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Monday 3 November 2014
DINERS CLUB LAUNCHES 2015 RESTAURANT GUIDE
SA’s five-star restaurants announced
The Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African Restaurant Guide 2015 was launched
at the Steyn City Golf Club in Johannesburg today, and 20 restaurants were awarded
five-star status. The guide has identified the country’s top establishments – 13 in the
Western Cape, six in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal.
JP Rossouw, publisher of Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African Restaurant Guide
2015, says the guide has been introduced under the stewardship of Diners Club.
“Diners Club has restaurants in its DNA,” he says, “and I’m really happy with this
alignment.”
Fans of the guide will see it now has a new format, to echo its new status as a sister
title to the popular Platter’s by Diners Club South African Wine Guide 2015, but
Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African Restaurant Guide 2015 keeps to its
tradition of rating ‘like with like’ when it comes to restaurants. Therefore casual
places are compared with other casual places, and not with finer dining
establishments. There are four categories: luxury, smart casual, casual and ‘on the
edge’.
Commenting on the tough rating system, Rossouw adds, “Rossouw’s by Diners Club
South African Restaurant Guide 2015 remains the guide that truly ‘tells it like it is’, as
reviewers visit every restaurant anonymously and pay for the meal, for ultimate
independence and integrity. We review restaurants according to their type – casual
to casual, upmarket to upmarket – in order to be fair to the establishments. Achieving
five stars in the guide is a real feat – only 20 awards have been given, out of more
than 300 restaurants reviewed.”
Anna Trapido, renowned food critic and editor of Rossouw’s by Diners Club South
African Restaurant Guide 2015, believes the guide reflects South Africa’s dynamic
and diverse culinary culture. “We are increasingly enjoying flavour repertoires that
reflect our glorious terroir,” she says. “We are blessed with a great mix of iconic chefs
of long standing, and superb young talent. Our award winners reflect this deliciously
inviting combination.”
The Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African Restaurant Guide 2015 recognised a
number of chefs during the launch event, with the following special awards being
presented:
The Consistent Culinary Artistry Award
For a senior chef in order to recognise a long track record of abiding epicurean
excellence: Jean Mauvis at Ile Maurice, Umhlanga
Unsung Culinary Excellence Award
For a long-serving, seldom recognised but skilled and creative stalwart of a kitchen
brigade: Leah Tsonye at The Leopard, Johannesburg
The Most Promising Young Chef Award
Lehlohonolo Mogadime at Indochine, Stellenbosch
The Superior Service Award
Abou Bakar Fofana at La Madeleine, Pretoria
Culinary Patriotism Award
Jeera Restaurant at Suncoast Towers Hotel in Durban, for having the courage to
take Durban Indian Diaspora flavours out of the ghetto and into the posh-nosh
mainstream
In Memoriam
In Memory of Chef Lunga Maqwelane of the Savoy Cabbage, Cape Town, who was
gunned down in January 2014 as he left his child’s crèche, to go to work
The five-star winners are:
Western Cape
• Aubergine, Cape Town (Luxury)
• Bread & Wine, Franschhoek (Casual)
• Carne SA, Cape Town (Smart Casual)
• Chefs Warehouse & Canteen, Cape Town (Casual)
• The Greenhouse, Constantia (Luxury)
• Île de Païn, Knysna (Casual)
• Jordan Restaurant, Stellenbosch (Smart Casual)
• Kyoto Garden Sushi, Tamboerskloof (Smart Casual)
• Overture, Stellenbosch (Smart Casual)
• The Pot Luck Club, Woodstock (Smart Casual)
• The Restaurant at Waterkloof, Somerset West (Smart Casual)
• Terroir, Stellenbosch (Smart Casual)
• The Test Kitchen, Woodstock (Smart Casual)
Gauteng
• five hundred, Sandhurst (Luxury)
• Japa, Rivonia (Casual)
• The Local Grill, Parktown North (Smart Casual)
• Restaurant Mosaic, Elandsfontein, Pretoria (Luxury)
• Qunu Grill, Sandhurst (Luxury)
• Ritrovo, Waterkloof Heights, Pretoria (Smart Casual)
KwaZulu-Natal
• The Snack Bar at Spice Emporium, Durban (On the Edge)
ENDS
Notes to editors
Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African Restaurant Guide 2015
Owned by Diners Club South Africa, the Rossouw’s by Diners Club South African
Restaurant Guide 2015 is a comprehensive, up-to-date and authoritative guide to
restaurants around South Africa. Featuring over 300 restaurants across all genres,
the guide offers a selection of quality establishments that have each been reviewed
by a select panel of critics.
About Diners Club South Africa
Diners Club South Africa is recognised as one of the top franchises in the world,
wholly owned by Standard Bank. Diners Club International is owned by Discover
Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), a direct banking and payment services company
with one of the most recognised brands in US financial services. Established in 1950,
Diners Club International became the first multipurpose charge card in the world,
launching a financial revolution in how consumers and companies pay for products
and services. Today, Diners Club is a globally recognised brand serving the payment
needs of select and affluent consumers, offering access to nearly 500 airport lounges
worldwide, and providing corporations and small business owners with a complete
array of expense management solutions. Diners Club cards are accepted in more
than 185 countries and territories at millions of merchant locations, and offer access
to more than 1 million cash access locations and ATMs. Diners Club is uniquely
qualified to serve its card members all over the world. For more information, visit
www.dinersclub.co.za.
Issued by African Sky Communications
On behalf of Diners Club South Africa
For further information contact Kim Shaw: 011 486 2489; [email protected]