Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

What was Ravi Naidoo, owner of Interactive Africa and ‘Mr Cool’, who boasts FIFA as a client, and organiser of 13 Design Indaba’s to date, thinking when he decided to put Martha Stewart on the programme for the 2010 Design Indaba, which ended this weekend?

Billing Stewart as the lead Design Indaba speaker on its website, Stewart was described as speaking about “Food Design” at the Conference part of the Design Indaba, about ”the creative principles and practical ideas that have made her America’s most trusted guide to stylish living.  Millions of consumers rely on Martha Stewart as their arbiter of style and taste and their guide to all aspects of everyday living - from cooking and entertaining to decorating and gardening, and much more”.  Stewart’s profession is stated as : entrepreneur, TV host and author.  

None of these “credentials” would have necessarily made Stewart eligible as a speaker at a conference addressed and attended by the world’s top designers.  So what went wrong? Firstly, through Twitter, one could track Stewart’s movements around the country, from the time she left New York on SAA, praising the airline highly (sponsored ticket?), she was met in Johannesburg and taken on a safari to Singita (sponsored?), and then arrived in Cape Town, where she stayed at the One & Only Cape Town (sponsored?).  Stewart’s talk was mid-morning on day three.  From her Tweets, it was clear that she had made no effort to attend any of the other talks on the first two days, choosing rather to go sightseeing and winetasting, but here her brand endorsements stopped.   It is the owners of the wine estates (which included Warwick and Graham Beck) that made one aware of her stops there on Twitter.  She did Tweet about her lunch at Waterkloof, mistakenly referring to it being in Stellenbosch!  Given that she has close to 2 million followers on Twitter, this would have had a good marketing benefit for the Cape.

At Design Indaba, the conference organisers as well as bizcommunity.com, were Tweeting from the conference.   Here is the take on Martha Stewart’s talk by Louise Marsland, ex-editor of and writer for bizcommunity.com and editor of AdVantage magazine, who Twittered the whole Conference every few seconds:

‘The always spectacular Design Indaba will this year be remembered, not only for the fabulous speakers such as Harry Pearce, Bruce Nussbaum, Priyush Pandey, Stefan Bucher, Mokena Makeke, etc, but for the worst presentation it’s (sic) ever hosted - by famous ‘homemaker’ Martha Stewart. Who will also now be credited with launching the first local “twitcom”. [view twitterfall)   Delivering a presentation more suited to the Krugersdorp Vrouefederasie or the Belville (sic) Housewives Scrapbooking Circle, she managed to inspire a mass walkout in both auditoriums - practically unheard of in the history of Design Indaba, which is the industry’s premier conference and expo showcase in the creative industries and an inspiration destination annually.  And so we get another twiord (twitter word): she was ‘twitter slapped’ (twitapped?) by the twitterverse. Twerrible.  The complaints centred around that fact that she used her presentation as a sales pitch (given how she is about to launch her ‘Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes’ in South Africa) and spoke to these highly creative and key delegates with a lack of awareness that was astounding. With the likes of local agency heads and creative directors and world-renowned designers and architects in the audience, you don’t talk about doing ‘glitter by numbers’ pictures and show 29 pictures of yourself holding various farm life (unless that’s part of your creative installation!). The laughter was cringe worthy indeed. The result was a walkout.  Basically she was boring and out of touch and self-promotional. Everything that Design Indaba is not. Design Indaba is about collaboration, sustainability, social entrepreneurship, less conspicuous consumption and looking towards redesigning a new world where product has less impact on the environment. General opinion was summed up by the biting comment of MC Michael Bierut as Stewart left the stage: “Dr Craig Venter is to the human genome as Martha Stewart is to paint chips.” Ouch!The subtle quips continued through subsequent speakers in the afternoon on Friday with references to the ‘millions’ to be made out of design (not) and pleas for people not to put gold glitter on their food, or anything else for that matter. Speakers following her were thanked profusely for “showing us what Design Indaba is all about” by Bierut. Groans and laughter greeted each aside.  Delegates who walked out gathered around Bizcommunity.com’s live ‘twitterfall’ screen outside the main auditorium which live-fed the deluge of tweets to delegates. “It was hysterical,” said one executive creative director of a leading SA ad agency. “The tweets were hugely entertaining, much more so than her speech!”  Another creative director pointed out that the real story was how fantastically social media worked in this case. “People didn’t like her… so they said so. That’s the real story. Brilliant.”   Delegates and journalists attending didn’t pull any punches, with scathing references to her ‘lack of a glittering performance’ and the fact that she could write a book on ‘How to clear a room’, rather.’

