The 2013 Eat Out DStv Food Network Produce Awards

Yes, it's a festival devoted to cheese. How glorious is that? The 12th annual SA Cheese Festival took place this weekend at Sandringham, just outside Stellenbosch. In case you missed out, here's a sneak peek of all the action. From 80 small cheese producers, to crazy demos in the Checkers Cheese Theatre with the likes of Jenny Morris and Nataniël, it was a weekend to remember.

The winners were announced at a bustling night market held at Woodstock's Old Biscuit Mill. From bacon jam to zebra beans, it was a night full of surprises, fabulous food and celebration. Congratulations to all the winners! For a full list, check out our awards announcement.

It was a taxing few days, but our six judges are nothing if not dedicated. Here's a sneak peek behind the scenes of the judging of the Eat Out DStv Food Network Produce Awards.

The winners will be announced on Friday 15 March 2013, at the Eat Out DStv Food Network Festival, taking place at the Old Biscuit Mill, in Woodstock Cape Town. Entry is free, and everyone is invited. For more information, check out the Festival tab.

Not in Cape Town? Sign up for the Eat Out newsletter to get all the winners delivered to your inbox on the night.

The first ever Eat Out DStv Food Network Conference took place on Saturday 24 November 2012 at The Westin Cape Town. International peakers included Massimo Bottura - chef at the 5th best restaurant in the world - James Beard award-winning photographer, Dominic Davies and British food designer Andrew Stellitano, who were joined by South African chefs Margot Janse and Luke Dale-Roberts, as well as South African food historian Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche. Here's a sneak peek at some of the action.

The glittering awards ceremony was held at the Westin Cape Town in the Grand Ballroom, and guests were treated to a four-course meal prepared by top chefs. From Abigail's glamorous dress to the sea breeze second course, it was a night to remember.  For even more pics, check out our Facebook album of the night.

"We took out the plates to confuse the scale,” says Dominic Davies of his first food project: shooting The Big Fat Duck Cookbook with Heston Blumenthal. From apple-pie caramels with edible wrappers melting in a desert, to outsized mushrooms and crystal-clear reflections, the photographs constitute a beautiful Alice-In-Wonderland-like journey through Blumenthal’s equally surreal food. And we’re not the only ones who think so either: the work won him a James Beard Award for Photography (an American awards programme considered to be the Oscars of the international food world).
 
The photographer, who’s worked in fashion, shot album covers and engaged in projects more reminiscent of fine art than commercial photography, began collaborating with food designer Andrew Stellitano after Andrew created one of the custom cakes for AnOther magazine.
 
The two are currently in South Africa for the Eat Out DStv Food Network Conference taking place this Saturday 24 November, where they’ll be presenting an interactive video that explores Cape Town through tastes and synaesthesia. To buy some last-minute tickets for the conference, click here.

Scores of foodies, journalists, chefs, wine-makers and small producers gathered this weekend for the Spier Secret Festival. With speakers from Spain, Italy, France and Britain, as well as Spier’s very own Farmer Angus, conference delegates were treated to everything from an impromptu Barcelona-style aperativo dance, a chandelier made from gherkins (yes, really) and of course, the Eat Out Chef’s Braai. Here’s a sneak peek at the action. (And if you're overtaken by FOMO, don't forget to book your ticket now, for our very own fab foodie conference, taking place on the 24th November.)

He’s used a laser-cutter on Jamon Iberico, created the world’s most expensive mince pie and printed sonnets onto pasta, but, says Andrew Stellitano, “taste comes first.”
 
The London-based food designer, who has worked on projects for the likes of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Nike, says he started out working with food in kitchens while studying graphic design.
 
“It was an evening job that gave me the opportunity to observe chefs at work and I found it very inspiring,” Stellitano explained in a recent interview with Fine Dining Lovers. “I did my first proper research on food while preparing my graduation project. It was then that I first experimented with screen-printing, laser cutting and all shorts of techniques that today make part of my creative process.”
 
Andrew will be in Cape Town this November for the Eat Out DStv Food Network Conference, where he’ll be one of the international speakers, along with Massimo Bottura, chef-patron at the 5th best restaurant in the world. Tickets for the full-day event are available here.
 
From fantastical pancake landscapes to Gucci tiramisu, here’s a sneak peek at some of Andrew’s work.

Winner of the Boschendal Style Award at our awards last year, Makaron's food is as beautiful as its decor. To top things off, top sommelier, Josephine Gutentoft has just joined the team (see our interview with her here.) Still not convinced? Here's a selection of what's on offer.

Our photographer Jan is a man of few words, but he knows a thing or two about coffee. We sent him on an adventure around Cape Town in search of the perfect cuppa. Here are his findings, with ratings out of 10.

It sounds too good to be true: bottomless bubbly, oysters, sushi, fillet and a bumper pudding buffet. But on Sundays at Savour at 15 on Orange that’s exactly what’s on offer. (Bear in mind this is also the place where you can ride in the lift in an outsized gold throne, and if you’re a guest, swim in a rooftop pool with a view of Table Mountain. It’s a five-star hotel, after all.)
 
But back to Sunday lunch: it’s priced at R265 per person (50% for under 12s and free for kids under six) and diners can quaff as much Graham Beck bubbly as they like while they chomp on the three-course buffet menu.
 
On offer is a vast spread created by head chef Sanel Esterhuizen. For starters, choose from dishes such as Buffalo Ridge mozzarella, plum tomato and rocket pesto salad; goat’s cheese and red beet tian; and a sublime creamy chicken liver parfait with cranberry relish. There’s also an array of sushi and sashimi; freshly shucked oysters with lemon and sauce mignonette; tuna ceviche; black mussels; and prawn and avo cocktails to be had at the seafood counter. For mains, try the filet mignon with wild mushroom casserole; Royal Thai seafood curry; or one of the other many options. And make sure you save room for dessert: a table laden with cupcakes, meringues, cheesecake and bon-bons greets those who make it through the first two rounds of buffets.
 
Here’s a selection of highlights:

Cape Town restaurant, Carne is the place to go for spectacular grass-fed aged steak. Beef and lamb are reared on restaurateur, Giorgio Nava's very own farm in Nieu Bethesda.

2011 Eat Out Awards

Photographs from the Eat Out and Monis event, held on 24 February 2011 at French Toast Wine and Tapas Bar.

Photographs from the recent Eat Out golf day held at Paarl Golf Club.

Photographs from Eat Out's big night.

To view more pictures of the night, go to our facebook page

At Eat Out we love eating out as much as you do, and bring you credible and trustworthy restaurant information on as many different platforms as possible. At the core of our brand is this site, listing over 3 000 restaurants along with the latest news and views on the industry and its people. In addition to the website, we also publish a glossy annual magazine, a weekly e-newsletter, digimags, an iPhone application and a pocket guide. And we’re working on numerous other projects.

Eric Bulpitt of Jardine in Cape Town went to Noma, the world’s number one restaurant as voted by S.Pellegrino, for a stage. 

A stage is a period of time in which a chef works in another’s kitchen to learn about different techniques and cuisines.

Giorgio Locatelli, Michelin-starred chef and owner of Locanda Locatelli in London. He is now partnering with Peroni Nastro Azzurro to bring the Italian ritual of aperitivo to South Africa. Anelde Greeff goes along to the launch to check it out.

The glamorous Prudential Eat Out Restaurant Awards ceremony was held at the Westin Grand in Cape Town on Sunday, 30 November. It was a thrilling affair as Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly and comedian Mark Lottering announced the Prudential Eat Out Top 10 Restaurants as well as the winners of the Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year titles for 2008