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We chatted with Eat Out Editor, Linda Scarborough about the announcement of The Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries winners, to talk about the awards process, why the awards mean so much to her and how she finds the hidden gems.
There are a number of restaurant awards, certificates, stars and online ratings handed out all the time. What makes the Everyday Eateries awards different?
The thing that sets the Everyday Eateries awards apart is the strong participation from the South African public. The results are based on two main streams of judging – 50% of the restaurants’ scores come from reviews from members of the public, submitted on EatOut.co.za. We then send judges from our editorial team to the restaurants, and their scores contribute the other 50%.
So anyone can vote for a winning restaurant?
Absolutely! Anyone can vote for their favourite pizzeria or cake shop. In fact, the readers are the ones that determine the nomination process so their feedback is essential. Reader reviews often help us find new and interesting places that we’ve never tried before. Only one vote per person per restaurant each year, please. We’re checking!
What makes a winning restaurant?
A winning Everyday Eatery is a place that you go back to time and time again. It’s the place where you feel welcome, where you can relax. It’s where you know the manager’s name, and the barista knows exactly how you like your coffee. Ultimately, it’s a place where you consistently feel like you are getting good value for money, which is very important to South Africans.
What are the overall goals with a campaign like this?
We hope to reach both loyal fans and new readers and help them foster an appreciation of the favourite places in their neighbourhoods. We want to pay attention to those undiscovered places, and support restaurants and small businesses in the process.
And there’s a strong sense of giving back. Tell us about that:
Rewarding and highlighting excellence in restaurants is a great way to help owners grow their businesses, which can only benefit the community around them. We also pledge a meal through Rise Against Hunger for every review submitted on our site. To date, we have contributed over 10500 meals to hungry South Africans which a fantastic achievement.
The winners of The Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries 2018 will be announced at two events this week. You can find all the details of the winners on eatout.co.za
Eat Out and Food24 are both part of Media24 which is owned by Naspers – a global internet and entertainment group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.
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