Tag Archives: Restaurant news

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 4 of Level 1, 24 September 2020.

 

Thursday 24 September 2020, Heritage Day 🇿🇩, Day 4 of Level 1, Day 182 of Lockdown đŸ˜·

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a lovely day to celebrate our country’s Heritage; for a smooth drive to Cape Town, after stops at Good Food & Co to drop off a bottle of ADHARA extra virgin olive oil to Joey Stiglingh, one of two sisters owning the Franschhoek Deli, and buying cheeses, eggs, and yoghurt at the Dalewood Fromage Farm Shop; for the fabulous restringing of my pearl bracelets and repair of a favorite brooch by Caroline Smith in Claremont; for the collection of my Heritage Day treat of Duck Spring Rolls at Pilcrow & Cleaver; for receiving the scoop from Chef Darren Badenhorst about all his restaurant ventures coming up, a story I wrote this morning before leaving Franschhoek; for the lovely breakfast spoil at Maison Montagne; for the love connection with my babies on my return, having missed each other đŸ˜»đŸ˜»; for the Jerusalema Dance Challenge we did on the Tidal Pool Beach, and later on the Tidal Pool wall, guided in doing the dance by Brazilian Eloah who lives in Camps Bay too, whose idea it was, it being hard to dance in the sand; for a wonderful sun relax on my terrace on this third great weather day,at 24C, in a row; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Venishree Mayer Continue reading →

Cape Town and Winelands Restaurant trade slows down at start of winter, yet exciting restaurant news lying ahead!

Winter is on our doorstep, the start of a long difficult trading period for our restaurants, with little news usually of restaurant developments. But not so this year!

The most exciting news of the year is the planned opening in November of the next level restaurant of former GĂ„te Chefs Rikku O’DonnchĂŒ and Warwick King in Cape Town. They are already enticing diners with their SĆžN pop-ups. Details below. 

Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen has announced the opening of a new KLEINJAN restaurant in the Tswalu Kalahari next year and a JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town. The Grande Roche is being redone, with new owners, a new restaurant Viande, a new Chef Patron, and a new cocktail bar. Details are below. 

Gigi’s Restaurant has opened in The Gorgeous George Hotel in Cape Town, with Chef Guy Bennet at the helm. 

Restaurant openings

#   Chefs Rikku O’DonnchĂŒ and Warwick King have left GĂ„te Restaurant at Quoin Rock wine estate, creating the SĆžN Group, and are to open a new restaurant in the Cape Town city centre in November. 

Rockstar chef team leaves GĂ„te Restaurant at Quoin Rock wine estate, set to open new doors in Cape Town!

#  Bones Kitchen & Bar has opened in the Palms Design Centre in Woodstock. It is owned and owner-managed by well-seasoned restaurateur Rudi Minnaar.

#  Stargarden Boutique CafĂ© has opened in Fish Hoek. 

#. Michael Townsend, founder of the Harbour House Group but no longer with the Group, has opened Cowboys & Cooks Steakhouse & Bar in Sunset Beach. He has also bought Sevruga in the Waterfront. A third restaurant, in Sea Point will open in September 2019. All three restaurants are/will be operated by Cowboys & Cooks CEO Stuart Bailey.

New Cowboys and Cooks restaurant operations and consultancy group starting to cook up a storm!

#  The new Cowboys & Cooks restaurant group is to open a Cowboys and Cooks restaurant in Stellenbosch; The Backyard BBQ in various locations; Cabron Tex Mex restaurants in Durbanville and Stellenbosch, alongside the Bree Street Branch; and Viva Tex Mex in Kenilworth. It has taken over Slug & Lettuce, a Gastropub franchise with six branches, for which a new look and menu will be developed, starting off in Durbanville. 

#  Chef Jenny Morris has opened Yumcious Durbanville.

#  The Skotnes Restaurant has opened at the Norval Foundation, with Executive Chef Phil de Villiers, previously of Primal Eatery. 

