South African eateries have proven that they can compete with the best in the world. Two Cape restaurants have made the coveted San Pellgrino World’s Top 50 Restaurants list.

Le Quartier Francais

The splendid Franschhoek Restaurant, Le Quartier Francais, was judged to be the Best Restaurant in Africa and the Middle East. This restaurant climbed 13 places this year and obtained the 37th spot on the San Pellgrino list.

Cape Town’s pride and joy, La Colombe, took the 38th position. This is proof that the standards of South Africa’s fine cuisine is up there with rest of the world.

 Here is the Top 50 list

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

Source: food24.com

Back in 2001, Leonard Lauder, then the chairman of the cosmetic giant Estée Lauder, described the relationship between the state of the economy and the sale of cosmetics. After September 11, he noticed the sales of lipstick jumped higher and suggested that the sale of lipstick was a good measure of the health of the economy; when the economy was down, people bought more lipstick. He dubbed this phenomenon the “Lipstick Index”

Similarly, during the Great Depression, it had been found that cosmetic sales increased despite the enormous reduction in disposable income.  During World War II, lipstick sales were on the increase; whether that indicated difficult economic times or just the availability of non-rationed, desirable, and affordable products is difficult to determine.

Some fashion aficionados, on the other hand, suggest that it is the hemline of dresses, whether they are long or short, that indicate the state of the economy instead of lipstick sales. Sports enthusiasts suggest that which team wins the Super Bowl is a predictor of economic times.

The origin of the “Lipstick Index” – being observed and coined by a cosmetic company who would clearly derive marketing benefits from its acceptance and popularity – does incite scepticism and doubt about its reliability; yet, the concept of people enjoying an affordable product during difficult economic times does resonate as a logical conclusion.

Noted wine consultant, Jan Fredrikson, finds that people are trading down to less expensive wines that they consider of value.

When looking at the cost of dining out, consumers will make less risky choices and stick with grape varieties and regions they are familiar with. In South Africa, Merlots and Cabernets (or Boudreaux blends) wines are easy to recommend since they offer consistent quality at a great price and pair well with a broad range of foods.

Source: corksavvy.com

This years’ SA Cheese Festival – rated best exhibition in Southern Africa by EXSA in 2007 – promises to be a bigger and even better festival. Apart from enjoying samples of the best cheeses in the country, visitors can also enjoy cooking demos by renowned chefs and local celebrities, and a unique shopping experience. 

Celebrated chefs will entertain festival goers with interactive cooking demos and share valuable food and wine pairing tips.

 Model and TV personality Minki Visser (nee Van der Westhuizen) will be presenting the Welmoed demo slot on Saturday 25 April at 13:30, along with chef Ricardo McDelling. McDelling works at The Library, a Stellenbosch restaurant owned by Minki and her husband. Their demo slot promises to be one of the highlights of this year’s SA Cheese festival. 

Minki has completed shoots for some of the hottest glossy magazines including Elle, GQ, Cosmopolitan and Glamour and has been voted the Sexiest Woman in South Africa by FHM readers. She is also a TV presenter on the popular Afrikaans lifestyle programme Pasella.

Perennially popular food alchemist, Peter Goffe-Wood, will be presenting the demo slot on Sunday, while award-winning chef Craig Cormack takes care of the Friday and Monday slots.

Friday 24 April: Craig Cormack

Saturday 25 April: Minki Visser and Ricardo McDelling

Sunday 26 April: Pete Goffe-Wood

Monday 27 April: Craig Cormack

For more info visit: cheesefestival.co.za

Visitors to the upcoming SA Cheese Festival will enjoy sampling a diverse selection of fromage favourites, as well as cooking demos, entertainment and shopping at the market.

The following chefs and celebrities will be presenting the Welmoed demo in the Cooking Pot:

 Friday 24 April: Craig Cormack

Saturday 25 April: Minki Visser +chef Ricardo from The Library

Sunday 26 April: Pete Goffe-Wood

Monday 27 April: Craig Cormack

Craig Cormack career profile Award winning chef working at 5 star properties in South Africa, did his 3 year apprenticeship with Southern Sun hotels, during this time he had the honour of cooking for Queen Elizabeth 11, in Zimbabwe followed by stints locally at Victoria and Alfred Hotel, The Bay Hotel, running of Hotel kitchen’s as Executive chef at Ellerman House, Cape Grace Hotel where he was part of the team that won the coveted award of Best Hotel in the World 2000. He was invited to join the Chaine des Rotisseurs a prestigious society as Maitre Rotisseur. Then lastly he worked as Executive chef, at the Village Hotel on Spier Wine Estate. Experience abroad:  He worked the summer on the Greek Island of Santorini, a six month stint at Millerhowe, a Boutique Luxury Hotel, United Kingdom under master chef John Tovey. He also spent a 3 month  food sabbatical in Australia and New Zealand. Craig has represented South Africa in two overseas food promotions in Mauritius and Turkey. Chairman for the South African Chefs Association, Western Cape in 2005/2006.