Yesterday Stewart addressed a less distinguished audience, who paid R 250 to attend a breakfast session sponsored by Woolworths.   From the blog and Twitter feedback it appears that Stewart used the same talk, but attendees had lowered their expectations, given the feedback about her talk the previous day.   Some comments seemed self-justifying, others remained critical: read Cape Town News Blog’s report here.

Stewart appeared unaffected by the furore, happily continuing her Tweeting about beautiful Cape Town and hoping that she could get up Table Mountain, after the gale force southeaster winds had prevented her from accessing this design icon of the city.  In fairness to her, she did not make any negative comments on Twitter about her visit to South Africa, and was gracious to her hosts and sponsors in acknowledging them, the main ones at least!

Martha Stewart’s visit to Cape Town will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Franschhoek’s finest vintage cars, which are showcased in the Franschhoek Motor Museum on the L’Omarins wine estate, will be put on show today and tomorrow, when the first Franschhoek Motor Museum Concours and Time Trial takes place on the wine estate.

Sixty of the approximately eighty vintage cars, dating between 1900 and 1980, in the Motor Museum’s collection will be taken through their paces on one of three routes:  up to 50 km/hr, 70 km/hr and 90 km/hr, to showcase the pedigrees and speeds of the various vintage cars. 

The Concours will showcase Africa’s finest vintage cars, a panel of judges finely examining the detail of each masterpiece, from the upholstery, the paint, to the mechanical condition of each vintage vehicle.

The Franschhoek Motor Museum was established by Johan Rupert, in honour of his father Anton Rupert, who was an avid vintage car lover.  Anton Rupert built up a museum of vintage cars in Heidelberg in the Cape, and his son Johan moved the car collection to the L’Omarins farm, which belonged to his late brother Antonij, after his father’s passing.   More than 80 vehicles, including motorcycles, bicycles and memorabilia, are showcased in four air-conditioned halls, The Motor Museum is closed on Mondays, so that all vehicles can be polished for the visitors arriving on subsequent days of the week.

The event is so popular that most accommodation in Franschhoek has been sold out for tonight.

For further details, visit Franschhoek Motor Museum www.fmm.co.za.  Tel 021 874 9000. Buy tickets at Computicket only.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Sweet Service Award goes to Bellavista Country House and Panorama restaurant, located between Stanford and Gansbaai, and neighbouring Grootbos, a surprise oasis of 5-star accommodation luxury and excellent cuisine, owned by Swiss national Georg Schwegler, for inviting WhaleTales to experience the property.   Set high up against the Waterkop mountain, the property has a lovely view onto Walker Bay, and the fynbos of the farm below.   The popular Panorama restaurant, visited by guests from Hermanus and Gansbaai, has a fine-dining menu which is reasonably priced and the food was excellent.   The restaurant is run by two chefs who previously worked at Allee Bleue in Franschhoek, and the service was professional and reactive, if a little withdrawn, whilst the wine list is extensive, with two wine list choices - top-end wines and more affordable wines. 

The Sour Service Award goes to the Cape Whale Coast Destination Marketing Organisation, for reacting to its Sour Award of 28 December by sending a lawyer’s letter stating that “not only is the content of your publication concerning our client plainly untrue, but also slanderous.   You published these statements with the obvious and clear intentions to defame our client, and bring our client’s work, standing, good name and reputation into disrepute”.  The letter demanded “an unequivocal apology in respect of all untrue and defamatory matter concerning our client.  In such written apology, you are to acknowledge the untruthfulness of your earlier statements, withdraw all imputations made, and express your regret that they were ever made”.  The writer gave 7 days for this demand to be implemented (but sent the letter to the wrong address, so it was only received 10 days later), failing which the DMO threatened to issue a summons for damages and apply for an interdict!   Nowhere in the lawyer’s letter did it state which parts of the long article it deemed to be “untrue” or “defamatory”.  WhaleTales has been around the block long enough, and has written for the media, and knows what can/may be said.  Information sources were the Hermanus Tourism Bureau, an e-mail sent to all members of the Hermanus Tourism Bureau, the DMO constitution, and the DMO website itself.   The blog post that the DMO is contesting can be read here.   The DMO seems to be short of funds, yet seems to deem it important to waste its money on a threatened court case with no foundation, and does not appear to value the country’s Constitutional freedom of speech!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

The new restaurant Shaka Zulu, scheduled to open in London in April, is to play an important role in marketing South Africa, and in promoting tourism to the country, says Paul Bannister, CEO of the International Marketing Council, a body tasked with marketing South Africa internationally, reports the Weekend Argus.

