{"id":63780,"date":"2014-11-17T04:21:52","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T02:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=63780"},"modified":"2014-11-22T09:51:56","modified_gmt":"2014-11-22T07:51:56","slug":"jet-set-mercedes-benz-eat-out-awards-2014-at-thunder-city-but-food-a-disappointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/jet-set-mercedes-benz-eat-out-awards-2014-at-thunder-city-but-food-a-disappointment\/","title":{"rendered":"Jet-set Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Awards 2014 at Thunder City, but food a disappointment!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eat<\/a>The\u00a0Eat Out<\/strong>\u00a0Top 10 Restaurant Awards event is a highlight on the restaurant calendar, held for the 17th year, and at Thunder City for the first time last night. \u00a0 The results surprised, with one heavyweight chef sliding right off the Top 10 list, while a new restaurant made Top 10. Two restaurants which did not make the Top 20 Restaurant shortlist in 2013 flew back into Top 10 last night. \u00a0Stellenbosch remains the Gourmet Capital of South Africa (4 Top 10 restaurants), followed by 3 in Johannesburg, and 1 each in Cape Town, Franschhoek, and Hermanus. \u00a0 While the award recipients were acceptable, the food was a disaster.<\/p>\n

Thunder City is not an ideal venue for a function of this magnitude (800 guests, but advertised as\"Eat<\/a> 1000 initially), being difficult to find – the petrol station one block away from the turn-off had no clue where Thunder City is, and there were no signs off Borcherds Quarry Road, other than some posters held by men, only visible in the last minute. \u00a0I followed a taxi, there being no further signage to Thunder City. \u00a0We were collected from the VIP parking by a Mercedes-Benz shuttle van, and I arrived just as the event started, Chef Pete Goffe-Wood doing a tribute to Chef Bruce Robertson,<\/strong><\/span><\/a> who passed away two weeks ago. \u00a0 The lighting was poor for food photography in particular, giving everything a pink\/purple hue. \u00a0We were so far from the central stage that we were reliant on the massive screens. \u00a0We could not hear what was said most of the time, and no names of winners were shown on the screen at all. \u00a0It being a very cold \"Eat<\/a>weekend, most of us at our table froze, but it was the cold coming in from outside, there being no air-conditioning. \u00a0One of the organisers found a blanket for me. \u00a0The food preparation was done in an open-plan style kitchen, at the back of the hall. \u00a0We were seated at modern-looking tables of ten, with a central LED light, and each table number was shown on a balloon above the table, which blocked the screens for photography. \u00a0The 3G connection was poor, and one struggled to Tweet, until I was given the wifi password, which made a huge difference.<\/p>\n

The biggest surprise and highlight of the evening was Chef Reuben Riffel coming up to me soon after I had\"Eat<\/a> arrived, and asked if we could put all issues behind us! \u00a0He was smartly dressed with a polka dot tie, and I photographed him with Pete Goffe-Wood, his MasterChef SA fellow judge. Chef Pete told me that a Season 4 is on the cards for MasterChef SA. \u00a0Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp was the very competent and bubbly MC, well prepared, \"Eat<\/a>and never stumbling over her words (as we experienced the night before with MC Jeannie D at the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Awards<\/strong><\/span><\/a>). \u00a0Eat Out<\/strong> Editor Abigail Donnelly looked stylish, and appeared to have lost a lot of weight, wearing black and silver, silver being the dominant colour for the decor of the evening. \u00a0She speaks well, and uses clever wordplay when she talks about food.<\/p>\n