Biography: Minki Visser (nee van der Westhuizen)

Born in Cape Town on 26 February 1984, Minki van der Westhuizen has become one of the hottest international models South Africa has to offer. Self described as happy go lucky, Minki catapulted into the international modelling world at just 16 years old.

It wasn’t long before an agent from Max Models spotted her, signed her up and the campaigns came flooding in. Her biggest break came in her Matric year when Guess? booked her for their international campaign. Her shoot with SA Sports Illustrated Swimwear Edition came soon afterwards. After matriculating from Stellenberg High School in 2002, Minki decided to give modelling a shot for one year. Working off the success of the Guess? campaign and Sports Illustrated shoot she soon found that her future was paved with opportunities, both locally and abroad. Minki has completed shoots for some of the hottest glossy magazines including Elle, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Bravo and she has also been voted the Sexiest Woman in South Africa by FHM readers. In addition she has won many awards voted by the public and has a dedicated fan base in South Africa as well as internationally.

She says of all the shoots she’s done over the past five years, her personal highlight are both the Guess? and Sports Illustrated shoots and she says the best part of her job has been the traveling. Besides modelling, Minki says she’s also always had a passion for television. The producers of Pasella approached her about a position for a presenter and she accepted it with open arms. “As much as I’ve enjoyed modelling, you can only do it for so long and I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the modelling industry so when this opportunity came along I couldn’t say no.”

Pete Goffe-Wood career profile Pete played a key role in the renewal of Blues Restaurant and is the author of its newly launched book Blues – Essence of Cape Town, re-affirming the legendary status of this Camps Bay landmark. He is currently involved in developing 95 Keerom Street for Rhodes House, and is working with the Meikles Hotel group in Harare and Victoria Falls. His recent culinary projects include Cape Town Chilli Fiesta, Nederburg Fashion Week, Marimba Restaurant, Winchester Mansions in Sea Point, Sérénité Wellness Constantia, the Nose Wine Bar in De Waterkant, Fancourt in George, Killimanjaro in Johannesburg and the Oasis Restaurant Group in the Sultanate of Oman. Between makeovers of great eateries and creating daring new menus, Pete actively works to build respect for his profession as chairperson of the Western Cape Chapter of the South African Chefs Association and lecturing in Operational Management at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. Whether Pete wears his chef’s jacket, shares in the conviviality and pleasures of food and wine as a dedicated Slow Food supporter, or writes on the topic as food editor for GQ and monthly columnist for Hospitality magazine, his energetic creative approach and insight into industry issues earned him the respect of his peers.

Tickets can be purchased prior to the festival only at Computicket or Checkers. Cost is R110 for Saturday and Sunday, R85 for Friday and Monday. Reduced rates for children and seniors.

For more details visit: cheesefestival.co.za

The Platter Wine Guide is not opposed to blind tasting as a wine evaluating method. This is according to the Philip van Zyl, editor of the popular South African John Platter Wine Guide.

Van Zyl made these remarks at Platter’s open discussion forum which was held in Somerset West on Thursday 16 April. This forum was initiated by the editor and publishers of the Platter guide after its tasting methods, objectivity and transparency came under public scrutiny by wine writers such as Neil Pendock. Public interest in the contentious issue was immense and more than 220 people working in the wine industry attended the forum.

Van Zyl said the guide will publish its 30th edition next year and boasting more than 1.25 million copies sold, the guide has definitely become part and parcel of the South African wine industry. He stressed that transparency, objectivity and honesty are very important to the Platter guide and therefore the forum was initiated to educate and inform the public about their tasting methods.

With reference to the blind versus sighted tasting debate, Van Zyl differentiated between sighted, blind and double blind tasting methods. He elaborated on their multi-stage tasting process and ensured that consistency plays a very important role in their evaluating and reporting process. The guide will continue to be a consumer advisory publication and sighted tasting will remain the main tasting method for future publications.

