Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

A recent blog post by chef, Eat Out Top 10 restaurant judge and owner of Wild Woods restaurant, Pete Goffe-Wood, is the inspiration for evaluating how ready Cape Town’s restaurants are for the World Cup, a mere three months away today, and for becoming world class.

Goffe-Wood wrote that the local restaurant industry is “teetering on the brink of greatness”, and encouraged his colleagues to “make the leap” to offer the “foreign market waiting to be fed, educated and entertained and we must make sure that we give them what they came for”.    Goffe-Wood identified complaints about high food and wine prices, poor service, and inconsistent food quality as being reflective of problems facing the restaurant industry.

He explained how wine-markups of 200 %, whilst creating outrage, are the norm, and that restaurants have to follow wine producers when they increase their prices every year.   Goffe-Wood is critical about the lack of restaurant reviews in “print media”.  He believes that the industry needs “positive input from informed and educated sources”.   Service , he says “is not to be subservient”, and he seeks a “more professional attitude towards the service we provide”.

So what do we as customers say to restaurants in response to Goffe-Wood’s self-analysis, and to guide them to greatness:

1.  First, well done Pete, for acknowledging that not all is perfect, and for wanting to lift the standard for the restaurant industry in Cape Town.

2.  We expect consistency in a restaurant’s food quality, service, and value-for-money, plus an attractive and interesting decor, and an undefined feel-good factor of “I like it here - this is a restaurant for a person like me - I will be back”.

3.  Please answer your phones when we call to make a booking, rather than letting us speak to an answering machine, which may or may not return our call.  Have friendly staff that understand the language we speak, and that can spell a basic name like “Chris”!   Even better, recognise and acknowledge our voice as regulars when we call

4.   Trust us as customers when we have made bookings at your restaurants - confirmation calls are soooo irritating.  Allow a 15 - 30 minute cut-off time, for late arrivers, and then offer the table to the next walk-in.  By all means ban customers if they are habitual late-arrivers, or even worse, non-arrivers!

5.  Retain your staff - we see staff turnover even in the best of establishments, and it is often the staff relationships that maintain the relationship consistency and that influence the service perception we have of your restaurants.  Please do not let your new waiter train on me!   Start an industry initiative, to not appoint the waiter/kitchen person running off (often without notice) from one restaurant to another.

6.  Train your staff - start with the wines.  When the waiter does not understand the word “vintage”, I shudder, and wonder why you did not start at the beginning with your training, or why your winelist cannot list this important detail.

7.  Why do we as patrons have to pay the salaries of your staff via tips?  It is the only industry where the onus lies on the client to make such a payment.  Almost two years ago the Department of Labour promulgated the Sectoral Determination for the Hospitality Industry, and it demands that staff be appointed on a full-time basis, with a monthly salary.  I know of few restaurants where this legal requirement is being applied. 

8.  Charge fair prices.  It’s tough for everyone at the moment.  Price increases of up to 50% (Reubens) and exorbitant World Cup prices (Beluga and Sevruga) alienate customers and make you look greedy.  The days of hoping that tourists alone will fill your coffers because of their foreign currency are over. 

9.   The marketing of restaurants is very poor.  Blond sexy “poppies” in ads does not crack it for most of us!  Few restaurants have websites, and the fewest restaurants seem to understand search engine optimisation, in making sure that patrons can find more information about their restaurants on the internet.   If one does a Google search, restaurant websites often are ranked lower than reviews written about them by industry websites such as Eat Out, or by bloggers.   This means that prospective clients are not hearing the restaurant marketing message directly.   The fewest restaurants in Cape Town understand the power of Social Media (Pizza Club, Cafe Max, Nook Eatery, Arnold on Kloof and Jardine are the few on Twitter) and Goffe-Wood Twitters and blogs very occasionally only.  I am not aware of any restaurant which has an integrated social media marketing strategy! 