The new restaurant is being developed to the value of R 66 million in Camden Market, London, as a nightclub, a restaurant, a cocktail lounge and an African theatre. It can seat 750 patrons, and will feature a water-garden and crystal leopards.     Patrons will be able to eat South African food, and taste South Africa’s best beers and wines.   Savanna cider is expected to be one of the brands stocked, given its popularity in the U.K.

At the entrance to the venue a display cabinet will show off South African products, including Zulu artwork.   King Goodwill Zwelithini, head of the Zulu tribe, has endorsed the project.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has announced that he has contracted Grant Thornton to conduct a survey of accommodation prices during the June/July World Cup period, and to benchmark these against the prices of accommodation in countries that previously hosted FIFA World Cups, reports www.iol.co.za.  The survey is to be conducted, despite the tourism industry body Tourism Business Council of South Africa and FIFA’s MATCH accommodation agency denying that World Cup prices are excessive.

The survey comes amidst international criticism that accommodation pricing is excessive and deemed to be “rip-off”.   Van Schalkwyk said that “the survey would help safeguard the reputation of the South African tourism industry, since South Africa is a ‘value-for-money destination’  Price-hiking could damage the reputation of our tourism industry”, he said.

Van Schalkwyk did make it clear that tourists could not expect to pay normal low-season rates during the World Cup : “……June and July 2010 will be high season in South Africa”.

The Grant Thornton survey will only be conducted amongst professional accommodation establishments, and will exclude private homes.

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), which claims to be ‘the official umbrella body for organised business in the South African travel and tourism industry’, and MATCH, FIFA’s accommodation agency, have made a joint statement that the industry pricing is not rip-off nor excessive, reports S A Tourism Update.  The TBCSA chairman Mmatsatsi Marobe praised the tourism sector for not charging “exorbitant prices as they understood the long-term effect on tourism into South Africa, but it was the doing of a few small suppliers that put South Africa in a bad light”, she said.   The MATCH Chairman, Jaime Byron, came with the following brilliant logic about pricing: “…the 2010 FIFA World Cup was expected to be more expensive than previous tournaments because it was a long-haul destination.  This makes South Africa inherently more expensive”, he is quoted as saying!   It was noted by them that the media should be careful about attacking the World Cup pricing, as it had to be accurate about what exactly was included in the prices quoted in such media reports (e.g. accommodation, tickets, transport).  

The TBCSA/MATCH statements are ironic, as MATCH has been blamed for excessive “rip-off pricing” since it started recruiting accommodation for the World Cup four years ago, demanding a 30 % commission from accommodation establishments initially, and now just adding this commission percentage on to the already high accommodation rates! 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The “Boozy Bloggers Picnic” at Warwick wine estate on Sunday was a disappointment in a number of respects, despite the bloggers (and other visitors) present having a good time on a perfect picnic Sunday.

WhaleTales has not written about wine estates much, except if they have restaurants on them.   Warwick wine estate, on the R44 between Klapmuts and Stellenbosch, attracted attention because Chef Bruce Robertson, a previous Top 10 chef when he owned The Showroom, was contracted to put together the picnic at Warwick.   When the invitation was received that bloggers were welcome to attend the picnic on Sunday, and that a generous special bloggers’ rate was offered, the booking was made immediately  

Despite being a big fan of Chef Bruce, and enjoying meeting Warwick owner Mike Ratcliffe on the day, one left the picnic disappointed in that a golden opportunity had been lost by Warwick.   Whilst the bloggers were on a special list, they were not told to sit in a defined section with other bloggers, so that they could get to know each other, and exchange information about this new medium.   Not even Ratcliffe knew who the bloggers were and what they looked like.   On a Big 5 wine safari drive during the afternoon, the Backsberg bloggers were on board, and at least one connection was made.  Anel Grobler from @spitorswallow was also present, and came over to chat later in the afternoon.   By this time Ratcliffe had left for his home already.