The Platter guide will taste about 6500 wines for the next edition. This vast amount of wines causes practical and logistical constraints and that is one of the reasons why blind tasting methods cannot be exclusively used to evaluate the wines. 

Van Zyl added that the guide is not against blind tasting as an evaluation method. He indicated that the guide uses blind and double blind tasting in certain cases to confirm their results. The potential Five-star and Super-quaffer wines are all tasted blind and this implies that hundreds of wines are therefore tasted blind.

I think that the huge turnout confirmed the importance and popularity of this guide and their mythologies. This guide will remain the benchmark of SA wine evaluations and consumer will still trust and act on the recommendations.

Treat your taste buds to a day in the country – Cheese lovers should diarise the weekend of 24 to 27 April 2009 when the SA Cheese Festival returns to the picturesque Bien Donné farm between Paarl and Franschhoek.

 For more info visit: sa-venues.com

So, you’re having a dinner party and you don’t know what kind of wine to serve with your main course.

Well the truth is, nowadays, you can serve whatever type of wine you like with whatever your course may be. The old adage of Red Wine with Red Meats, White Wine with White Meats is a bit passé in today’s society. Still, clichés exist for a reason, and the reason (in very basic terms), is this:

Red Wine: Because of the richer tannins and rolling flavors found in red wine, the flavor and feel of le vin rouge tends to be more overpowering. When eaten with other rich flavors such as a creamy cheddar cheese or a juicy steak, the tannins in the wine actually bind to the proteins in your food, thereby leaving your tongue less susceptible to the astringent, drying sensation that red wine often provides. Additionally, the rich flavors complement nicely with the strong, rich tastes found in your steak or cheese and the two work in harmony together.

White Wine: White wine tends to be crisper, lighter, higher in acidity but much lower in tannins (if any). Because of this, white wine tends to go nicely with milder dishes such as poached seafood or raw oysters. The crisp, light flavors do not overpower the subtle flavors of the food and provide a pleasant, refreshing accompaniment with them.

So which to choose? Really, any you like. While the above paragraphs demonstrate the reason behind the adage, there is no reason why you can’t try a rich, red wine with raw oysters or a crisp Chardonnay with you veal parmesan. In fact, I enjoy matching apparent opposites such as this. The flavors and contrasts are fun to experiment with.

Plus, if you’re like me, sometimes you just prefer a red over a white (or vice versa), no matter what you’re eating.

Bottom line? Red or White is really up to you and it is an acceptable practice in our modern age to drink whichever with whatever foods. In my experience, the folks that speak condescendingly about “You’re supposed to drink red wine with that….” usually don’t know much about wine in the first place and are just spouting out what they’ve heard from everyone else.

Source: antiwinesnob.com

It’s the perfect excuse to have another glass of Red wine  - research has shown that  drinking red wine helps you think.

Men and women did better in mental arithmetic tests after being given resveratrol, the ‘wonder ingredient’ in red wine.

It is thought that the plant chemical – said to have abilities from burning off junk food to warding off heart disease – increases blood flow to the brain. 

Northumbria University researchers set 24 healthy adults a series of tests before giving them a resveratrol pill or a dummy tablet.

When they were tested again, those that had taken resveratrol performed better, the British Psychological Society’s annual conference will hear today.

Other tests confirmed that the drug, which is found in grape skins as well as raspberries, blueberries, cranberries and peanuts, widened blood vessels, boosting the brain’s blood supply.

Other studies have linked resveratrol with fighting old age, cancer, obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

It is also claimed that just half a glass of red wine a day can greatly cut the odds of death from heart disease.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Women buy eight out of 10 bottles of wine to drink at home, according to research.

Females are now the major buyers of wine, prompting experts to urge wine brands to cater for feminine tastes.

But the findings will fuel concerns that women are bingeing on cheap plonk in the secrecy of their own homes.

Their love affair with white wine – typified by Bridget Jones’s affection for Chardonnay – has faded. Instead 55 per cent say red is their favourite, followed by 35 per cent who favour white wine and seven per cent rose.

More than half (54 per cent) of the 1,300 British women questioned for Vinexpo said they were not put off by health warnings Some 4,306 women across the UK, France, Germany, Japan and the USA were questioned.

Source: Daily Express