark Hotels’ consultant interior designer Francois du Plessis has added a modern silver and grey, and regal shades of lilac/purple, create the stylish interior of the hotel, developed out of the original office building of the V&A Waterfront management company by architect Tarryn Cohen of Peerutin Architects.  It is hidden to the Waterfront visitor, and that adds to its charm in not being in the midst of the V&A hustle and bustle.

One is greeted at the dramatic black marble entrance by a doorman, and the reception desks are immediately visible at the entrance.  We were welcomed by GM Bobby Pringle (ex-Oyster Box), who was the Duty Manager for the day, and we were impressed to be taken to our room by him personally.  He was meticulous in showing us the room directory, the tea/coffee facilities, the mini-bar, the bathroom amenities, telling us what one could take home, and the free internet service.  The comfortably-sized rooms (40 – 50 sq. m) have grey walls, discreet white bedding, a lilac couch, a silver headboard to the comfortable bed, beautiful silver raw silk curtains, a crystal chandelier, and black furniture, while the bathroom is in black and white, with touches of silver and grey, and quality linen bathrobes are hung here.   There are three showers in the bathroom, one over the bath and two in the shower, the hand-held one having a wonderful strong flow.  A large drawing of Queen Victoria is in every room, a clever way of communicating the hotel brand name.  Being new, everything in the room was in perfect working order. The rooms have double-glazed doors to ensure that the minimal Waterfront sound is heard in the room.  A nice turn-down touch was the colour-matched black macaroons with white filling, placed next to the beds, continuing the colour theme.

The triple-volume entrance hall is dominated by the regal purple carpet, a modern glass lift, a beautiful curved stairway made from Corian, with marble steps, and a 30 year old bonsai imported from Japan.  It leads one to the bar and lounge area, where a homely gas fire is lit on chilly nights, and from which one can see Dash restaurant, which serves the best meals in Cape Town.   The bathrooms near the bar are done in black with silver basins, one of the nicest I have seen.

Neil Markovitz, Managing Director and hands-on driving force of Newmark Hotels, is proud of his new 35-room addition to his hotel portfolio, developed at a cost of R53 million, and he has cleverly appointed Alton van Biljon (ex-Balducci) as the Food & Beverage Manager for all three his Waterfront properties (Dock House and V&A Hotel too), as well as Executive Chef Stephen Templeton.  Both are charming assets to his business, as is the creative and talented chef Oliver Cattermole. The lounge/bar at the Queen Victoria Hotel is the type of place one can pop in for a coffee, and the staff already know about my preference for frothy cappuccinos.  Outside of lunch and dinner times one can order from a 24-hour menu, which is available to the hotel guests, whether one is staying over or not.

Breakfast is served in Dash, and was a most beautiful display on a striking silver table, of fresh fruit, citrus fruit compote, berry compote, breads, salmon with capers and lemon, cold meats, cheeses, three cereals, three yoghurts, a beautiful stand with pre-made cereals, and yoghurt and custard treats, nuts, croissants and more.  In addition, an a la Carte menu is available, with interesting names of cooked dishes which relate to the Newmark Hotel properties: Royal Breakfast is salmon on a bagel; Dock House is bacon, mushroom and scrambled egg; V&A is fried egg, bacon, sausage, potato and onion rosti, and baked beans; Nautilus is poached haddock and kipper, served with poached quail eggs; Forum is a vegetarian Eggs Benedict, made from duck eggs, with creamed spinach and a herb hollandaise sauce, served on an English muffin, which we had, on the recommendation of Restaurant Manager Darren; Cape Breakfast is an omelette with a range of filling choices; and Waterfront is bacon served with raisin toast, warm maple syrup and crême fraiche.  Breakfast costs R250 for hot and cold breakfast, and R 135 for the Continental only, if one is not staying at the hotel.

Parking is available inside the Waterfront business area.   Anything one may need, that the hotel may not have, can be sourced from one of the two other Newmark Hotels’ properties in the Waterfront – for example, I wanted firmer pillows, and these were made available from the V&A Hotel.  The hotel check-in form gave me a fright, when I saw seven clauses in literal fine print, written in heavy legalese, which would no longer be acceptable in terms of the Consumer Protection Act. I panicked when I was asked by the receptionist to hand over my credit card for a R500 pre-authorisation for ‘incidentals’.  I wasn’t planning on having any extras, was staying for one night only, and paid for my dinner at Dash immediately, so this request was waived.  I was staying at the hotel on a complimentary basis, having attended an invited media lunch at the V&A Hotel OYO restaurant  last summer, and all guests were given a voucher for a one night stay at the Queen Victoria Hotel.   I was impressed with a feedback card which was placed in the room, signed by Markovitz and which one posts to him, providing feedback on Reception and Porterage, Room appointment and Housekeeping, the Restaurant, Bar and Room Service, and the Spa and Gym facilities (one goes to Dock House for these).

I feel at home at the Queen Victoria Hotel, being a frequent visitor to its lounge already, and am made to feel very special every time I am there.  I predict Dash will become an Eat Out Top 10 restaurant in 2012.  The hotel is offering a winter and opening rate until 31 July, at R1875 per room, including English breakfast, an amazing price when one sees that many other 5-star Waterfront and Cape Town hotels charge more than double this rate. 

Queen Victoria Hotel,  Portswood Close, Portswood Ridge, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. Tel (021) 418-1466.  www.queenvictoriahotel.co.za

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter:@WhaleCottage