The vast picnic area is located around a dam, with lawns, and a section with tables under trees, as well as private “picnic pods”, resembling birdwatching ‘houses’, so one has a good choice.  Unfortunately one is not told where one can or should sit.   Also unfortunate is that one cannot see vines from the picnic area at all, so it feels less like a wine farm when one is there.   When one goes on the drive there is no mistaking that Warwick is a wine farm.

The picnic is a little higgeldy-piggeldy, much like the character of the wine estate.   The building houses the wine tasting section when one enters, and here the dissonance begins.  On the right is a beautiful modern wine cooling “cabinet”, with glass and modern white shelving.   In the middle of the room, along the wall, is a ‘mature’ wooden shelf with wine related gadgets for sale.   Behind the ordinary wooden counter the wines are sold.   It is a long room, not well filled, with wasted space at the back end of it.   One walks through to the picnic section, and there is another ordinary looking counter, with a table behind it, filled with the picnics.   It is a vast room, with a single table with things to sell, lost in the open space.   A decor hand is clearly missing in this venue, all is functional but not particularly attractive.

Given this decor, a ‘gourmet’ picnic concept for this wine estate is ill-matched.  One gets the feeling that the staff are very friendly, but things are not well organised.  Time is a commodity the staff have, but maybe not their guests.    The staff are still putting things together for the picnics when one arrives, even though they have taken bookings for them in advance.  One pays and receives a most unusual “picnic basket”, nothing like one has ever seen before.   A bottle of water is sold as is a cold drink, but no glasses are provided.   No attempt is made to sell one a bottle of wine with the picnic - is that not what the picnic is all about?   The wine sales department is in the first room, so the two departments do not marry their services and sales.  The sweet picnic lady tells us that it is the first day that the guests have to collect their picnics - previously they were brought to the tables.  Perhaps the former method would have caused less of a queue at the collection point.

We sit at a table under the trees, in what is meant to be the bloggers’ section, but see no one familiar, not that a list of names has been provided.   We unpack our picnic:   it has been cleverly put together in a stacked fashion, with two boards, one plastic and one wooden, a baguette wrapped in a massive “Warwick News”, a box of treats, a table cloth, and plates and cutlery, with a silver handle that clips underneath the boards, making one able to carry everything.   The tablecloths are brightly coloured (ours a grass green polka dot). The cutlery is ‘green”, being biodegradable, made from “a starched (sic) based bioplastic”.   

The box of treats contains the food in little plastic and cardboard boxes, and it is a treat to open them to see what is inside:   a delicious “Bruce’s ‘lekker’ biltong and brandy pate”, hummus with peppadew coulis, a small camembert, charcuterie (2 tiny slices of smoked something), poached chicken breast with truffle mayo (chicken tastes bland, but interestingly cut in tiny round slices), “frikkadelle” with tomato bredie (not out of the ordinary), “tabouli” - a green salad with couscous sprinkles (difficult to eat), baby potato salad with yummy mayo), “maketaan” - a yummy watermelon and ginger preserve, a box of Maynards wine gums, and a ‘death by chocolate’ brownie (not very special).   The most gourmet out of all this is the biltong pate.  The food is more wacky than gourmet, and is enough.  We hear bloggers mutter about the price of R 150 per head.  The pink paper menu is not of a “gourmet” standard.

We buy a bottle of wine (we would have loved a Rose with the picnic, but Warwick only does a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc on the light side), but receive no ice bucket on a 30+ C day.  No staff come to the tables at all, to sell us more to drink.  When we do see some, and call them over, they look at us in surprise that we could ask them for another bottle of water and for an ice bucket.  But it is brought to the table.  Do not expect any proactive service from the staff. 

Verdict - Warwick is sooo laid back, that it does itself a disservice in not focusing on its wine sales.  We left the wine estate knowing little more about Warwicks’ wines (except that there are 5 varieties planted on the farm, hence the Big 5 Landrover drives they do).  The newspaper wrapped around the baguette was placed under the boards for later reading, and was cleared by the staff before one could think of reading it - it is massive, and one is more interested in the contents of the boxes than in the newspaper at that stage.

Great concept, but on the wrong wine estate, in that its design does not reflect “designer” nor “gourmet”, normally associated with Chef Bruce Robertson.   Very child-friendly, and the kids get their own picnic box.   Mike Ratcliffe is a very nice owner, and he came to check on us regularly, and very friendly staff.   Very clean and modern bathroom, which is commendable.  A lost opportunity by Warwick, in getting bloggers together and connected, the prime reason for them coming.  A lost marketing opportunity in that the paper menu does not have contact details nor the web address if one wanted to book again or tell others about it.

