Tag Archives: Rentokil

Has the Good Food & Wine Show become the (Italian) Cook Show?

Good Food & Wine ShowCarlo Cracca. Antonio Carluccio. Gennaro Contaldo. Katy Ashworth. Emma Dean. Vichit Mukura. These are the ‘top international chefs’ Cape Town food lovers are being exposed to at the Good Food & Wine Show at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, augmented with a handful of light-weight (with the exception of Chef David Higgs) mainly TV cooking program local cooks!   As Cape Town is the centre of gourmet gastronomy, surely exhibition organisers Fiera Milano could have done better?

Christine Cashmore has organised the Good Food & Wine Show for years, and sold her company to Fiera Milano last year.  She is certainly still involved, as I saw her at the show yesterday.  She is tough to deal with, changing PR companies every year!  Every year the criticism about the Show has grown, the big food producers no longer bothering to participate, and sample their products.   The emphasis this year was clearly TV cooking shows, and the invited chefs (mainly) had a link to a TV program, in cooking at the Celebrity Chefs Theatre (how did Kamini Pather slip in here, as controversial winner of MasterChef Season 2?), the kykNET Kook Teater, the Spar Food Theatre, and the Selati Sweet Treats Theatre. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 21 May

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Hotel star ratings are becoming increasing irrelevant, in that they do not reflect travellers’ needs any more.   The lack of a consistent international definition of the star categories is largely to blame, as recommendations seen on Social Media as well as online reviews influence what accommodation is booked and at what price.   Location, type of trip, features such as wifi and parking, value for money, and reviews are the factors influencing the choice of establishment.

*   The Good Food & Wine Show will be bugged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 31 May, when the Pop-Up Rentokil Pestaurant is set up for the day, serving a host of edible insects!  Tasty treats to be served are cricket crostini, crispy mealworms, roasted locust canapés, chocolate covered ants, and scorpion lollipops!  Pestaurants will be setting up world-wide (in London, for example) on 4 June, but the Cape Town event has been brought forward to tie in with the Show. Insects are high in protein, Vitamin B, iron, and zinc. (received via media release from Affinity Strategic Communication)

*   Diners Club SA has received an award from its global head office for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, for its 2013 Winemaker of the Year campaign, an annual highlight of the wine industry. (received via media release from African Sky Communications)

*   The Zingara Group has been awarded the tender by the City of Cape Town to operate the Company’s Garden Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 31 May/1 June

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Going on safari is an increasing trend, which is good for tourism in Africa, popular not only amongst European and American tourists, but also amongst BRICS travelers from Brazil, India, Russia, and China.

*   SA Tourism has appointed Gaining Edge to help increase our country’s profile as a Business Events destination in India and China, for the South Africa National Convention Bureau.  South Africa is ranked highest as a business events destination in Africa, and 34th in the world.

*   Topless Tours have a new meaning, and do not refer to Cape Town’s Hop On Hop Off buses.  It’s a new trend started in the UK, whereby ladies take photographs of themselves topless at top tourist spots, Continue reading →