The tallies are in and preparations are in full swing: our new Top 10 will be announced at the Eat Out Dstv Food Network Restaurant Awards in just 18 days. To help you make your predictions, do a little reviewing yourself and debate the results, here are some facts about the twenty nominees and how they’ve performed in previous years. And in case you haven’t booked your ticket yet, do so immediately – they’re almost sold out!

Bread & Wine
Location: Franschhoek
Head chef: Neil Jewell
Opened: 1995
2012 ranking: Not nominated
Previous Eat Out awards: Made the Top 10 list in 2006 and 2007
Stand-out dish: 12-hour cooked pulled Karoo lamb and any of Neil’s charcuterie

Camphors at Vergelegen
Location: Somerset West
Head chef: PJ Vadas
Opened: November 2012
2012 ranking: They did not qualify for an award, as the restaurant had only been open for a month. (Restaurants need to be open for a year, with the same head chef, to qualify)
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Buffalomozzarella with charred aubergine, elderflower and almond milk, chorizo and squid, the lamb rump and the braised pork belly

Delaire Graff Estate Restaurant
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: Christiaan Campbell
Opened: June 2009
2012 ranking: Nominated for the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dishes: Pork belly served with a slow-cooked egg yolk, potato gnocchi, bacon and cheese; duck breast and duck leg fritter; sticky short rib served with prunes, cauliflower, hot potato mousse and horseradish

DW Eleven-13
Location: Johannesburg
Head chef: Marthinus Ferreira
Opened: June 2009
2012 ranking: Number 6 on the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: Top 10 list 2010 and 2011
Stand-out dishes: Sous vide calamari and the chocolate ganache and coconut dessert; butter-roasted langoustine with confit quail leg, smoked quail breast and poached quail egg on a bed of lentils and corn with a tarragon velouté

Five Hundred
Location: Johannesburg
Head chef: David Higgs
Opened: November 2012
2012 ranking: They did not qualify for an award, as the restaurant had only been open for a month. (Restaurants need to be open for a year, with the same head chef, to qualify)
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dishes: Pork with Jerusalem artichokes, pear and burned honey chutney; foie gras with beetroot from the kitchen garden and a texture of granola; and the cheese course featuring camembert with guava and shavings of fudge

The Greenhouse
Location: Cape Town
Head chefs: Peter Templehoff and Gerald van der Walt
Opened: August 2010
2012 ranking: Number 8 in the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: Top 10 list in 2009 and in 2011 it was named Restaurant of the Year
Stand-out dish: Asian-inspired ostrich tartare

Hartford House
Location: Mooi River
Head chef: Jackie Cameron
Opened: 1996
2012 ranking: Number 10 in the Top 10.
Previous Eat Out awards: Made the Top 10 in 2008 and 2010.
Stand-out dish: Seared scallop with miso, guinea fowl coq au vin with dumplings, and 35-hour beef tongue

Indochine
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: Virgil Kahn
Opened: June 2010
2012 ranking: Not nominated
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: mussel and clam laksa; hoison quail and steamed Thai line fish

Jordan Restaurant
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: George Jardine
Opened: November 2009
2012 ranking: Number 3 in the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: made the Top 10 in 2010 and 2011
Stand-out dishes: 12-hour braised Angus short rib ravioli with winter herbs and crispy onion; seared tuna with miso-cured turnip and fried wild radish flowers; Gemsbok terrine with pickled winter vegetables and smoked marrow

The Kitchen at Maison
Location: Franschhoek.
Head chef: Arno Janse Van Rensburg
Opened: November 2011
2012 ranking: Not nominated
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Smoked bone marrow served with crisp sage, fish roe and pickled mustard seeds; Karoo lamb rack with aubergine.

La Colombe
Location: Cape Town
Head chef: Scot Kirton
Opened: 1997
2012 ranking: number 7 in the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: Top 10 in 2011, 2009, 2008, 2005 and 2002.
Stand-out dishes: Smoked pork belly with green pea and white wine risotto; and trio of guinea fowl; the lamb trio of braised lamb tongue and springbok tataki

Makaron
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: Tanja Kruger
Opened: November 2008
2012 ranking: Nominated for the Top10.
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dishes: Grilled prawns in laksa curry sauce. Spectacular signature macarons

Overture
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: Bertus Basson
Opened: November 2007
2012 ranking: Number four in the Top 10.
Previous Eat Out awards: Top 10 in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Stand-out dish: Rustic pork belly served with brussel sprouts

Pierneef à La Motte
Location: Franschhoek
Head chef: Chris Erasmus
Opened: September 2010
2012 ranking: Nominated for the Top10
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Crayfish with fennel and a simple but fantastic pork cutlet

Planet Restaurant
Location: Cape Town.
Head chef: Rudi Liebenberg
Opened: December 2010
2012 ranking: Nominated for the Top 10.
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Grilled grass-fed rib-eye with hand-cut fries and béarnaise sauce

The Restaurant at Waterkloof
Location: Somerset West.
Head chef: Gregory Czarnecki.
Opened: November 2009
2012 ranking: Not nominated
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Variation of pork

Rust en Vrede
Location: Stellenbosch
Head chef: John Shuttleworth
Opened: November 2007
2012 ranking: The restaurant received the Service Excellence Award and was number five in the Top 10.
Previous Eat Out awards: Restaurant of the Year Award 2010, Top 10 2009, 2008, Service Excellence Award 2009 and 2010
Stand-out dish: Tortellini carbonara where the sauce explodes from inside the pasta parcels

The Tasting Room
Location: Franschhoek
Head chef: Margot Janse
Opened: August 2004
2012 ranking: Chef Margot Janse was named Chef of the Year and the restaurant was placed second in the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: Top 10 in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and Service Award 2008
Stand-out dish: Nettle soup with passion fruit and artichokes, poached quail, collapsing coconut and salted caramel dessert

The Test Kitchen
Location: Cape Town
Head chef: Luke Dale-Roberts
Opened: November 2010
2012 ranking: The restaurant was awarded Restaurant of the Year
Previous Eat Out awards: Chef Luke Dale-Roberts was named Chef of the Year in 2011 and the restaurant was number 2 in that year’s Top 10
Stand-out dish: Pig’s head with blue cheese

Tokara
Location: Stellenbosch.
Head chef: Richard Carstens
Opened: 2011
2012 ranking: Nominated for the Top 10
Previous Eat Out awards: None
Stand-out dish: Tuna and watermelon fashion sandwich with scattered sushi rice