#  Paris CafĂ© has opened in Green Point.

#  The La Colombe Group has taken over the bar and restaurant at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, called ProtĂ©gĂ©. Stephen Raaff is the Head Chef.

#  Back’s Bar has opened on Main Road in Paarl, where Juno used to be. 

#   Chef Reuben Riffel has opened Reuben’s at The Capital Moloko in Johannesburg, his first Gauteng restaurant. 

#   A new breakfast and lunch eatery Reuben’s & Co CafĂ© has opened at Val de Vie, in conjunction with Chefs Reuben Riffel and Richard Carstens. 

Reuben’s & Co CafĂ© far more than a CafĂ©, the Val De Vie resident dining room!

#  Chef Jarryd has opened So Cal (for South California), a Bar above Charango on Bree Street. 

#  VIXI Social House has opened on the corner of Strand and Bree Street. 

#   Chef Bertus Basson has expanded his restaurant empire, opening Eike by bertusbasson as his  fifth in Stellenbosch. 

#  Bao Down Restaurant has opened in Oranjezicht. 

#   Upper Bloem has opened on Main Road in Green Point, where Maggie’s CafĂ© used to be, a joint venture between Chefs Henry Vigar and Andre Hill of La Mouette. 

#    TOSSD Salad Bar has opened on Sloane Square in Gardens, Cape Town. 

#   Chef George Jardine has opened Restaurant Seven with George Jardine in Somerset West.

#   Safari #7 Somali take-away restaurant has opened on Long Street. 

#   No 89 has opened on Bree Street.

#   Sans Ethical Green Grocer Deli has opened in the Artem Centre in Sea Point. 

#   Pauline’s Stand Up Coffee Bar has opened in the Artem Centre in Sea Point. 

#   Victoire Boulangerie, PĂątisserie, and Bistro has opened in Speakers Corner on Church Square, a joint venture between Chef William Galzin of Montpellier and Drikus Hancke of Cape Town, a former Melissa’s franchisee. 

#   Chefs Luke Dale-Roberts and Ryan Cole have opened Salsify @ The Roundhouse in Camps Bay.

#   Crayfish Wharf has opened in Paternoster.

#  Grande Provence in Franschhoek has opened The Bistro as an extension to its Tasting Room.

#   Garden’s Club has opened where Chalk & Cork used to operate on Kloof Street. 

#   The SantĂ© Wellness Retreat & Spa restaurant has opened in Klapmuts, with Executive Chef Terrence Ford. 

#  Osetra has opened in Kalk Bay.

#   The Commissary has opened next door to The Shortmarket Club, with Chef Wesley Randles and Simon Widdison, under the mentorship of Chef Luke Dale-Roberts. It is a no-reservation, back to basics offering. 

#  Seattle Coffee Company has taken over the coffee shop at Exclusive Books in the V&A Waterfront. 

#  Chef Seelan Sundoo has opened Chicha in Sea Point. 

#   The Harbour House Group has bought Mondiall in the V&A Waterfront, and has turned it into a La Parada. 

#  Chef Peter Tempelhoff has opened FYN Restaurant and bar in Speaker’s Corner on Church Square. Jennifer HugĂ© is the new GM, and Ashley Moss is the Chef, moving across from the Greenhouse. 

FYN Restaurant legal settlement win-win for Chef Peter Tempelhoff and WhaleTales Blog!

#   Bobo’s Brasserie has opened in Mouille Point, where Pepenero used to be. 

#  Roca CafĂ© has opened where Melissa’s used to be in Franschhoek, open from midday to 21h00, and serving Tapas. 

#   Chef Chris Erasmus is said to be opening a restaurant at Haut Espoir, with Chef Nick Oosthuizen in the kitchen.

#  Riverine Rabbit has opened where ASH used to operate, by Chef Ash Heeger. 

#  Chef Ciska Rossouw has opened Loaves in Salt River, no longer operating Loaves on Long. 

#   BOCCA has re-opened on Bree Street, with new owners Guido Brambilla and Adnana Blaj

#   Haus & Laib Deli has opened in the former Eurohaus space on Loop Street. 

#  Chef Matt Manning has opened Grub & Vine Restaurant on Bree Street.

#   Anni’s Gourmet Pancakes & Belgian Waffles has opened in Franschhoek.

#   Vadas Smokehouse and Bakery has opened at Spier, taking the place of Hoghouse, which Chef PJ Vadas no longer appears to be associated with. 

