{"id":48762,"date":"2013-09-25T10:59:29","date_gmt":"2013-09-25T08:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=48762"},"modified":"2013-09-25T20:34:56","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T18:34:56","slug":"western-cape-shines-in-2014-american-express-platinum-fine-dining-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/western-cape-shines-in-2014-american-express-platinum-fine-dining-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Cape shines in 2014 American Express\u00ae Platinum Fine Dining Awards!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-46080\" alt=\"MasterChef 2 14 Chef David dish Whale Cottage Portfolio\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio.jpg?w=1250&amp;ssl=1 1250w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/MasterChef-2-14-Chef-David-dish-Whale-Cottage-Portfolio.jpg?w=1875&amp;ssl=1 1875w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Once again the Western Cape has shown that it is the country&#8217;s culinary champion in its performance in and dominance of the 2014 American Express\u00ae\u00a0Platinum Fine Dining Awards, which were awarded in Johannesburg last week, and in Cape Town on Monday evening. \u00a0 Of 95 award winning restaurants in the 16th year of review, 43 are from the Western Cape, 35 from Gauteng, 9 from KwaZulu Natal, and another eight from other provinces.<\/p>\n<p>Evaluated by a judging panel consisting of Anna Trapido (previous <strong>Eat Out<\/strong> Top 10 Restaurant judge) and Victor Strugo, under the chairmanship of Tamsin Snyman, the Award-winning restaurants had to meet the criteria of offering <em>&#8216;culinary excellence to discerning diners&#8217;. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Eligibility for<!--more--> winning an award is that restaurants must accept payment by American Express\u00ae card, and honour one dinner reservation (for up to 4) by a Platinum Cardmember who books before 10h30 on the same day. \u00a0The organisers say that the latter criterion disqualifies a lot of top restaurants that are too small to give this guarantee, or are exclusive properties that cater only for resident guests.<\/p>\n<p>A number of records were broken in the sixteen year history of the Awards:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At 95, it was the highest number of awards in a single year, an increase from 83 last year<\/li>\n<li>At 17, the largest number of new awards in any year since the inaugural awards of 1998<\/li>\n<li>At 7, the number of restaurants which received their 10<sup>th<\/sup> Award, and added to the Roll of Honour<\/li>\n<li>At 7, the number of provinces included in the awards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Standards are reviewed annually by the judges and their panel of experienced <em>&#8216;ghost&#8217;<\/em> reviewers.\u00a0 Awards are not renewed automatically.\u00a0 <em>\u2018Six of last year\u2019s winners failed to receive 2014 awards.\u00a0Conversely, four restaurants that had slipped up before they raised their game and were re-instated<\/em>&#8216;, said Stugo. \u00a0Four previous restaurant award winners closed their doors in the past year.<\/p>\n<p>Interesting is the award statistics, in reflecting the restaurant industry over the past sixteen years: \u00a0&#8216;<em>The entire span of these awards counts only 189 restaurants over 16 years.\u00a0 Of these just over half (95) are currently winners, 48 have closed over the years and 46 previous winners have been suspended.\u00a0 The judges\u2019 final word:\u00a0 \u2018Eighty-four restaurants have won at least four times and 28 have ten or more Platinum Awards on their walls.\u00a0 In a volatile economy and competitive industry, these numbers emphasize that the American Express\u00ae Platinum Fine Dining Awards succeed in identifying not only excellence but consistent excellence<\/em>.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Tamsin Snyman, who chairs the regional chapter of The World\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, said about dining. \u2018<em>We must align ourselves with global food trends and thinking.\u00a0 With travel and technology transfer, SA no longer lags behind the world or adopts last year\u2019s global fashion as our latest thing.\u00a0 If even relaxed, informal, \u201cfun\u201d restaurants uncompromisingly maintain their integrity, honesty and professionalism, serving fabulous food with a high standard of service, offer me a \u201cfine\u201d dining experience in the true modern sense of that word<\/em>.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0American Express\u00ae\u00a0Platinum Fine Dining Awards recipients are the following:<\/p>\n<p>* \u00a0 First-time Award recipients: \u00a0Signal, Waterkloof, De Grendel, The Orchid Room, \u00a0Five Hundred (dessert above, from MasterChef SA), La Scala, Signature, Sophia\u2019s Bistro, Vin MMX, Wangthai, Neh!, \u00a0Zemara, Su Casa, Zest, De Hoek, Rambling Vine, and Stef\u2019s Kitchen<\/p>\n<p>* \u00a0 Ten-time Award recipients:( about to be closing) Constantia Uitsig*, Reuben\u2019s Franschhoek (which only opened in 1994, so can only have received nine awards), Zachary\u2019s, Bukhara, Osteria Tre Nonni, Geet, and Harvey\u2019s in Umhlanga.