EL steakhouse voted 5th in SA
THE Wolftrap Steakhouse Championships 2017 saw over 150 steakhouses competing to become South Africa’s Steakhouse Champion and a restaurant on the outskirts of East London taking fifth place.
In the first round during May, the public seeded the field by voting, via Facebook, for their favourite.
The top 10 finalists, as voted by the public, were then visited unannounced during June by expert judges led by Pete GoffeWood, a well-known MasterChef personality, and assessed according to a strict score sheet that focused on the steak on the plate, as well as looking at side dishes and the quality of the hospitality.
It was debut entrant Rare Grill in Kenilworth, Cape Town that claimed top honours, but The Cricketer in East London took fifth position, up one from last year’s sixth place in this competition.
This marks the first Cape winner in the five years of the championships. The runner-up, Little Havana from Umhlanga Rocks, was the winner in 2015, and in third place, The Local Grill from Parktown North has three titles to its name.
Rare Grill owner Greg Bax was overwhelmed to claim the Championship title, as well as Newcomer of the Year, a new award this year. Pete Goffe-Wood, head judge, said of the winning steakhouse: “Rare Grill is a gem, an owneroperated steakhouse where Greg personally mans the grill and takes immense pride in the quality of his beef.”
The other two new awards this year were Steakhouse Legend of the Year which was awarded to The Godfather in Centurion, a stalwart in the industry, and Steakhouse Chain of the Year which went to the Cattle Baron Group for having four outlets in the top 30: Cattle Baron Tyger Waterfront, Cattle Baron George, Cattle Baron Tableview and Cattle Baron Mossel Bay.
The 2017 awards were announced at a steak feast hosted by last year’s winner, The Local Grill in Parktown North, last week.
The competition is a blend of public involvement and expert arbitration – and the winner is therefore not only very good indeed, but also a public favourite.
Wolftrap Steakhouse Championships results for 2017 are: 1. Rare Grill, Kenilworth; 2. Little Havana, Umhlanga Rocks (2015 champ); 3. The Local Grill, Parktown North (2013, 2014 and 2016 champ); 4. The Godfather, Centurion, Pretoria; 5. The Cricketer, East London; 6. Beef Boys Grill, Potchefstroom; 7. HQ, Cape Town; 8. Karoo Cattle and Land, Irene, Pretoria; 9. Jayz Grill, Pietermaritzburg; and 10. The Grumpy Griller, George. — DDR