#   Syrup Breakfast is opening on Bree Street.

#  The Creamery is to open a branch in Durbanville Village Square. 

#  Macau has opened in the former Savoy Cabbage space. 

#   The Hungry Monk has closed in Greyton and moved to Paternoster. In its place, a Portuguese/Mozambiquen restaurant will open in Greyton. 

#  Bush CafĂ© has opened as a safari-style restaurant in Gardens 

#  Charlie Bistro & Bar has opened in Gardens. 

#   Myog frozen yoghurt has opened as a pop-up in Camps Bay.

#  Chef Liam Tomlin has opened Brugarol in Barcelona, with Chef Angelo Duarte Scirocco in the Kitchen. 

#  The Harbour House Group has bought The Lookout Deck and Equinox in Plettenberg Bay. 

#  51 has opened in McGregor.

#  GiGi Restaurant under the helm of Chef Guy Bennett has opened in the Gorgeous George Hotel in the Cape Town city centre. .

#   Wingerd Vista has opened in the space of Dirtopia Restaurant on Delvera Estate outside Stellenbosch, a joint venture of Janine van Zyl of Cold Gold and Vanessa of Die 

#   The Dark Horse Rooftop Bar has opened in Kloof Street. 

#  Bootlegger CafĂ© & Grill in Constantia has changed its name to Botanicum CafĂ© & Grill, now 50% owned by Bootlegger and 50% by Mark Botes. It opened in March. The website is not yet operational.

#  Jewells is opening at Spice Route, with Neil and Tina Jewell. 

#   Marilyn’s is to open next door to CafĂ© Roca Speakeasy in Franschhoek in May, as a champagne and oyster bar, and Sushi restaurant. 

#  The Fat Man Restaurant has opened in Old Road Wine, in Franschhoek. 

#  The Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl has new owners, will expand the size of the former Bosman’s restaurant, will rename the restaurant to Viande, with Chef Patron Pete Goffe-Wood at the helm. 

Grande Roche Hotel wakes up from a long sleep, revitalizes with new owners and consultant chef!

#   Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen is to open KLEIN JAN in Tswalu Kalahari, as well as a JAN Food Innovation studio in Cape Town. 

Michelin-star JAN restaurant gets a younger brother, KLEIN JAN to open at Tswalu Kalahari; to open JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town!

Restaurant closures

#. The Ritz is closed, and with it its Top of The Ritz and CASA restaurants. 

#   Olami on Bree Street has closed down. 

#  The Restaurant at The Nek, with Chef Duncan Laity, has closed, six weeks after opening. No ‘Manley Magic’ could make this restaurant work. 

#  Beleef in Franschhoek has closed down. 

#  Bertus Basson @ Spice Route has closed down outside Paarl. 

#   Primal Eatery has closed down. 

#  The Melting Pot has opened as a pop-up where Marrow used to be on Loop Street. 

#   Thai World has closed down in Harfield Village. 

#   Open Kitchen has closed in McGregor. 

#   The Mess has closed down in The Rockwell. 

#   Delmar has closed down in Camps Bay. 

Chef changes 

#   Chef Evan Coosner has left Open Door/Bocca/Burrata, and is now a consultant chef.

#   Chef Archie MacLean has left Catharina’s and moved to Coco Safar. He has since left Coco Safar, and is said to have joined CafĂ© Bon Bon in Franschhoek. 