The food was a huge disappointment, with long faces at our table, and the conversation generally being about the poor food. \u00a0A shared loaf of bread arrived at the table, with good farm butter, most of it devoured before the charcuterie Starter platters created by Neil Jewell of Bread & Wine arrived at the table. \u00a0When we wanted more bread to have with the platter content, we were told that it had run out. \u00a0There was only one disposable knife for each of us, but there was no fork to eat the pickles with. \u00a0Each chef introduced his\/her dish, but it was almost impossible to hear what they had to say. \u00a0We didn’t see\"Eat<\/a> the elements of each of the dishes described in a massive ring-bound book, which contained the order of events. \u00a0 \u00a0The charcuterie elements consisted of Walter ham, sauccison sec, rillettes, Spanish salami, and pickled cucumber cauliflower, with breads by De Oude Bank Bakkerij, all paired with Grolsch. \u00a0Chef David Higgs introduced his first course which he called ‘Urban Garden’<\/em>, which arrived in a box, and inside that was a holder with four sections, with a broadbean, a coconut and rose geranium ‘milkshake’, mushroom soil, and a beetroot and candied nut trifle, paired with La Motte Chardonnay 2012. \u00a0In the video introduction he emphasised that he ‘is obsessed’<\/em> with Johannesburg, and that his starter is a tribute to his new home city. \u00a0We did not really get the dish, most not eating it at our table. \"Eat<\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan Restaurant Chef George Jardine’s second course was odd too, called ‘Jelly Fish<\/em>‘, and was a bowl with a cold lightly jellified mix of fish, cut green beans, and asparagus, almost like brawn that had not set enough, topped with Melba toast and pea shoot with little dots of cauliflower pur\u00e9e. \u00a0 We were given a spoon to eat it. The dish was paired with Jordan Chenin Blanc 2013. \u00a0 Chefs PJ Vadas of The Hog House and Bertus Basson of Overture cooked the main course, described as ‘street-style food<\/em>‘, being pulled free-range pork with organic corn tacos (these were dreadful and tasteless), buffalo fromage blanc, kimchi-style pickled greens\"Eat<\/a> and avocado; barbeque short ribs with pickled slaw and smoked hot sauce; buffalo butter, delicious whole roasted cauliflower, sultanas, capers, and nutmeg, and mustard-dressed bitter greens, radish and pickled onion. \u00a0For most guests this was the closest to real food we ate last night, but it was not perfect. \u00a0Luckily we were able to eat this course with a knife and fork. \u00a0Nederburg The Beautiful Lady Gew\u00fcrztraminer 2012 was paired with the pork, and Nederburg Motorcycle Marvel 2011 was paired with the beef.<\/p>\n

\"Eat<\/a>Chef Vanessa Marx from Dear Me, and a Top 20 Finalist, made an odd dessert, being a Caciotta (a soft Tuscan cheese) pannacotta, for which we had to hammer honeycomb into small pieces, served with roasted pumpkin seeds, and honey, and seek the freeze-dried raspberries from the kitchen, which did not reach our table.<\/p>\n

During the course of the evening a number of speakers came to the stage, luckily most being short and sweet. \u00a0Eat Out<\/strong> General Manager Aileen Lamb said that they had worked on the event for the past year. She thanked their new sponsor Mercedes-Benz, thanked their MD Bridget McCarney, describing her as a ‘rockstar<\/em>‘, and saluted directors Irna van Zyl and John Psillos (with Naomi Herselman originally, but no longer a New Media Publishing director) for creating Eat Out<\/strong> 17 years ago. She announced the relaunch of Stop Hunger Now SA, and promised a full meal for a disadvantaged child for each restaurant review which is posted on the Eat Out<\/strong> website. \u00a0Mercedes-Benz Marketing Manager Claudia Walters likened the preparation of a dish to the design and finish of a luxury car, both being created as ‘masterpieces<\/em>‘, she said.<\/p>\n