10.   Your customers have become your reviewers, horror of horrors, and they say it as it is.  No more white-washing, no more ‘incestuous’ relationships between reviewers wishing to remain best mates with the chefs.  Bloggers are evaluating restaurants as the man/woman in the street would experience them, and the more honest they are in writing about what they experience, the more their evaluations are valued.   Banning them from your restaurants, as Le Quartier Francais, Carne and Beluga have done, if they have given you a critical review or feedback, is not productive, and it means that the restaurants will not improve if they cannot accept feedback.

11.  Treat us with honesty - do not con us with a marketing claim on your website, that is not true - as does Carne, which claims that all its meat is organic and comes from the Karoo, which has proven to be not true.  The dishonest claim remains on the website!

Restaurant patrons will forgive a restaurant many sins if they feel comfortable and “at home”; if they feel respected, even if the feedback provided is not always positive, provided in the interest of making it better;  if they are kept up to date with information from the restaurant; and if restaurants learn to say thank you for regular patronage, for a review, or for business sent to them by a regular client.  Not too much to ask, is it?!

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

The 2010 Eat Out magazine lists five pages of “10 of the best….” restaurants, many of these not being on the top 10 restaurant list.

The best restaurant sommelier list includes The Atlantic Grill, Azure, Catharina’s, Delaire Graff (interesting that the restaurant is included, only being 6 months old), Hartford House, Jardine, Ritrovo, Roots, Rust en Vrede and Signal.

The 10 best cheese platters are to be found, amongst others, at Caveau, Cotage Fromage, Hartford House, Mosaic, The Saxony and Zacharay’s.

The 10 best bathroom list includes Catharina’s, Grand Provence, maze, and Roots.  Missing from this list, it is believed, is the bathrooms of Delaire Graff, the cleanest and best smelling cloakrooms ever experienced.

Best value for money restaurants include Bellini’s, Sinn’s, Societi Bistro, and Pronto.

Some of the best bread boards are to be found at Cape Atlantic at the Table Bay Hotel, The Food Barn, Ile de Pain, Jardine, Manna, maze, Reuben’s, and The Saxon.

The top desserts are the Grand Marnier souffle at The Green House, the ginger and pistachio cake at La Petite Ferme, the chocolate mousse at Overture, and the strawberry vacherin at Terroir.

The best service comes from Rust en Vrede, Auberge Michel, Aubergine, Grande Provence, Cape Colony, Fyndraai, Mosaic, and Roots, amongst others.

The best tea and cake are served at the Mount Nelson, Cape Grace, Myatt, The Cellars Hohenhort, The Saxon, The Westcliff, The Twelve Apostles and the Vista Bar.

The restaurants with the best view include Buitenverwachting, Delaire Graff, Dieu Donne, Harbour House, La Vierge, Overture, Salt, and Tokara.

The best coffees are served at Doppio Zero, Miss K, and Ritrovo.   The best winelists and cellars include the following restaurants: Buitenverwachting, The Greenhouse, Linger Longer, maze, Mosaic, Ritrovo, Roots, Sands at The Plettenberg, and Zachary’s.

The “restaurants that buzz” include Caveau, Olympia Cafe’ and Pronto.  

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

The 2010 edition of Rossouw’s Restaurants, an independent restaurant guide that judges restaurants informally from 1 - 3 stars, has just been launched.   It includes a few surprises in its inclusions, and more importantly exclusions, in its 3-star top restaurant list, coming just 13 days before the announcement of the 2010 Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant Awards.

The biggest shock is the exclusion of Le Quartier Francais’ Tasting Room in the 3-star restaurant category, but is designated as “bubbling under” by the author JP Rossouw.   Other “bubbling under” restaurants include Terroir, a long-standing Eat Out Top 10 restaurant, new restaurant The Roundhouse (on the Eat Out Top 10 shortlist), Belthazar in the V&A Waterfront, The Greenhouse at the Cellars Hohenhort (on the top 20 shortlist for the Eat Out Top 10), and Mosaic (on the Eat Out Top 10 shortlist).

