Wondering about who gets to decide which restaurants make it into the Eat Out magazine? Our panel of critics is spread around the country, each member of which possesses a variety of skills and qualifications. To qualify, they must be either experienced journalists or professionals in the hospitality or food industry, or both. A hearty, adventurous and experienced palate is a must – not to mention stretchy pants. Meet our panel for the 2019 Eat Out magazine.

Amy Ebedes
Digital editor living in Cape Town with a penchant for the outdoors, animals and gardening.

Anelde Greeff
Anelde has been working in media and marketing for a million years and used to head up a restaurant guide. Now she eats just for pleasure, but she will write about it if you ask nicely.

Anna Montali
Food editor, blogger, recipe developer and food stylist, Anna Montali is the former food and deputy editor of Food & Home Entertaining Magazine. She is a renowned foodie with numerous awards under her belt, including several Caxton awards, the LG Home Chef in Dubai Award, and the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

Annelize Visser 
Annelize Visser is a writer, editor, content marketer and cook. After 18 months at chef school (where she learnt to scrub down a kitchen, among other things), she is about to qualify as a chef and dedicate the rest of her life to finding the perfect recipe for panna cotta.

The Turkish Love Story dessert at The Chefs’ Table, one of the new nominees. Photo supplied.

Charlotte Pregnolato 
Charlotte Pregnolato is a freelance food and lifestyle writer as well as an enthusiastic cook and an avid traveller. Her writing extends to fiction and she is currently working on a collection of linked short stories named Mock Saints.

Diane de Beer
Diane de Beer is a freelance journalist and a blogger who writes about food, theatre, movies, books, life, the universe and everything else.

Geraldine Fröhling 
Geraldine Fröhling is a former entertainment journalist and food writer who now earns her bread and butter doing corporate communications. She is a proud Pretorian and believes in good, honest food done right.

Graham Howe 
Graham Howe has contributed hundreds of reviews to 15 editions of Eat Out since 2005. A seasoned food, wine and travel journalist, he has visited over 60 countries on assignment and broadcast. He has also blogged and recorded his culinary adventures for radio, print and online for over 50 publications in South Africa and the UK. He lives in Cape Town.

Greg Landman 
Long-time Eat Out reviewer, Greg is a contributor to lifestyle publications and eats avidly at restaurants locally and overseas.

Pappardelle pasta at Giulio’s, Best Italian Eatery in the Western Cape for 2018. Photo supplied.

Hanlie van der Merwe
Hanlie van der Merwe is one of the few positive-pant-wearers left in advertising. Chasing food memories means these pants can get a bit tight from time to time. Recently, she found herself standing in front of a pastel de nata asking it how exactly it is related to her mom’s milk tart.

Hennie Fisher 
Culinary Arts lecturer in the department of Consumer Science, University of Pretoria. Hennie is also a hospitality researcher and wine writer.

Hope Malau 
A cooking academy graduate and food editor, Hope has won the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award in 2015 and 2016.

Ilse van der Merwe  
Ilse van der Merwe is also known as The Food Fox, a digital food producer and blogger based in Stellenbosch. When she’s not eating croissants, she’s drinking proper coffee or opening the ‘good’ wine.

Isiguzoro Onyeoziri  
Isi is a sensory and consumer insights specialist, who is passionate about finding ways to constantly excite and interest people in experiencing life through interactions between their senses and food. Since 2012, he has been a researcher with the Sensory Research Division in the Department of Food Science at the University of Pretoria.

Jackie Cameron
Author of two cookbooks and award-winning chef Jackie Cameron realised her 15-year-old dream when Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine opened in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, in April 2015. With her hands-on philosophy and “Don’t ever give up” motto, Jackie’s culinary institution boasts exemplary results, setting the benchmark for future students.

Jeanette Clark 
Jeanette Clark is a communications and governance consultant living in the Koue Bokkeveld. She believes it’s an absolute necessity to celebrate life often – around a table with good wine and lovingly prepared food. She reads cookbooks like novels and has transplanted the love of cook shows to her four-year-old daughter and seven-year old son.

Jeanne Calitz 
Jeanne Calitz is a freelance lifestyle editor and writer from Cape Town.

Jess Spiro 
Jess Spiro is a culinary school graduate who made the leap from cooking to writing and is now a freelance food and lifestyle writer based in Cape Town.

Jodi-Ann Pearton 
A Silwood graduate, Jodi-Ann’s experience spans from working at The French Laundry to owning an agency specialising in food styling, product development, product testing, high-end functions, celebrity cheffing and skills upliftment. She is also currently on the board of the South African Chefs Association and a regular columnist in food publications.

Jody Theodore 
Private chef, food artist and TV personality, Jody Theodore currently mentors and facilitates life orientation at Leap 2 Philippi. He is also the founder of Flavourza, which allows him to get creatively irresponsible.

John Maytham 
Radio presenter with a special interest in food and wine.

Kate Liquorish 
Actress and freelance food-and-travel writer. When she’s not treading the boards or seeking out her next narrative, she’s a connoisseur of coffee, a guzzler of good wine and scoffer of all things delicious. She writes for various publications.