#   Chef Guy Clark has left Tintswalo, now consulting. 

#   Carmen Rueda is the new Pastry Chef of Coco Safar, formerly from El Bulli and The Fat Duck.

#   Chef Richard Carstens has left Tokara Restaurant, and now is part of a restaurant consultancy with Chef Reuben Riffel, called Riffel Carstens.

#   Carolize Coetzee has been appointed as Executive Chef at Tokara, moving from Dornier wine estate.

#  Christian Hellinger is the new Chef at Holden Manz

#  Chef Sebastian Smith from Nom Nom/Benguela on Main has moved to Pierneef Ă  La Motte. 

#  Chef Matthew Ambruster is the new Head Chef at Hartford House. Former Head Chef Chris Papyannis is to open his own restaurant in Mooi River.

#  Chef Guy Bennet has left Grande Provence and has moved to Gorgeous George Hotel.

#  Nicole Killian is the new Head Chef at GĂ„te Restaurant at Quoin Rock. 

#   Chef Marvin Robyn is now heading up the kitchen at Grande Provence in Franschhoek. 

#   Chef Peter Tempelhoff is the new Consultant Chef to Ellerman House. 

Chef Peter Tempelhoff marriage to Ellerman House two months after divorce from The Liz McGrath Collection!

#  Chef Peter Tempelhoff has left Greenhouse and the Liz McGrath Collection, to concentrate on his  FYN Restaurant., 

Chef Peter Tempelhoff leaves Greenhouse and The Liz McGrath Collection quietly!

Restaurant changes

#. Culture Club Cheese has changed into Vredehoek Slow Food Club.

Please share news about restaurant openings and closures with me at chrisvonulmenstein@gmail.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein

Celebration: Reaching the milestone of 1000 blogposts!

Today we have reached an exciting milestone on our Whale Cottage Blog, in that this is our 1000th blogpost.  We thank our readers for their support in reading our blog, and for providing feedback, to help us improve as we developed over the almost three years. In numerology, 1000 symbolises multitude and perfection, we have learnt from Google, and we dedicate our next 1000 blogposts to be worthy of this definition.

Highlights have been making the Top 10 on the Most Controversial Blog category of the 2010 SA Blog Awards, achieving a cumulative unique readership of just under half a million in the last 16 months (about 30000 per month on average), and setting up the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club last year.

So what have we learnt about blogging and our blog in the close to three years:

*   Restaurant news in general, and reviews and special offers specifically have attracted the greatest interest on this blog.   Our most widely read restaurant reviews, since we went onto Google Analytics 16 months ago, are for Tokara DeliCATessen, Sotana by Caveau, Gaaitjie, Pierneef Ă  La Motte, and Duchess on Wisbeach.  It was the enjoyment of writing the review of Portofino restaurant, owned by Cormac Keane, that got us started with reviews, and we have written more than 100 reviews since then.  We have seen negative reaction to some of these, and have been banned from the Caveau group of restaurants (including Sotano), the Caviar group of restaurants (Beluga and Sevruga), Opal Lounge, and CafĂ© des Arts as a result.  Restaurants generally are poor at Social Media, and only a handful blog and/or are on Twitter.  This means that a restaurant’s information most often is provided by a blog rather than by the restaurant’s own website, which can be to its advantage or diadvantage, depending on the reviews that are listed on the first page of Google.  Other highly read blogposts are the Winter and Summer Restaurant Specials lists, the Table Mountain vote for the New7Wonders of the World, Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock’s visit to Fresnaye in January 2009, and the Disney service training programme instituted just days before the World Cup. 

*   Tourism topics have also attracted attention, probably because there are far fewer writers on this topic.

*    Word spreads quickly if a blogpost is controversial, and brings in new readers to the blog.  Despite all allegations to the contrary, we have never written a blogpost to be controversial.  It is the reaction to it by our readers that causes the controversy. 

*   Comments have become harder to manage, and increasingly cowardly commenters write anonymously to slate the writer of the blog or the subject of a blogpost.  If one deletes such comments, one is criticised; if one publishes them, one is equally criticised!