In total 14 restaurants have been awarded 3-stars by Rossouw, of which 8 are in the Cape Town and Winelands areas:   Aubergine, Bizerca, Jardine, Joostenberg Bistro (a surprise!), La Colombe, Overture, Reuben’s, and Rust en Vrede.   (All of these restaurants, with the exception of the Joostenberg Bistro, are on the Eat Out Top 10 shortlist).   The remaining 3-star winners are Ile de Pain and Zachary’s in Knysna (the latter is Eat Out Top 10 shortlisted), Mariana’s in Stanford, Ritrovo in Pretoria and The Butcher Shop & Grill and Thomas Maxwell Bistro in Johannesburg.

Rossouw defines a 3-star restaurant as one that “shines in its price point and offers a truly special food experience…. it’s the all-round feeling of pleasure that’s created by a lovely space, warm hospitality, good service, and crackerjack food.  Track record is also important : three star restaurants should consistently deliver on their promise”.

Rossouw has dropped the controversial 2009 3-star Magica Roma from the 3-star list in his latest guide, for which he received much criticism.   Comments left on Rossouw’s website are critical of his treatment of Le Quartier Francais, given that it is a Top 50 restaurant in the world, but Rossouw was prepared for the question: “The Tasting Room’s move from three stars in 2009 to two stars in 2010 was not a decision easily made, but it was certainly not influenced by what other reviews/guides/Top 50’s say”.  Rossouw adds that he is guided by customer reviews he receives, but the final score is his.   See full details here.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portoflio http://www.whalecottage.com

Sixteen of the 20 finalists on the Prudential Eat Out Restaurant Awards list, from which the Top 10 list will be selected at the Awards function on 22 November, are from Cape Town and the Western Cape, proving that the Cape is the Gourmet Centre of the country. 

Eight finalists are from Cape Town alone, four are from Franschhoek and three are from Stellenbosch.

The three Stellenbosch finalists all made the Top 10 list last year - Terroir, Overture and Rust & Vrede.  Franschhoek’s finalists are Reubens (Top Chef and Top Restaurant winner five years ago), The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Bread & Wine, and The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais (the only current Top 10 restaurant in Franschhoek).   All the Franschhoek finalists have been previous Top 10 winners.

New entrants to the Top 20 list, having been open for more than a year, are Carne, The Greenhouse at The Cellars Hohenhort, and The Roundhouse, all based in Cape Town.   All other finalists were finalists last year as well.

Finalists of last year that did not make the Top 20 list this year are The Showroom (closed down earlier this year and now houses Portofino), Myoga, The Saxon (chef Rudi Liebenberg has moved to The Mount Nelson Hotel) and Linger Longer.

The full list of Top 20 finalists is as follows:

1. 9th Avenue Bistro, Durban
2. Aubergine, Cape Town
3. Bizerca Bistro, Cape Town
4. Bread and Wine, Franschhoek
5. Carne SA, Cape Town
6. The Foodbarn, Cape Town
7. The Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort, Cape Town
8. Hartford House, Mooi River, KZN
9. Jardine, Cape Town
10. La Colombe, Cape Town
11. Mosaic Restaurant, Pretoria
12. Overture, Stellenbosch
13. The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Franschhoek
14. Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar, Franschhoek
15. Roots, Johannesburg
16. The Roundhouse, Cape Town
17. Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch
18. Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, Franschhoek
19. Terroir, Stellenbosch
20. Zachary’s, Knysna

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

The winelist of maze at One&Only Cape Town has won the Best Winelist overall in the 2009 Diner’s Club Winelist Awards. 

Cape Town restaurants made a clean sweep, by winning each of the Winelist Award categories, including Best Platinum winelist, which was won by Jardine, Best Gold winelist was won by Tuscany Beach, and Best Silver winelist was won by Boulder’s Beach (shared with Casa Toscana).   Best Wine Steward/Sommelier was announced as Pearl Oliver at Catharina’s at the Steenberg Hotel.  Ben’s on the Beach in Strand won in the Best New Entry category.

