And the (double) winner is … La Colombe at Constantia Uitsig!
La Colombe in Cape Town walked away with two prestigious 2008 Prudential Eat Out Restaurant Awards –  Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year to chef Luke Dale-Roberts. The glamourous awards are the “Oscars” of South Africa’s restaurant industry. The esteemed panel of judges were Eat Out’s award-winning editor Abigail Donnelly with restaurateur Dario De Angeli, director of the SA Chefs Association, Arnold Tanzer, and food alchemist Peter Goffe-Wood.

Topping a shortlist of 20 nominees, La Colombe was applauded by Donnelly. “La Colombe excelled on all levels of an award-winning restaurant. It’s the complete and ultimate dining experience. Luke Dale-Roberts cooks the finest cuisine using the very best ingredients and has superb technical skills, ambition and individuality – he has the ‘wow’ factor.”

A British-born and Swiss-trained chef, Dale-Roberts hopped from London to Sydney and back again before leaving for the Far East for four years where he conquered Singapore, Malaysia, Seoul and the Philippines. Most notably his launch of Shune in Seoul and his involvement with the Shunju group in Tokyo have strongly influenced the appreciation of nature in his food. He joined La Colombe as executive chef in November 2006, and over the past two years he has gently yet expertly stamped his personality on this establishment.

• Click here to congratulate Luke and the La Colombe team
• Click here to see photos of the awards ceremony