(Original images by Katy Rose for Food24)
Cape Town – The restaurant awards season is in full swing, as we race towards the “Oscars” of the South African restaurant scene, the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards ceremony later this month.
La Tête, Cape Town
Throughout the year, a panel of judges has been visiting restaurants all over the country in search of the very best dining experiences. Judging convener, chef and industry pundit, Margot Janse told us about the extensive judging process, “As always, these nominees have been nominated for their achievements in excellent dining, innovative menus, ambience and service excellence.”
A red-carpet gala event will be held on Sunday, 18 November at GrandWest in Cape Town where celebrated chefs, sommeliers, restaurant owners and members of the press will enjoy a lavish lunch prepared by some of South Africa’s finest chef teams.
La Colombe, Cape Town
There are five new names on this year’s list: The Chefs’ Table (Umhlanga), Le Coin Français, La Petite Colombe, Nobu at One&Only and The Werf Restaurant at Boschendal.
South Africa’s super chef-propietors maintain a firm hold on the awards this year, holding 12 of the positions in the top 30. They are Liam Tomlin with 4 restaurants, Luke Dale-Roberts with 3 restaurants, Scot Kirton with 3 restaurants and George Jardine with 2 restaurants.
Other notable awards to be handed out on the evening include the much anticipated Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year and our favourite award, the Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef Award. This award is decided by the chefs of the Top 30 nominees, and given to one of their peers who they believe deserves notable recognition.
Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia
Here are the 2018 top 30 nominees, in alphabetical order:
Camphors at Vergelegen
The Chefs’ Table (Umhlanga)
Chefs Warehouse & Canteen
Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia
Chefs Warehouse at Maison
DW Eleven-13
Fermier Restaurant
Foliage
Foxcroft
Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort
Indochine
Jardine Restaurant
Jordan Restaurant
La Colombe
Le Coin Français
La Mouette
La Petite Colombe
La Tête
Marble
Nobu at One&Only
Overture
The Pot Luck Club
The Restaurant at Waterkloof
Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
The Shortmarket Club
Springfontein Eats
The Test Kitchen
Thali
The Werf Restaurant at Boschendal
Wolfgat
Food24 will be following the awards closely, with updates and breaking news on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Additional tickets to the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards will be released in due course.
For a full list of last year’s winners, visit the EatOut Awards hub.
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