Tag Archives: Salt

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

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   It’s Bastille Festival in Franschhoek this weekend, one of the largest and oldest wine shows, celebrating its 20th anniversary.   A full programme of wine and food tastings has been planned.

*  Van Ryn’s Brandy Distillery near Stellenbosch is saluting women with a special tour and tasting offer presented by a woman for women, on Thursdays in August, in honour of Women’s Day on 9 August. Distillery Manager and wine biotechnologist, Marlene Bester, will accompany guests on the 11h30 tour, showing them the antique copper potstills still used today, the maturation cellar, a demonstration of a cooper assembling a French oak barrel, and do tastings of Van Ryn’s Collection Reserve range of brandies paired either with handcrafted chocolates (made by Richard von Gesau) or with Florentine biscuits.  The 12 Year Old brandy is partnered with a Cappuccino chocolate, the 15 Year Old with Cinnamon & Orange chocolate, and the 20 Year Old with a French 70% cocoa chocolate. Continue reading →

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

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine Headlines

*   Tsogo Sun has announced that it is introducing free Wifi with a limit of 250 – 750 MB per day, depending on the room type.

*   Mr Delivery, now named Mr D, will be delivering Pick ‘n Pay’s online shopping to customers via its 48 franchises countrywide. It currently does in excess of 85000 deliveries a month, reports Cape Business News.

*   ‘The Beautiful South’ wine show for South African, Chilean, and Argentinian wines, to be held in London on 11 and 12 September, has already signed up 280 exhibitors.

*   President Obama’s visit to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania last week may stimulate tourism by Americans to Africa, speculates Travel Daily News. Continue reading →

Arrival of winter likely to freeze Cape Town and Winelands restaurant income!

The first taste of the Cape winter this weekend is likely to be felt by the restaurant industry, which will see hard times in the next two months, if close to zero accommodation bookings in the Cape are anything to go by.  Other than Hermanus FynArts and the Wacky Wine Weekend kicking off next week, ‘Cook Franschhoek‘ running over the Youth Day long weekend, and the Bastille Festival weekend on 13 – 14 July, no significant events are planned to attract visitors to Cape Town and the Winelands.  A number of restaurants are closing for an annual break in the next two months.

This list of restaurant openings and closings isupdated continuously, as we receive new information:

Restaurant Openings

*   The Crypt Jazz Restaurant has opened below St George’s Cathedral.

*   Frères Bistro has opened next door to Col’Cacchio on Hans Strydom Continue reading →

Woolworths Sweet and V&A Waterfront Sour Service Awards!

The Sweet Service Award goes to Woolworths, for its new policy of reducing the salt content in its branded breads, cereals and ‘other foods‘, advertised on a poster in its Pinelands branch.  One hopes that restaurants will follow suit, in reducing the salt addition to their dishes, so that customers can choose to add salt if they wish to.  Most South Africans consume too much salt, which could lead to diabetes, and high blood pressure, causing heart disease and strokes.  While consumers may read packs for the fat content of products, they should also check the sodium content. Hopefully Pick ‘n Pay and other retailers will follow Woolworths’ leadership in offering healthier products.

The Sour Service Award goes to the V&A Waterfront, for reducing its underground parking in the Mall by 200 parking bays, without public warning inside the parking garage or in the media, for the building of a 6000 square meter new Pick ‘n Pay!  The whole right hand section of the underground parking below the cinemas has been eliminated, meaning that on busy days it has been almost impossible to park below the Mall. All cars now have to park on the Woolworths side in the main. The V&A Waterfront misleadingly sent a  customer survey about general shopping habits to its mailing list, but it turned out to be a survey specifically about what customers wanted in a new Pick ‘n Pay, even though first construction work had just commenced, showing that the retail company will pay lip service to its customers’ wishes!  The V&A has also closed an important road most customers would use to get to the underground parking, for construction work to link the parking below the Aston Martin building with that below the Victoria Wharf Mall, which has added further mayhem to the V&A.

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.