Kate Wilson 
Former editor of SL, House & Leisure, Marie Claire and Women’s Health, Kate is now pursuing her first love (food!) as editor of Woolworths TASTE and content director for all WW food content produced by NMP.

Katharine Pope
Katharine Pope is associate editor of Woolworths TASTE magazine. She’s also written for Eat Out, Visi, the Mail & Guardian and the Sunday Times. Her claim to fame: the ability to eat almost anything, except bananas, which she despises.

A dish at Wolfgat, which shot to the number 4 spot in the Top 10. Photo supplied.

Kgomotso Moncho-Maripane  
Kgomotso is an arts and lifestyle journalist and occasional broadcaster specialising in theatre, music and urban culture.

Khanya Mzongwana 
Khanya is a chef, food stylist and writer based in Pretoria.

Kholeka Kumalo 
A content creator and features editor, Kholeka is moved by music, words and food.

Lesley Jacobs 
Chef Lesley Jacobs, owner and national program director of the FBI Chef School group. Lesley has been in the industry since 1997 and has been instrumental in the training of chefs and hospitality workers since then.

Linda Scarborough
As the editor of Eat Out, Linda spends most of her waking hours talking about, writing about and eating the country’s best cuisine.

Lindsay September 
Lindsay is the junior copy editor of Eat Out and has written features for online and print publications. She prefers baking over cooking but eats indiscriminately.

Lynda Ingham-Brown
Senior copy editor at Woolworths TASTE.

Marie-Lais Emond 
Editor, writer, food reviewer and radio personality.

Martli de Jager 
Martli is an occupational therapist by profession and studies creative writing part-time. She has a love for South African food and good wine.

Mokgadi Itsweng 
With local and international experience, Mokgadi has been featured on TV, developed recipes for magazines, participated in food festivals and worked on recipe books, in addition to being creative director for a food company. She was awarded a Galliova award for food writing in 2013.

Nelleke Elston 
Trained pastry chef Nelleke Elston worked as a food stylist while running her own health-food focused catering business. Currently she manages her own guest house in George, where she lives out her passion for simple living and a slower lifestyle with her family.

Nicola Ashe 
This proud Durbanite is a brand consultant and lifestyle blogger.

One of the dishes at Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia, number 10 in the Top 10. Photo by Claire Gunn.

Nicola Jenvey 
Freelance journalist with a passion for food and wine.

Nikita Buxton 
Nikita is the news editor at Eat Out. She’s a Durbanite living in the beautiful Mother City and believes that every great meal should start with a glass of bubbly.

Paddi Clay 
Paddi Clay fell in love with good food on a gap year in France. She loves to cook, eat out and travel and is set on doing more of all three now that she has racked up four decades in journalism and news as a foreign correspondent, editor and trainer.

Philippa Murray 
Local food and wine-lover living in the Overberg. Phillipa loves eating out with her family and shamelessly stealing tips and tricks to try to impress her own guests at home. She believes a table is not properly set if it does not have linen napkins.

Richard Holmes 
Freelance travel and food journalist.

Rupesh Kassen 
Chef, freelance writer and food tour guide.

Sandiso Ngubane 
Sandiso is a freelance writer, trend analyst and performer

Seth Shezi 
Lifestyle brand strategist, writer, photographer and creative director.

Siphiwe Mpye
Siphiwe is an entrepreneur, consultant, writer and editor with 18 years’ of experience in the media, communications, arts and culture and non-profit industries.

Steve Steinfeld 
Steve is the founder of the popular social media-based food blog, The Joburg Foodie (@thejoburgfoodie). He spends his time exploring the ins and outs of South Africa’s food scene and highlighting and showcasing his new, exciting and exceptional finds to his loyal followers through his prominent Instagram account.

Sylvia McKeown 
Sylvia McKeown is a futurist and a future pastry chef. This tech and food journo is currently studying at Prue Leith Chef School part time while writing about fine food, booze and robotics. You will most likely find her eating some form of breakfast food (at any given time of day) while staring at the closest plant available.

Tayla Foong 
Marketing and social media manager.

A dish at Urbanologi, the Best Tapas Eatery in Gauteng for 2018. Photo supplied.

Thando Ndabezitha 
Thando is a book editor, fashion magazine copy editor and scribe whose interests range from reviewing books and food writing to critical discourse analysis. She holds an MA in journalism from Rhodes University and regularly contributes to the Eat Out website.

Thulisa Martins 
Thulisa has over 10 years of experience in the food industry as a product developer, food editor, innovation manager and blogger. She has a food and consumer science diploma.

Tshepang Molisana 
Tshepang is a writer and editor from Johannesburg. She was awarded the Veritas Young Wine Writer of the Year in 2016.

Xolisa Phillip 
News editor and writer.

Zanele Kumalo 
After starting out as a sub-editor and reporter for a newspaper, Zanele has worked as glossy magazine beauty editor, Joburg correspondent, bureau chief and editor. Currently in a senior editor role at a digital publication, she is an entrepreneur, writer, DJ and speaker.

Zodwa Kumalo-Valentine 
Freelance writer and digital director.

Zola Nene
Chef, food stylist, award-winning recipe book author and Eat Out restaurant editor.

The 2019 issue of Eat Out magazine is on sale now.