The maze winelist is a 35 page document, which documents wine by region and then by variety, an irritation for a winelover wishing to choose a wine by variety firstly.   It is impressive due to the extensiveness of the wine range offered.

The top Cape winelist winners are maze, Bushman’s Kloof, Poplars, Flavours, Belthazar, Karibu, Catharina’s, The Square, The Plettenberg Bay Hotel, Bosman’s, Marc’s Mediterranean Cuisine, Westin Executive Club, Panama Jacks, Emily’s, Myoga, Ellerman House, Signal, Blowfish, Zachary’s, The Cellar’s Hohenhort Hotel, La Colombe, Le Quartier Francais, Asara, Cape Malay restaurant, Azure, The Atlantic Grill, The Kove, Rodwell House and Nobu.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Jean-Pierre Rossouw, compiler of  ‘Rossouw’s Restaurants’ guide, has just published his 2009 edition, and awarded 3-stars, his top rating, to 13 restaurants in the country.

The Cape-based 3-star restaurants, according to the Weekend Argus, are Aubergine, Bosman’s, Ile de Pain, Jardine, La Colombe, Magica Roma, Mariana’s, The Tasting Room , Rust & Vrede and Zachary’s.   Other 3-star restaurants are Butcher Shop & Grill and Thomas Maxwell Bistro in Sandton, and Ritrovo in Pretoria.

Interesting omissions are Overture, the scenic restaurant of Bertus Basson on the Hidden Valley Estate and close to Rust & Vrede, and Terroir, outside Stellenbosch, both restaurants being on the Top Ten Eat Out list.   In his previous edition, Rossouw was demeaning to Overture about its driveway being very steep, which is absolute nonsense, and should not have clouded his judgement of the restaurant!

Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek and La Colombe in Constantia have both been selected on to the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards list, being ranked in 37th and 38th position, respectively, reports Bloomberg.   The awards were presented two days ago.

Top honours have once again gone to El Bulli on the Costa Brava, at which chef Ferran Adria is renowned for his unusual food preparation.   He has held the top position for three years in a row.   He recently visited Cape Town, and spoke about his passion for cooking.

Surprisingly Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck retained its second place for the fourth year running, after having closed for more than a month earlier this year when hundreds of its patrons became sick after eating at the restaurant. 

Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants have shown a steady decline in the ranking on the Top 50 list, having come second in the inaugural year of the Top 50 list in 2002.   Last year it was placed at 13th position, and this year only maze was on the list, at 91 st position.   Ramsay opened his first African maze at the One&Only Cape Town earlier this month.     His PR company’s comment about his poor performance this year was as follows:  “  Gordon takes all these sorts of surveys with a pinch of salt.    As always, Gordon regards his thousands of customers as his most valued critics.   They are his judge and jury.”  

Nobu, which has also opened in the One&Only Cape Town, came in at 34th position for its UK restaurant.   Eight French restaurants are on the Top 50 list.

Noma in Copenhagen won third place, having been at tenth place last year, and its chef Rene Redzepi won the Chef’s Choice Award. 

The restaurants ranked from 51st - 100th position are also revealed, and the Cape can be proud to have a further three restaurants on the top list, being Jardine at number 79, Aubergine at number 96 and Rust & Vrede in Stellenbosh at number 98.   Jardine and Rust & Vrede are on the Eat Out Top Ten list, while Aubergine is not.

Given the South African elections taking place today, and a surefire win for the ANC,  the restaurant Zuma in China, which made the 51st position, and the Zuma restaurant in London, which came in at number 92, may increase in popularity when Jacob Zuma becomes the President of South Africa next month.

