{"id":59935,"date":"2014-08-04T00:07:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-03T22:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=59935"},"modified":"2014-08-04T16:49:28","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T14:49:28","slug":"hayden-quinn-south-africa-are-sa-viewers-being-misled-woolworths-pushing-its-australian-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/hayden-quinn-south-africa-are-sa-viewers-being-misled-woolworths-pushing-its-australian-investments\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa’ – who is he, are SA viewers being misled, Woolworths pushing its Australian investments ?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hayden<\/a>The question on the lips of many South African viewers of ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa’<\/em>\u00a0is: why Hayden Quinn?<\/span> \u00a0Why choose a MasterChef Australia top 3 finalist (no, not winner) of 2011 (no, not even 2013) to promote the beauty of South Africa and its abundance of sustainable foods amongst South Africans? We did some research, and found that South African viewers are being misled about the TV show host, and that Woolworths appears to have a hidden agenda in pushing its Australian investments!<\/p>\n

I started with the Cardova Group, the production company of ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa<\/em>‘, and of the ‘Expresso Morning Show’<\/em> and ‘Top Travel<\/em>‘ too, all flighted on SABC3. \u00a0A random e-mail landed in my Inbox from LinkedIn<\/strong>, asking me to congratulate Mark Bland as newly appointed Producer of ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa’<\/em>, just as the series kicked off and my interest in it was piqued. \u00a0 I got Mark’s cellphone number via LinkedIn<\/strong>, and asked him for more information about the food series. \u00a0He was extremely hesitant in talking to me, even though we have known each other for \u00a0a good two to three years. \u00a0He is a regular reader of my blog, and has commented on it on occasion. \u00a0I was taken aback about his hesitancy to meet, to talk about the new show, stating that he had just been promoted, and did not want to jeopardise his new appointment in case I wrote something that could land him in trouble. As a regular reader he would have known that I can only write what I have been told. \u00a0As the producer of the show, one would have thought that he would have wanted information about the series to be shared, or expected that he would have referred me to a PR person within his company, or at Woolworths, SABC3, and\/or Nedbank, the major sponsors of the series. \u00a0The best he could send me was this bland (pardon the pun) media release:<\/p>\n

‘Hayden Quinn South Africa\u00a0is an exciting new show starting Monday 14th<\/sup>\u00a0July at 21:30 on SABC3. Surfer, marine biologist, WWF-SASSI ambassador and celebrity foodie Hayden Quinn, of Australian Master Chef fame, is coming to South Africa to taste the best of what the country has to offer. This handsome Aussie will be travelling coast to coast across South Africa in this thirteen part series stopping to discover local flavours, participate in thrilling action adventures and follow the journey of food from farm to fork. Hayden\u2019s unique and perpetually optimistic outlook will give South Africans an outsider\u2019s perspective on our beautiful and diverse country. \u00a0As a WWF-SASSI Ambassador Hayden will visit the top food producers and conservation initiatives around the country \u2013 with a special focus on sustainability, environmental awareness and animal welfare. He finds that not only are responsibly farmed flora and fauna full of flavour but also healthier for both us and the planet. Hayden travels around the country finding adventure, and learning about unique local dishes at each destination. Every episode holds a thrilling escapade to sate Hayden\u2019s thirst for discovery and excitement. From surfing the cold waters of the Western Cape to ziplining through the Tsitsikamma tree tops to walking with rhinos in Zululand <\/span><\/em>(sic)<\/span> \u2013 Hayden does it all. \u00a0\u00a0Eating and cooking are holistic sensual experiences that involve all the senses, there is probably no better way to experience a new culture than by tasting their food. Local cooks, chefs and foodies teach Hayden how to cook and prepare a myriad of local-is-lekker dishes and acquaint him with the melting pot of the South African palette<\/span> <\/em>(sic).<\/em> Hayden prepares a SASSI Green-listed yellowtail sashimi dish atop Table Mountain, he cooks a pojtjie amidst a desert thunderstorm; he shows us how to shuck and gulp Knysna oysters and for dessert, Hayden creates a no-churn ice cream in the fair fields of the KZN midlands <\/em>(sic)<\/span>. These are but a few of Hayden\u2019s culinary capers along his journey across the country, just a taste of what\u2019s to come. For the full course, tune in to SABC 3 at 21:30 every Monday evening starting from the 14th<\/sup>\u00a0of July 2014!’<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The release did not reveal much, but it is worth noting that:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0The ‘WWF-SASSI ambassadorship<\/em>‘ sounds impressive, but begs the question as to why the sustainability body uses an Australian as its spokesperson, when 12 local chefs hold such an honour, declaring that they will be responsible in their use of sustainable-only fish species which are green-rated on the sustainability schedule. Not every episode is fish-related (only episode 3 set in Paternoster has been very fishy). \u00a0SASSI does not set standards for ‘animal welfare’<\/em>, as implied in the release, nor does it have anything to do with ‘flora and fauna<\/em>‘! \u00a0Quinn has prepared two fish dishes to date, a salad in episode 1 and a mussel pot in episode 3.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Claims of Quinn being a ‘celebrity foodie’<\/em> are incorrect, not known locally, and not even having made a big splash in this regard in Australia! \u00a0The recipes on his website are extremely basic, ‘bloke’ type cooking at best! The fact that he is a ‘surfer’<\/em>\u00a0and a supposed\u00a0‘marine biologist’<\/em> do not add to his credibility, and are not food related at all. \u00a0He may have studied Marine Biology, but is not currently a marine biologist, nor has he previously worked as one! \u00a0The closest he has come to the sea is as a professional lifeguard, his website reveals! \u00a0Quinn admits to not being a chef, calling himself a ‘cooker’<\/em> instead!<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 The claim that each episode ‘holds a thrilling escapade<\/em>‘ \u00a0is false – Quinn was too scared to abseil down Table Mountain<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in episode 1; there was no adventure event in episode 2 in Stellenbosch<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, unless the zorbing inside a gigantic plastic ball at De Morgenzon with Fritz Schoon was meant to count as such!; and in episode 3, Quinn went kayaking with Chef Kobus van der Merwe in the bay at Paternoster<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, which one may define as adventurous, but ‘thrilling<\/em>‘ none of these have been!<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 ‘Culinary capers<\/em>‘ is an exaggeration too, with two salads prepared by Quinn in episodes 1 and 2, and a mussel pot over the fire in episode 3!<\/p>\n

