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Fun foodie day in Cape Town with MasterChef Finalist Seline van der Wat!

Seline van der Wat 4 and 20 Cafe Whale Cottage PortfolioIt was on Twitter that I saw Seline van der Wat, MasterChef SA Season 2 Finalist, request suggestions for food destinations in Cape Town.  I had so enjoyed her spunk on MasterChef SA that I invited her to join me in sharing my Foodie Cape Town yesterday.

We met at Melissa’s on Kloof Street, where I had my favourite iced coffee for the day, and Seline gave me some feedback about where she had been in Cape Town relative to my list of favourite food destinations.   The Neighbourgoods Market at the Biscuit Mill and Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants were the only two food stops she had been to already.

We talked about MasterChef SA Season 2, and she wore the wooden rabbit brooch which she had worn throughout the show.  She wears it every day, and her sister and fellow MasterChef SA Finalist Leandri was given an identical one as a gift.  One senses that they are very close, Seline being slightly older, and having an older sister who recently made them aunts, as well as a younger sister who is still at school.  She lives in Pretoria, and has resigned her job as an engineer working on renewable energy via Hydropower.  From a rigid day job she would escape to the kitchen to express her creativity via cooking, she and Leandri sharing an apartment. Seline could not stop raving about Chef Chris Erasmus at Pierneef à La Motte, loving his passion for food, and his sense of community.  She plays the piano, guitar, and cello.  They grew up in Mafikeng, and lost their mother about ten years ago, necessitating them to cook for the family of four daughters and their dad.  Having such famous daughters has made their dad a celebrity in their home town, and he has met many more of the locals since his daughters were on TV.  He himself now hosts Moroccan dinner parties, while the youngest sister is starting to learn to cook and bake as well.  Seline said that she and Leandri did not watch soaps on TV Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 24 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has downgraded its growth projection for airline passengers to 5% for the rest of 2013, but does expect a stronger growth in 2014.

*   The City of Cape Town staff strike has come to a speedy end.

*   The Fish & Chip Company’s short-lived advertising campaign with President Zuma as its subject, on which R500000 was spent on media placement before it was withdrawn, generated R20 million in PR coverage in ten days, winning the Metropolitan Republic a Gold Loerie for PR Communication Campaign. Die Antwoord’s video for its song ‘Fatty Boom Boom’ was a surprise Gold winner in the TV and Cinema 90 second+ category.

*   Swiss airline Edelweiss, which belongs to Lufthansa, returns to Cape Town from October for the third year, serving the Zurich – Cape Town route, a popular way for German, British and Italian tourists in particular to fly directly to Cape Town.

*   South Africa’s ‘maverick’ winemakers receive praise from wine-searcher.com!

*   The next London Wine Fair will be held from 2 – 4 June 2014, somewhat later Continue reading →