The full list of top 100 restaurants, chosen by 837 food writers, critics and commentators, follows, with the change in position from the previous year indicated in brackets:

1 El Bulli, Spain (=)
2 The Fat Duck, U.K. (=)
3 Noma, Denmark (+7)
4 Mugaritz, Spain (=)
5 El Celler de Can Roca, Spain (+21)
6 Per Se, U.S. (=)
7 Bras, France (=)
8 Arzak, Spain (=)
9 Pierre Gagnaire, France (-6)
10 Alinea, U.S. (+11)
11 L’Astrance, France (=)
12 The French Laundry U.S. (-7)
13 Osteria Francescana, Italy (New Entry)
14 St. John, U.K. (+2)
15 Le Bernardin, U.S. (+5)
16 Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville, Switzerland (+11)
17 Tetsuya’s, Australia (-8)
18 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, France (-4)
19 Jean Georges, U.S. (-2)
20 Les Creations de Narisawa, Japan (New Entry)
21 Chez Dominique, Finland (+18)
22 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (+21)
23 Die Schwarzwaldstube, Germany (+12)
24 D.O.M., Brazil (+16)
25 Vendome, Germany (+9)
26 Hof van Cleve, Belgium (+2)
27 Masa, U.S., (Re-entry)
28 Gambero Rosso, Italy (-16)
29 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (+13)
30 Steirereck, Austria (New Entry)
31 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (New Entry)
32 Oaxen Skaergaardskrog, Sweden (+16)
33 Martin Berasategui, Spain (-4)
34 Nobu U.K. (-4)
35 Mirazur, France (New Entry)
36 Hakkasan, U.K. (-17)
37 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (+13)
38 La Colombe, South Africa (Re-entry)
39 Asador Etxebarri, Spain (+5)
40 Le Chateaubriand, France (New Entry)
41 Daniel, U.S. (=)
42 Combal Zero, Italy (Re-entry)
43 Le Louis XV, France (-28)
44 Tantris, Germany (+3)
45 Iggy’s, Singapore (New Entry)
46 Quay, Australia (New Entry)
47 Les Ambassadeurs, France (-2)
48 Dal Pescatore, Italy (-25)
49 Le Calandre, Italy (-13)
50 Mathias Dahlgren, Sweden (New Entry)

51 Zuma, China
52 Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, U.K.
53 Spondi, Greece
54 L’Arpege, France
55 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, China
56 Hibiscus, U.K.
57 Aqua, Germany
58 Le Gavroche, U.K.
59 Chez Panisse, U.S.
60 Les Amis, Singapore
61 El Poblet, Spain
62 Maison Pic, France
63 Cafe Pushkin, Russia
64 Le Meurice, France
65 Bukhara, India
66 Varvari, Russia
67 Schauenstein, Germany
68 RyuGin, Japan
69 La Maison Troisgros, France
70 Wasabi, India
71 The River Cafe, U.K.
72 Enoteca Pinchiorri, Italy
73 Le Cinq, France
74 Allegro, Czech Republic
75 Quintessence, Japan
76 Restaurant Dieter Mueller, Germany
77 Geranium, Denmark
78 Caprice, China
79 Jardines, South Africa
80 Amador, Germany
81 Biko, Mexico
82 L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon U.S
83 Fasano, Brazil
84 Mozaic, Bali
85 Obauer, Austria
86 Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, France
87 L’Ambroisie, France
88 Maison Boulud, China
89 De Librije, Netherlands
90 Babbo, U.S.
91 Maze, U.K.
92 Zuma, U.K.
93 Manresa, U.S.
94 Pier, Australia
95 De Karmeliet, Belgium
96 Aubergine, South Africa
97 Bo Innovation, China
98 Rust en Vrede, South Africa
99 Del Posto U.S.
100 Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire, UAE

The second Taste of Cape Town food show will be hosted from 2 - 5 April at the Jan van Riebeeck Sportsfield off Kloofnek Road in Tamboerskloof.   Chef and writer Justine Drake is co-ordinating the event again.