Abigail introduced the five judges, four of whom we had identified a few months ago, being Andy Fenner (co-owner of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, supplier to a number of Top 20 restaurants, a\u00a0conflict of interest), Arnold Tanzer (MasterChef SA Production Director), and Reuben Riffel. \u00a0The other two mystery judges were Caro de Waal (for the ‘Best Of’ awards) and Kate Wilson, editor of Women’s Health<\/strong>. \u00a0Odd is that Garth Stroebel, a 2013 judge, was seen at all the Top 20 restaurants at the time of judging this year, but was not acknowledged as a judge! Abigail shared her impressions in eating around the country, saying that she was ‘dazzled by the food<\/em>‘ she and her judges ate, in its daring, simplicity, and being ‘glocal<\/em>‘. \u00a0 She made each of the Top 20 chefs feel good, by highlighting one element of a dish she had experienced. \u00a0‘Pig is still big<\/em>‘, she said, but chicken is popular too. Food is still being smoked and pickled, foraging is still on-trend, and ‘sea saltiness is growing<\/em>‘. \u00a0The bulk of the restaurant evaluation (70%) is based on food, including the menu composition, seasonality and sustainability of ingredients, food presentation, taste, price and value for money, and wine choice; while service counts for 20% and ambience 10%. \"Eat<\/a><\/p>\n

I sat next to MasterChef SA Season 2 winner Kamini Pather, and she told me about her nine week journey to 10 countries, for a food travel show ‘Girl Eat World’ <\/em>she worked on with Lucky Bean Media, and they are looking for a TV channel on which to broadcast it. \u00a0She connected with bloggers in cities such as Berlin, Philadelphia, Bangkok, Sydney, Copenhagen, Milan, Dubai, and Johannesburg, finding top bloggers in those cities, and being shown around by them, and cooking with some of them.<\/p>\n

It was time for the awards, and these were awarded in-between the courses, and are summarised below:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0\u00a0Boschendal Style Award<\/strong>\u00a0– Equus at Cavalli (they did not attend the function, so did not collect the award!)<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 The ‘Best of<\/strong>‘ category judging was done by Caro de Waal, and it was refreshing to see the winners in the categories, Giorgio Nava not winning any award (not Best Italian, nor Best Steakhouse), and therefore not present at the event. He has won in either of the two ‘Best Of’ categories every year since they were introduced!<\/p>\n

+ \u00a0\u00a0Best Steakhouse: \u00a0 The Local Grill in Parktown North<\/p>\n

+ \u00a0\u00a0Best Everyday Eatery\u00a0– this is a brand new award, and one can say that it was created for Chef Liam Tomlin of the Chef’s Warehouse & Canteen, the winner of the\"Eat<\/a> award.<\/p>\n

+ \u00a0\u00a0Best Italian Restaurant\u00a0– La Sosta in Swellendam<\/p>\n

+ \u00a0\u00a0Best Country-Style Restaurant\u00a0– Caf\u00e9 Bloom<\/p>\n

+ \u00a0\u00a0Best Asian Restaurant\u00a0– Kyoto Garden Sushi<\/p>\n

* \u00a0\u00a0Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award<\/strong>\u00a0– Eduan Naud\u00e9 and the late Brian Shalkoff, who jointly owned Gramadoelas in Johannesburg for 50 years.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0\u00a0Woolworths Taste\u00a0Eat Out\u00a0Bursary winner<\/strong>\u00a0– Thozamile Mgumane<\/p>\n

* \u00a0\u00a0Nederburg Rising Star Award<\/strong>\u00a0– Kobus van der Merwe of Oep ve Koep<\/p>\n

* \u00a0\u00a0Top 10 Restaurants<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Number 1. \u00a0 The Test Kitchen (Chef Luke Dale-Roberts), at the top slot the third year in a row<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0 five hundred at The Saxon (Chef David Higgs)<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0 The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Fran\u00e7ais (Chef Margot Janse) plus Grolsch Service Excellence Award<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient (Chef Chantel Dartnall) plus Chef of the Year<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0 Jordan Restaurant (Chef George Jardine)<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0 Overture (Chef Bertus Basson)<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0 Rust en Vrede (Chef John Shuttleworth)<\/p>\n

8. \u00a0 DW Eleven – 13 (Chef Marthinus Ferreira, who used the most f*** words in an acceptance speech!), and Tsogo Sun Wine Service Award went to sommelier Mandla Patson Mathonsi.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0 The Restaurant at Newton Johnson (Chef Eric Bulpitt)<\/p>\n