*   While blog readers enjoy honesty, and probably read this blog for it, those that are on the receiving end of it plus their friends do react with venom, rather than using the feedback to improve their service and quality. The nastiness in ‘unSocial Media’, our new name for it, has been shocking, especially in a campaign by David Cope on Twitter, where anything goes!

*   Blogging has become very competitive, as bloggers chase readership, and want to be the first to review a new restaurant.  Achieving a first page Google listing for a restaurant, for example, can attract readership over time to the blog by new users when they Google the name of a restaurant.    

*   Readership is disappointingly low on public holidays and weekends.  Saturdays have the lowest blog reading numbers, dropping by up to half of weekday readership. Our highest readership of this blog was on 16 June 2010, during last year’s World Cup, when a tag for ‘2010’ was widely linked to this blog, attracting 9000 page views on that day alone. 

*   Although most readers are unknown to the writer, one carries a huge responsibility in shaping people’s opinions through what one writes.   We try our best to remain objective in presenting information at all times.  We have been blamed for wishing to destroy restaurants and new initiatives, yet supply news about restaurant openings and specials all the time.  Attempts were made last year by Michael Olivier (Editor of Crush!), David Cope (The Foodie Blogger) and Skye Grove (Cape Town Tourism PR Manager) to have this blog closed down.  We moved our blog hosting to America, to prevent this. 

*   Information as well as images are most likely to bring traffic via Google to the website, followed by Twitter.   Facebook is far less likely to draw traffic.

*   The weekly Sweet & Sour Service are enjoyed by readers, and many readers read the blog on a Friday, to check who has received the Sour Award, and then catch up in reading the blogposts of the pevious week.  The Spar Sweet/Limelight Sour Service Awards attracted an unusually high readership, and still do.

Looking forward, we plan to continue being honest, no matter what the cost.  We will endeavour to remain relevant, and to remain heard in the increasing Social Media ‘noise’, as more and more blogs are started, and existing ones reinvent themselves.   We will try to write shorter blogposts!   We will continue helping others to become better bloggers, and will endeavour to never stop learning from others too.

Thank you 1000 times for your readership and support!

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

Restaurant News: Chef Reuben Riffel cooks up a Cape Town storm in the USA!

Chef Reuben Riffel’s connection with the One&Only Cape Town is putting him, and Cape Town with it, on the world map, and he recently returned from a whirlwind tour of New York, with the compliments of SAA and the One&Only Hotel group. 

He stepped off the aircraft with his Reuben’s Franschhoek chef William Carolissen, and was whisked off to the studios of the Martha Stewart Show  immediately.  Despite her poor performance at the Design Indaba a year ago, Stewart remains an icon of American domesticity, and her show is watched by an audience of about 80000.  Chef Reuben had to prepare South African dishes in front of the camera and studio audience, and had pre-organised which ingredients he would require for it.  He had a time limit of 4 minutes to create Cape Malay pickled fish, and a grilled peri peri beef salad.  The Reuben’s slot ran for 15 minutes and had shots of the One&Only Cape Town too, with Stewart endorsing the hotel by stating that it is her favourite resort in South Africa.  The show will be broadcast on 9 March. 

He was also invited to appear on NBC’s Today Show, with a viewership of 3,3 million on the day of broadcast. Chef Reuben cooked with Today Show personalities Al Roker and Natalie Moralis, and here too he had to prepare two dishes (crisp prawn dumplings with rooibos tea salt, and pan roasted red snapper prepared in a West Coast basting sauce of apricot jam, garlic and soya, served with a salsa of tomato, cucumber, chilli and cilantro) in front of the audience.  

Reuben is no stranger to cooking in front of a camera, making more and more TV appearances, on Pasella in particular, so this stood him in good stead to do our city and country proud.  Chef Reuben said the American TV staff are well organised.   Chef Reuben also prepared food for an One&Only Hotel event for travel agents and tour operators, as well as one for the media (journalists represented the New York Times Style Magazine, Travel+Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, New York Post and Travel Africa.)    