<\/p>\n<p>The full list of 2014 American Express\u00ae\u00a0Platinum Fine Dining Awards winners is:<b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Johannesburg (28)<\/b>:<b>\u00a0 <\/b>Balata, Bellagio, Bellgables, BICE, Bukhara, Butcher Shop &amp; Grill, Caf\u00e9 del Sol, DW11-13,\u00a0 500 at Saxon,\u00a0 Il Tartufo, Jazz Maniacs (Soweto), La Campagnola, La Cucina\u00a0 di Ciro, La Scala, Le Souffl\u00e9, Mastrantonio, Neh! (Alexandra), Osteria Tre Nonni, Red Chamber, Roots at Forum Homini, Sel et Poivre, Signature, Sophia\u2019s Bistro, Thava, Vin MMX, Wangthai, Wombles, Yamato<\/li>\n<li><b>Cape Town<\/b>\u00a0<b>(20)<\/b>: Aubergine, Azure, Bistro Sixteen82, Bistrot Bizerca, Bombay Brasserie,\u00a0 Buitenverwachting, Bukhara, Catharina\u2019s, Constantia Uitsig, The Foodbarn, GOLD Restaurant, The Greenhouse, Haiku; Il Leone, La Colombe, Myoga, Nobu, Planet Restaurant, Savoy Cabbage, Signal<\/li>\n<li><b>Cape Winelands (14)<\/b>: 96 Winery Road, Bosman\u2019s, Bread &amp; Wine, De Grendel, Fraai Uitzicht 1798, Grande Provence, Mimosa Lodge, Overture, The Pavilion, Pierneef at La Motte, Reuben\u2019s Franschhoek, Rust en Vrede, The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Fran\u00e7ais, Waterkloof<\/li>\n<li><b>KwaZulu-Natal (9)<\/b>:<b> <\/b>Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, Daruma, Hartford House, Harvey\u2019s, Ile Maurice, Ninth Avenue Bistro, Roma Revolving Restaurant, Spice, Sugar Club<\/li>\n<li><b>Garden Route (8)<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0 La Locanda (George), Kurland Hotel Restaurant, Zinzi at Tsala (Plettenberg Bay), Serendipity (Wilderness), Trans Karoo (Great Brak), Pembreys, The Orchid Room, Zachary\u2019s (Knysna)<\/li>\n<li><b>Pretoria (7)<\/b>: Geet, La Madeleine, La Brasserie de Paris, La Pentola, Restaurant Mosaic, Ritrovo Ristorante, Zemara<\/li>\n<li><b>North West (4): <\/b>De Hoek, Rambling Vine (Magaliesburg); Silver Orange, Stef\u2019s Kitchen\u00a0 (Hartbeespoort)<\/li>\n<li><b>Free State (2)<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 De Oude Kraal, Seven on Kellner<\/li>\n<li><b>Eastern Cape (1)<\/b>:\u00a0\u00a0 Hacklewood Hill (Port Elizabeth)<\/li>\n<li><b>Klein Karoo (1)<\/b>:\u00a0 Su Casa (Oudtshoorn)<\/li>\n<li><b>Mpumalanga (1)<\/b>:\u00a0 Zest (Nelspruit)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Interesting will be to see which of the 95\u00a0American Express\u00ae\u00a0Platinum Fine Dining Award winners will feature on the<strong> Eat Out<\/strong> Top 20 shortlist, which should be announced soon, given that the <strong>Eat Out<\/strong> Top Restaurant Awards are being held much earlier this year. \u00a0Visible exclusions from the lists above, but which could appear on the <strong>Eat Out<\/strong> Top 20 shortlist, are Camphors at Vergelegen, Delaire Graff Restaurant, Indochine, Tokara, Babel, Terroir, Jordan&#8217;s Restaurant, and Makaron.<\/p>\n<p><strong>POSTSCRIPT 25\/9<\/strong>: \u00a0I spoke to a charming telephonist at Constantia Uitsig* this evening, and asked her about the status of the restaurant&#8217;s rumoured closure as a result of the sale of the wine estate. \u00a0She apologetically told me that she does not know anything, the owners and managers not sharing any information with the staff. \u00a0All she could say was that they are not allowed to take bookings for any dates after 30 November. \u00a0The staff appear to be hearing more about the restaurant&#8217;s future from their customers than from their management. \u00a0The hotel and Constantia Uitsig restaurant have been rumoured to be closing while La Colombe and River Caf\u00e9 are said to continue operating.<\/p>\n<p>Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: <a href=\"www.whalecottage.com \">www.whalecottage.com <\/a>\u00a0Twitter: WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once again the Western Cape has shown that it is the country&#8217;s culinary champion in its performance in and dominance of the 2014 American Express\u00ae\u00a0Platinum Fine Dining Awards, which were awarded in Johannesburg last week, and in Cape Town on Monday evening. \u00a0 Of 95 award winning restaurants in the 16th year of review, 43 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,266,14539,20,516,21],"tags":[21226,4186,16957,7303,38,2232,8238,21224,13399,13400,21225,2648,17654,5695,143,36,402,2209,1364,17733,19707,1510,32378,13416,225,13417,2196,21240,13393,16336,21230,16959,2679,13388,857,13412,2177,140,13392,142,554,2182,3907,21227,2565,5246,21228,16501,14555,21238,13404,39,21229,13395,13413,13414,21231,549,18857,14082,32404,2179,13389,35,21232,2563,509,2180,33,7324,6611,7753,21241,21233,4107,8838,1366,8314,21223,2183,1606,34,11332,2181,13397,21244,483,12434,21242,21234,13419,21243,21245,13420,11179,447,21235,2300,2690,21237,11035,1362,59,13398,374,13386,21236,1180,3056,32387,32373,13410,13411,1363,21239,19105,13396],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Once again the Western Cape has shown that it is the country&#039;s culinary champion in its performance in and dominance of the 2014 American Express\u00ae Platinum Fine Dining Awards, which were awarded in Johannesburg last week, and in Cape Town on Monday evening. 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