Once I had posted the blogpost about episode 2, being Quinn’s visit to Stellenbosch, which he incorrectly referred to as being behind the ‘Boerewors Curtain<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a>‘, we received a rather nasty comment from Jessie Scheepers, who clearly did not like the blogpost, and attacked me and my career choice. \u00a0She did not declare that she was part of the series’ production team, which a Google search quickly revealed, with a number of photographs of Jessie and Quinn. \u00a0I happened to speak to Bland on the same day, and it was clear that my blogpost about the episode as well as Jessie’s blog comment had caused quite a stir. \u00a0Surprisingly, given that we know each other and that Jessie is a member of his team, Bland did not apologise for Jessie’s unprofessional behaviour and defamatory insults. It was impossible to receive any further information from Bland, and he did not reply to my last e-mail regarding the show, and the ‘why Hayden Quinn’ question!<\/p>\n

\u00a0An article in The New Age<\/strong> of 30 July provided the following insights:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0Quinn fell out in a ‘shocking elimination’<\/em> as top 3 Finalist \u00a0in the 2011 (yes, three years ago!) MasterChef Australia series – an Australian article on Quinn’s website from 2011 states that Quinn almost fell out in the first episode already, due to his poor chicken jointing skills!<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Quinn is only 24 years old (but articles on his website claim him to be 25 and even 26 years old!)<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 he traveled 10000 km in seven weeks to shoot the series<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 he is described as ‘the ambassador for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)<\/em>‘ – they do not add SASSI to this .<\/span><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 they refer to him as being a ‘qualified marine biologist’<\/em>, a more honest description – it is evident that he has never worked in the field, and his only employment appears to have been that as ‘professional lifeguard’, <\/em>hardly requiring a degree!<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 It claims that ‘<\/span>every episode captivates the viewer<\/em>‘, but episode 2 in Stellenbosch received criticism for being very boring, being one long advertorial for Woolworths!<\/span><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Quinn describes the series as follows: ‘Firstly, it\u2019s different because it\u2019s not just about food but adventure, conservation and sustainability. Through the different partners we have on board, we also speak about where the food comes from. I believe it\u2019s important for viewers to know how the food they eat is produced and their impact on the environment so they can make informed choices’.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Given the poor response from the ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa’<\/em> production company, I decided to contact Woolworths directly, but this was a difficult task, no one in their Sustainabity nor Marketing departments being available to answer my questions. \u00a0Very friendly and bubbly Babbs from the Press Office at Woolworths appeared to be the only staff member on duty at its head office on a Friday afternoon, and promised to find some answers. \u00a0She sent me an e-mail with answers from Justin Smith, Head of Sustainability at Woolworths, whom I had met two years ago when Sustainability was a theme on MasterChef SA Season 1<\/strong><\/span>.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was Babbs’ e-mail, with my questions and Justin’s answers (strange for a corporate media department, she did not add her name, surname, nor designation in any of the e-mails):<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Hi<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sorry. Here you go.;)!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Justin Smith, Head of Sustainability at Woolworths.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201c<\/b>Q: Why choose Hayden Quinn? He is not famous in SA?<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0 We selected Hayden Quinn for a number of reasons, including:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n