Tag Archives: Samsung

Chef Reuben Riffel: 2014 was a very busy year! More MasterChef to come!

Reuben Riffel Whale CottageYesterday I met Chef Reuben Riffel for a Day of Reconciliation coffee at Crisp in Franschhoek, around the corner from his Reuben’s restaurant, a follow-up from our reconnection at the Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Restaurant Awards.

As he sat down, Chef Reuben apologised for not feeling 100%, starting a cold, and expressing that he is exhausted after a very busy year, but seems to have enjoyed every minute of it. Ironically he and his wife Maryke had planned 2014 last year, wanting it to be a less busy year than 2013, but looking back, he said it was even busier. In the past year he has done the following:

*   filmed MasterChef SA Celebrity Edition, a series we are yet to see, in January 2015, in which he cut his MasterChef judging teeth, apologising that he was still new at being a TV cooking show judge.  Food24 reports that the 10 celebrities, cooking for a prize to be donated to  charity, are Singer Patricia Lewis, Comedian Chris Forrest, Comedian TolAss­Mo, Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 29 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   ‘The Bachelor’ Australia is featuring Cape Town (with Table Mountain), the Winelands, and Pilanesberg Game Reserve in the last two episodes of the dating series, in which bachelor Blake Garvey shows the final three dates the beauty of the Cape.  The series has been produced by Channel Ten in Australia, in conjunction with the Australia country office of SA Tourism.  The publicity shot appears to have been taken at Delaire Graff.  Three complete series of ‘Der Bachelor‘ Germany have been shot in Camps Bay in the past three years.

*   A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Brazil and South Africa last week, to enhance the tourism relationship between the two countries.  Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom visited Sao Paulo to attend the opening of the new SA Tourism office in that city, and to visit the ABAV Travel Tradeshow.  Brazil is the last of the BRICS countries with which South Africa has signed such a Memorandum of Understanding.  Last year tourism from South Africa grew by 8%, and from Brazil close to 6%.

*   South African winemakers are getting younger, writes Wall Street Journal‘s Will Lyons, agreeing with UK wine writer Continue reading →

Barry Lewis Sweet Service and Duchess of Wisbeach Sour Service Awards!

Samsung laptop chargerThe Sweet Service Award goes to Barry Lewis from Hermanus, a former Manager of Whale Cottage Hermanus, who came to the rescue when I had forgotten to bring my laptop charger back to Cape Town with me earlier this week.  Barry was coming through to Somerset West the following day, his sister Carole told me, so I arranged for it to be collected from Somerset Mall, spending the rest of the day catching up on e-mails and Social Media postings. Continue reading →

Mourning Madiba: Sunday Times laughs all the way to the bank!

Nando's Madiba adIt should have been a surprise that the Sunday Times last weekend contained 10 full page and 16 smaller advertisements in honour of the late Nelson Mandela, given his passing on Thursday evening, and the deadlines of newspapers to ensure their distribution in the early hours of Sunday morning.  It was interesting to evaluate corporate South Africa’s response, in their advertisements, to the passing of our country’s greatest leader, most quoting the wisdom of Madiba in their tributes to him.

Given the two days in which ad agencies had to book their clients’ advertisements, it is clear that they could not have created them in such a short time period, given lead times to conceptualise the ad, obtain client approval, and to produce the material.  It is clear that the major corporates had their farewell ads to Madiba prepared and mothballed for the announcement of his passing.

The most touching and most genuine advertisement, in our opinion, is the one by Nando’s, demonstrating the power of consistency in advertisement layout and typeface, recognisable to any South African without its logo or branding.  The most disgusting of all Mandela AVBOB Whale Cotatge Portfoliothe ads is that by funeral organisers AVBOB, depicting Madiba in daisies, and shouting its pay-off line ‘We’re here for you’!

Pick ‘n Pay’s advertising disappointed, with three full page advertisements in last Sunday’s edition, the one on page 12 in the main body being a crass ‘Price Cuts’ one, amidst the remaining ads all being tributes to Madiba.  Pick ‘n Pay and the media department of its ad agency could have done a better job in planning the placements, requesting its tribute ad in this slot, and its special offer ad in other sections of the paper.  Cynically one could think that the retailer purposely capitalised on the above Continue reading →