Eighteen top restaurants, including Reubens, Aubergine, Bouillabaisse, Crepe Suzette, Jardine, La Colombe, Nova, Overture, and Terroir, many of these on the EatOut top ten restaurant list, will display their fine food fare, alongside  premium drinks’ brands and live entertainment.

The ‘Taste of Cape Town’ event will include a Pick ‘n Pay Fresh Living Chef’s Theatre, a Beer Academy at which food and beer pairing will be done, and the Checkers Wine Route Taste Experience

The ‘Taste of Cape Town’ opens on 2 April from 18h30 - 22h30, from 13h00 - 22h30 on 3 and 4 April, and from 12h00 - 17h00 on 5 April.

More details can be obtained from www.tasteofcapetown.com.  Entrance costs R 170, inclusive of tasting vouchers to the value of R 100, or R 80 without the tasting vouchers.   Tickets can be bought at Computicket.

Three Stellenbosch restaurants have made the 2009 Prudential Eat Out Top Ten restaurant list, being Overture, Rust en Vrede and Terroir.   The first two restaurants are new entrants to the top ten list.     

Notable upsets were the exclusion from the list of The Showroom and Aubergine.    Ginja was a top ten winner last year, but did not even make the top twenty list this year.

The judges selected the top restaurants on the basis of operating for a year or more, the chefs demonstrating a passion for their business, showing a dedication to uplifting the industry,  where chefs source their ingredients, and consistence and excellence in all aspects of their business.  Food quality counted for 70 points, service for 20 and ambience for 10 in judging the top restaurants.

Seven top restaurants are in the Western Cape, of which three in Cape Town, three in Stellenbosch and one in Franschhoek.

Bertus Basson, award-winning chef at Overture, opens Genot on Kleingenot in Franschhoek today.

The Top 20 restaurant nominees have been selected by Eat Out, and the Prudential Eat Out Top 10 restaurant list will be announced on 30 November.

Eight of the top 20 restaurants are new to the top list, and will pose an interesting challenge to the long-established restaurants. New restaurants include the excellent Overture restaurant with chef Bertus Basson on the Hidden Valley wine estate outside Stellenbosch, Rust en Vrede with chef David Higgs just down the road from Overture, and Myoga at the Vineyard Hotel, run by Richard Carstens and sister restaurant to Ginja, which has been on the Top 10 list forever, but has not made the new top 20 list this year.

Franschhoek has three restaurants on the Top 20 list (Reubens, the Le Quartier Francais Tasting Room, and Bread & Wine), as does Stellenbosch (Terroir, Overture, and Rust en Vrede). Cape Town leads the pack with seven restaurants: Aubergine, Bizerca, Food Barn, Jardine, La Colombe, The Showroom, and Myoga. Three Johannesburg restaurants are on the list (Linger Longer, Saxon, and Roots), as are Mosaic in Pretoria and Zachary’s in Knysna. Kwa-Zulu Natal has two finalists, being Hartford House and 9th Avenue Bistro.

Grand Provence in Franschhoek is another existing Top Ten restaurant that has not made it back on to the top restaurant list, possibly because of the tremendous jump in its prices ( its two-course meal cost R 190 last summer, and now costs R 250)!    Haiku, and Bosmans at Grande Roche, are notable omissions from the top 20 list.

Le Quartier Francais is said to be losing its chef Chris Erasmus, who is to open his own restaurant in Cape Town.

Eat In has announced its RMB Private Bank South African Produce Award winners, and include Buffalo Ridge’s Mozzarella di Bufala, Trevor Daly’s wood-fired ciabatta, Paddock meats, Earth Apples’ gourmet potatoes, Quality Pickles, Jardine Bakery, Dalewood Fromage Huguenot, Bags of Bites sugar-free choc chip and macadamia biscuits, Fruits of the Karoo Aloe Juices, Kitchen Garden Sprouts, Wegkraakbosch Farm and Dairy, and Main Ingredient.