Meeting Chef Reuben and his wife Maryke at Reuben’s at the One & Only Cape Town last week was an opportunity to catch up, and to check whether he is still connected to his restaurant in Cape Town, given my observations after my last visit.  He laughed when we chatted about how incorrect deductions can be made from bits of staff information one receives, and it showed him how important it is for him to communicate with all levels of staff.  Talking of staff, a number of changes have taken place since Reuben’s opened in Cape Town in October:   The Manager Samantha Housden has left, after only a short stint, and has been replaced by Kagiso Mmebe.  In the kitchen Maritz Jacobs has been joined by Aviv Liebenberg, previously at Reuben’s Robertson, and Chef Reuben is encouraging them to visit the Old Biscuit Mill market on Saturdays, so that they can stay in touch with interesting food suppliers, and they come back with fresh products for a new special “Market Day” menu on Saturdays. Reuben’s staff will ‘cross-pollinate’ between Cape Town and Franschhoek, so that they get to experience the other branch.   Camil Haas, who was meant to shadow Chef Reuben in Franschhoek and Cape Town, will be more behind the scenes now, and will manage Chef Reuben’s appearances, and the requirements linked to these, as well as the preparation for outside events. 

Chef Reuben explained why the current menu does not have the chefs’ names on it, and why the Reuben’s branding is so low key, in that the hotel had printed it at a time when the regular Reuben’s printer was closed over the festive season.  The new menu to be launched on 16 February will go back to its “Reuben’s” look, and its content will have a stronger Cape Town focus, with a new dessert for example called ‘Taste of Cape Town’, with small tastes of Hertzoggies, date slices, melktert, rooibos tea ice cream and a coconut koeksister.   In Franschhoek a menu change can be expected at the end of the month, but will have a different focus to the Cape Town one.   A Sunday buffet lunch will be introduced in Cape Town on 27 February, costing R 195.  The Reuben’s Cape Town menu indicates which dishes contain alcohol (for Sol Kerzner, who does not drink alcohol, and for Muslim guests), shellfish, nuts, and pork.

We spoke about the winelist, which I see as overpowering, and not really suiting a Bistro-style restaurant.  Chef Reuben said that Singita is buying up a portion of the wine collection, and he said that they may develop a reduced winelist for Reuben’s.  The One&Only Hotel has influenced the operation of Reuben’s in Cape Town, and has meant more paperwork and adherence to systems, but there are benefits too, such as the international marketing that the hotel group does.  Chef Reuben emphasised that Kerzner does not interfere with his operation of the restaurant. In fact, there is a good relationship between the hotel and the restaurant management, and they meet regularly to address common issues.  Reuben is featured in the international One&Only Hotel newsletter, which was sent out earlier this week.

The decor is evolving, and new multi-coloured glass menu boards have been erected on the columns of the restaurant, to advertise specials.  When I visited last week, a West Coast seafood special was advertised, consisting of a number of dishes.  The boards help the Cape Town branch make spontaneous additions to the menu, without having to reprint it, a greater logistical challenge here than in Franschhoek, Chef Reuben explained. 

A new cookbook is in the pipeline, and will focus on seasons.   It will allow Chef Reuben to continue with the format of his first recipe book, and to reminisce about his childhood in Franschhoek, and his mother’s influence on his cooking.   Richard Carstens is highly praised by Chef Reuben, and he says that Richard “is one of the best” and that “no one can touch him”.

Chef Reuben says there are definitely no further restaurant openings on his agenda, and he is learning to delegate more, to enjoy a more balanced personal and business life.  I left him and Maryke with the feeling that they will make the best of their new relationship with the One&Only Hotel, and that there will be no repeat of Gordon Ramsay’s distant relationship with the ex-maze, the previous restaurant at the One&Only Cape Town, and the resultant demise.

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