Eat some more
Waves of excitement went through the restaurant community as the champions of the 2013 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards were announced recently at The Lookout at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. The awards celebrate South Africa’s talent and culinary distinction, culminating in 2013’s Top 10 Restaurants and the S Pellegrino Chef of the Year.
For the second year in a row, South Africa’s Restaurant of the Year is The Test Kitchen in Cape Town. This year also saw the introduction of two new accolades. The Rising Star Award, won by Vanessa Marx of Dear Me in Cape Town, recognises promising talent in the industry; and the Wine Service Award, won by Joakim Hansi Blackadder of Rust en Vrede in Stellenbosch, acknowledges the top sommelier in the country.
The biggest news of the night was the announcement that much-lauded chef David Higgs of Five Hundred in Johannesburg was named the 2013 Eat Out S Pellegrino Chef of the Year. The last time Higgs received an Eat Out award was in 2010.
Also revealed at the ceremony were the four South Africanbased judges, who worked alongside editor and chief judge Abigail Donnelly to determine the winners: Garth Stroebel, Liam Tomlin and Andy Fenner and Jenny Morris. Cultural crossover in Soweto. t could have been that somebody forgot to pay the sangoma for good tidings during the launch of the Bombay Sapphire Imagination Room pop-up shop in Rockville, Soweto.
The rain pelted down – and in some cultures rain on important occasions is a sign of bad luck.
However, the weather dovetailed nicely with jazz band Planet Lindela’s blues, who played John Coltrane in a tent. The band’s bassist cut an old-school figure with his fedora hat and played with a cigarette in his mouth without even touching it until its demise.
Inside the exhibition room, art works hung on the walls and Jodi Bieber images related to various aspects of the township drew a lot of attention from the guests.
The exhibition was curated by Soweto arts group Mashumi Art Projects, with the specific focus on placing it at one of the most iconic settings in the township – the old Panyaza – for just three weeks.
With the aim of recognising Soweto as an artistic and cultural hub, The Bombay Imagination Room hopes to give Sowetans and visitors alike the opportunity to interact with art in an emotive setting.
The hope is that visitors will no only infuse themselves with internationally acclaimed works from some of the finest home-grown artists, but also engage in artistic conversations and new forms of expression.
“At Mashumi, we always place a strong emphasis on audience development,” says the company’s director, Roli Mhlanga.
“Our gallery on Vilikazi Street has proven that people here are passionate about art, and that is why we believe that this will be a succesful venture.
“The artists that are on board are exceptional and the combination of well-established artists and up-and-coming artists will add a great dimension to the different works every week.”
Each week, a different art medium, from print and performance to photography and painters, will be showcased at the gallery in a curated exhibition.
Artists include Soweto-based and Mpumalanga-born fine artist Kenny Nkosi, the internationally award-winning photographer Bieber, and pioneering painter David Koloane, whose works are part of a number of collections