Tag Archives: Professor Tim Noakes

Banting new Cape Town food craze on everyone’s lips, thanks to Professor Tim Noakes!

Banting Tim Noakes Whale CottageLast week I attended a presentation by Professor Tim Noakes on ‘The Science behind Banting Diets’, which was organised by PR-Net and held on the top floor of the Naspers building.   I went as a sceptic, but it appeared that almost all attendees were already committed Banters.

I have not followed the initial controversy about Professor Tim Noakes, co-founder of the Sport Science Institute, who published ‘The Real Meal Revolution‘ in which he advocates a ‘LCHF‘ (Low ‘Carb‘ High Fat) balanced diet eating focus to help one lose weight.  While ‘LCHF’ was not a very catchy a name for the diet, the ‘Banting‘ word spread like wildfire, being the name of a diet tried with success by William Banting more than 200 years ago. Professor Noakes was not believed initially, given that he had advocated a low fat, high carbohydrate eating plan in the past, and now was turned his thinking around 360°!  The medical fraternity is not sure whether to support his recommendations.

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WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 4 August

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The 2015 Global Finals of Diageo Reserve’s World Class Best Mixologist competition will be held in Cape Town next September, it has been announced in London, where the 2014 Global Finals have just ended, with 48 competitors.  Mayor Patricia de Lille expressed her delight at the announcement: ‘As the City of Cape Town we welcome the Global Finals as another addition to our events calendar as part of our efforts to secure Cape Town as the events capital of Africa. The Global Finals have been hosted by many major cities in the world and Cape Town is proud to be ranked among the best in the world. We look forward to hosting the many dynamic talents that will take part in the event’. Councillor Garreth Bloor, Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events, and Marketing, accepted the announcement in London on behalf of Cape Town. Matteo Fantacchiotti,  Global Vice President Commercial of Diageo Reserve, said about the 2015 city choice: ‘WORLD CLASS™ is all about anticipating trends, being at the forefront of fine drinking culture and always looking for new and exciting innovations in our industry.  These are the key criteria we look at when we select the location of the Global Finals. Africa ticks all these boxes and more; it is a booming and ever-changing continent and we see it as a new frontier with huge potential.  When we bring the WORLD CLASS™ global final to a location, it has the ability to fundamentally step change the fine drinking scene and we strongly believe this will be the case in 2015‘. (received via media release from Communication Services Africa)

*   The most hard-hitting criticism we have read about the new Immigration Regulations is an editorial from Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 12/13 July

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Sales of alcoholic beverages in the UK have decreased by 6% in the last week of the five-week World Cup period compared to the same period a year ago, as interest in the soccer event has decreased in the last week of the tournament, despite reaching close to £ 1 billion in sales.  Sales in the first three weeks of the tournament showed an increase, however.  Champagne and sparkling wine showed the strongest growth in the past month.  Cider sales decreased by 11% compared to a year ago. England’s early World Cup exit and better weather in July 2013 have been the cause of the beverage sales decrease.

*   A Wine Intelligence study finds that UK wine drinkers almost equally accept cork and screw cap closures, at 40% each;  Australians prefer screw cap wines (55%) to cork (38%); and in the USA cork is strongly preferred (64%) compared to screw caps (21%).  The choice of closure is dictated by image and practicality, more than ‘scientific’ reasons of helping the wine to breathe, stifling ageing, or preventing spoilage.

*   A new MasterCard Multi-currency Cash Passport has been launched, and is available at ABSA and American Express Continue reading →