10. \u00a0 Terroir (Chef Michael Broughton)<\/p>\n

The biggest surprise was seeing Chef Peter Tempelhoff falling of the Top 10 list, and he did not attend the awards evening, having urgent business to attend to in Paris. \u00a0Even bigger was the surprise that Terroir and Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient did so well this year, when both restaurants did not even make the Top 20 shortlist in 2013! \u00a0The other 2014 Top 20 restaurant finalists were Tokara, The Kitchen at Maison, The Greenhouse, La Mouette, The Restaurant at Waterkloof, Bread & Wine, The Pot Luck Club, Makaron, Planet Restaurant, and The White Room. \"Eat<\/a><\/p>\n

To end off the evening, a Mercedes-Benz which had been parked inside the venue, was driven onto the stage to Pitbull’s ‘Fireball<\/em>‘, with \u00a0a shower of gold and silver paper raining down from the ceiling. \u00a0Chef Luke Dale-\"Eat<\/a>Roberts appeared not to believe that he and his team will be driving the car for the next year, being part of the restaurant’s prize!<\/p>\n

Abigail praised the chefs who did not hesitate to agree to create the food for the 800 guests. \u00a0It was a shame that the event was expanded to such a large size, in that none of the chefs could give the attendees a taste of what they serve in their restaurants, never cooking for such large numbers. \u00a0 Sadly the\u00a0Eat Out<\/strong>\u00a0Awards Gala Dinner never is a reflection of what the chefs are capable of in their own restaurant kitchens, but at R1850 per person this was a let-down for the paying guests. \u00a0The Gala Dinner was a lovely way of reconnecting with so many food and restaurant lovers, and to salute our country’s top restaurants, with their chefs and teams.<\/p>\n

Disclosure<\/strong>: \u00a0I was invited to attend the Eat Out<\/strong> Awards. \u00a0Every guest received a bag with a bottle of Boschendal Brut Ros\u00e9 and the new Eat Out<\/strong> 2015 magazine.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 19\/11:<\/strong> \u00a0Most impressive is the very detailed questionnaire<\/strong><\/span><\/a> we were sent to evaluate the\u00a0Eat Out<\/strong> Awards. \u00a0The dreadful food is already emerging as the major negative about the event.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 21\/11:<\/strong>\u00a0 At a function today the wife of one of the award-winning chefs told us that the blast freezer did not work properly at the event, which explains why Chef George Jardine’s ‘Jelly Fish’ dish was a flop.<\/p>\n

POSTSCRIPT 22\/11<\/strong>: \u00a0 I have attended numerous events this week, and the Eat Out<\/strong> Awards have been the talking point. \u00a0The poor food, poor sound, and swearing on the stage by Chef Marthinus Ferreira when he made his acceptance speech were the low lights, there being talk that DW Eleven-13 will never make Top 20 again, and that restaurant lovers will ban his restaurant.<\/p>\n

Eat Out 2015<\/strong>, New Media Publishing, Cape Town. \u00a0www.eatout.co.za<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Twitter: @Eat<\/strong>_Out R49,90<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook: \u00a0<\/strong>click here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Eat Out\u00a0Top 10 Restaurant Awards event is a highlight on the restaurant calendar, held for the 17th year, and at Thunder City for the first time last night. \u00a0 The results surprised, with one heavyweight chef sliding right off the Top 10 list, while a new restaurant made Top 10. Two restaurants which did not […]<\/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":[20517,4795,3,124,1918,266,14539,20,248,31,27980,21,19],"tags":[2803,18210,4505,8882,64,28937,3638,14131,36,28887,14363,484,28885,17334,15578,11979,32378,28882,139,6154,10812,28880,2679,28886,22237,22244,3849,17762,13806,1462,2185,1437,28883,233,13403,14361,28879,99,14362,395,19367,21340,4954,26782,1540,28884,549,3769,555,1604,32404,1008,4099,399,1346,4953,33,1458,8847,28889,1347,32376,447,28881,14132,1362,7518,28888,27058,3159,18781,10816,28878,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t