Warwick wine estate, R44, Stellenbosch, tel 021 884-3144. www.warwickwine.com   Twitter @mikeratcliffe

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

One could see it coming!   With numerous reports over the past month indicating that ticket sales for the World Cup were not as brisk as they should be, especially from non-South African countries, it has now been announced that prices of category 2 and 3 tickets have been slashed by FIFA, reports the Weekend Argus.

Instead of costing up to R 840 a ticket, category 2 and 3 tickets will now be sold exclusively to South Africans at R 140, on the www.fifa.com website, at FNB branches, or telephonically at 083 123 2010.

Furthermore, the number of category 4 tickets, the cheapest tickets, and offered at a special low rate to South Africans, will be increased, to boost sales, and to ensure that the stadiums are full on match days.   “The plan to discount tickets comes as Fifa admitted that projected inflow of tourists coming to the World Cup would be much less than expected”, writes the newspaper.   FIFA’s General Secretary, Jerome Valcke, told a British newspaper that it was trying its best to get more South Africans to buy tickets.

While the ticket price reductions make the tickets more affordable to South Africa’s soccer fans, those that had bought tickets already are angry that they bought them at the higher prices.  

No arrangements appear to have been made to encourage more ticket sales from other African countries, where soccer fans have complained that technological contraints in booking tickets via the internet, as well as general lack of credit card ownership, are impeding sales in those countries.

WhaleTales speculated that in a “FIFA flop”, ticket prices would drop, and that more South Africans than international soccer fans would watch the matches, a disaster for the hospitality industry, as the accommodation, restaurant, and other related services would not be required by locals, and would not be affordable to many of them, given that pricing had been set at 2010 summer rates + 10 - 20 % for the international market.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Prince William and Prince Harry are planning to spend 10 days in South Africa in June, and will attend the World Cup, in support of their England team, according to the Cape Argus.  This will add a welcome royal touch to the world’s top sport event, which is good for marketing South Africa and the event.

The princes will be combining their visit to South Africa with participation in the Enduro, a charity motorcycle ride.  They will also host a reception to support Britain’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.  Prince William is President of the England Football Association.   Prince Harry is expected to see Chelsy Davy, his South African girlfriend.  

During their visit to Africa, the princes will also visit Botswana and Lesotho, for the Tusk Trust charity of which Prince William is the royal patron, and the Sentabale charity for AIDS orphans established by Prince Harry, respectively, reports The Times. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Warwick wine estate, on the R45 near Klapmuts, outside Stellenbosch, is hosting a “Boozy Bloggers Picnic” tomorrow 21 February at 13h00.   Owner Mike Ratcliffe welcomes bloggers to enjoy a fun day in the Cape Winelands.

Chef Bruce Robertson is the designer of the gourmet picnics, which will be offered at a special half-price rate of R 75, children pay R 45, and the wines cost less 20 %.

To book contact Elzanne visit@warwickwine.com or call 021 884 3144. www.warwickwine.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

The Sweet Service Award goes to the Manager of The Big Easy restaurant in Stellenbosch, for making space for a table of two on Valentine’s Day, when the hostess had declined the request initially, even though only half the tables were occupied at the time.   The service and meal were excellent.   It transpired during the evening that a party of 22 had booked, and that the hostess did not want to burden the kitchen, or the new chef Simone’ Rossouw.  Shockingly, the large party did not honour their booking!

The Sour Service Award goes to the Darling Music Experience, for the organisation of an event at the Groote Post wine estate outside Darling.   After a long journey from Cape Town, driving on a poor quality gravel road to get to the farm, the attendees of the lunch session had to listen to a talk by German pianist Andreas Kern about music, concerts, etc, and only got to hear one short piece played by him!   All the attendees at the lunch table complained about their expectation of a concert, as it was that that had attracted them to attend.  Lunch was then served at Hilda’s Kitchen restaurant, and was most disappointing:  a salmon salad with potatoes as a starter, a slice of mixed vegetable quiche for the main!!!, and a lovely pavlova.   If it had not been for the long journey lying ahead to travel back, and the lovely persons at the table, one would have chosen to return immediately.  The cost of R 250 per head felt like a rip-off, and was used as a sales opportunity for the Pentz family for their wines rather than as a musical experience for the attendees.   Feedback received from the Darling tourism bureau was dismissive and unsatisfactory, although they did offer an invitation to attend a concert two days later.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.