Whilst being a judge in a number of wine competitions, including Veritas Awards, Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, and Platter’s Wine Guide, Christian Eedes remarked that he is ‘bemused at the state of wine competitions in South Africa’,  and he said that some of their results ‘are curious’.  He feels that wine competitions should be held for ‘talent spotting’, to identify the ‘best of a bunch’, especially the undiscovered wines, and to recognise those wines that deserve to be at the ‘top of the pile’.  ‘Cabernet Sauvignon is a much-loved variety, and a category in which South Africa traditionally does well’, and this led Eedes to choose this variety for evaluation, showcasing the ‘potential of this variety to produce wines that can compete with the world’s best’. It is the second most planted variety locally, at 12%, but is often overlooked against other varieties, he feels.

Eedes therefore invited 50 Cabernet Sauvignon wine producers to participate in his competition, and this grew to 60 after he received requests by others to be included too. He explained the methodology as being blind tasting of the wines, a responsibility which he shared with Roland Peens of Wine Cellar and James Pietersen, the Group Sommelier of Belthazar and Balducci restaurants. The winning wines were rated on points out of 20/stars out of 5, as per the Platter rating system. The majority of winning wines were 2009 vintages. The list of Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignons was announced as follows:

Delaire Reserve 2009 (5 stars)

De Trafford 2009 (5 stars)

Graham Beck The Coffeestone 2009 (5 stars)

Tokara 2009 (5 stars)

Cederberg Five Generations 2009 (4,5 stars)

Rickety Bridge Paulina’s Reserve 2009 (4,5 stars)

Stark-Conde 2009 (4,5 stars)

Stark-Conde Three Pines 2009 (4,5 stars)

Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2007 (4 stars)

Louis 2008 (4 stars)

The function was held at French Toast wine and tapas bar, and they served a selection of tapas dishes including goat’s cheese tomato tarts, chicken empanadas, and a prawn and calamari dish.

Eedes highlighted the role of Social Media, praising the ‘mutually supportive ethos amongst Bloggers and Tweeters’, especially as he comes from a print media background (past editor of Wine) which still is cynical towards the ‘New World’ communication style.  Eedes has left the print media world, and has embraced Social Media, writing the Blog ‘What I drank last night’, Tweets (@ChristianEedes), and Facebooks.  He added that his Social Media colleagues have ‘exceeded his expectations‘.

DISCLOSURE: We received a bottle of Graham Beck The Coffeestone 2009 with our media pack.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

The restaurant is named after the Orinoco river, one of the longest in South America, and which flows through Venezuela and Colombia. The building exterior has an Art Deco design, and its long narrow interior is broken into sections, with the open kitchen and bar on opposite sides near the entrance.  The interior is more Mexican, while the food served is more Venezuelan.  A comfortable black couch with red cushions is the first splash of colour, and the far wall is painted a lovely rich yellow.  A shelving unit contains South American ceramic items, Pan corn flour imported from Venezuela, and a local range of eat.art spices. A deli counter is stocked with spicy sauces made by Chef Migdalla, and includes Peperonata, Chilli pasta pesto, Guasacaca, Yellow pepper sauce, Chimichorri, and Habanero.  She also stocks some of Oded’s Kitchen sauces. As the sauces are unfamiliar to most, pieces of bread and tasting portions of each of the sauces are available to clients to try.  Wooden tables, chairs, and shelving units come from Chef Migdella’s home, she said.

Chef Migdalla came to Cape Town six years ago, and run Constantia Catering until a year ago. Since then she has set up the restaurant, with splashes of colour added with a row of coloured lampshades over the bar area, and Mexican style vases with proteas on the tables. She was born in Venezuela, but grew up in Mexico.

The menu is still a typed list, and will evolve, the restaurant only being two weeks old. Coffee is by Peacock, and two sizes are available, at R16 and R18.  The cappuccino was perfect and foamy.  The beverage list only contains four brands: Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc (R30/R120), Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc (R25/R100), Saxenburg Merlot (R30/R120), and Brampton Shiraz (R35/R140). No vintages are listed.

The menu is divided into Breakfast (7h00 - 11h00) and Lunch (12h00 - 15h00) sections, with Arepas and Mexican tacos available throughout the day.  For breakfast open sandwiches are on offer (Capresa, Rustica, and Pampas - roasted mushroom, sliced egg and rocket on rye bread) at around R40.  Cooked breakfast options cost R40, and are Huevos a la Mexicana (scrambled egg with tomato, chilli, onion and coriander served with tortilla and refined beans), Huevos rancheros (fried eggs in tomato sauce served with tortilla and refined beans), and a ‘Healthy Breakfast’ of grilled haloumi, poached eggs, apple, served with rye bread.  For lunch, a buffet of six salads is offered daily at a special rate of R45, the selection differing every day, including lentil and butternut, roast vegetables, Capresa, grilled brinjals, shredded chicken, quinoa, avocado and prawn, and potato salad.  For an extra R25, one can order a meat of the day with the salad. Arepas are a Venezuelan dish made from corn flour and water, and fried or grilled, stuffed with shredded tomato chicken and avocado, served with a salsa of tomato and onion, and Guasacaca sauce, a filling dish costing R40.  Other filling choices are slow cooked pork, chilli con carne, and vegetarian.  Mexican Tacos cost R45 for three small and R75 for a large portion, with the same fillings as the Arepas.  Capetonians who got to love the taste of empanadas at the Mount Nelson can order large ones at Orinoco for R15 each, with a choice of spinach, chicken, and beef. On Friday evenings they serve cocktails and tapas, including calamari and chicken mayo. Lovely looking cakes were on the kitchen counter, including lemon, apple, chocolate and a ‘mielie cake‘. Chef Migdalla brought a freshly baked ‘mielie cake’ made with orange to taste, an unusual but delicious taste.

The staff are friendly, not yet 100% familiar with all the names and Latin American origins of the dishes, but Chef Migdalla is there to explain. Many of the dishes have chilli in the sauces, but these are served on the side if one does not like it hot. Orinoco is an interesting restaurant at which one can stretch one’s food knowledge and taste in a friendly and welcoming space.  I loved the herb garden at the entrance, with lemon thyme, rosemary, parsley, and more, as well as granadilla, demonstrating how easy it is to grow one’s own, even in the city centre.

Orinoco, 17 Bree Street, Cape Town.  Tel (021) 418-4544. www.orinocoflavours.co.za Monday - Thursday 7h00 - 18h00, Friday 7h00 - 21h00.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

The Sour Service Award goes to the Sunday Times, which carried a full page advertisement last week, inviting readers to an ‘Exclusive Sunday Times movie screening’ of ‘The Romantics’, at Cinema Nouveau branches in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and at Cavendish Square in Cape Town. When they arrived at the cinema, a number of angry and very disappointed moviegoers were turned away, as the movie was fully booked.  The invitation was not subject to a ‘first come first served’ clause, nor was a number given for one to call to book a seat. All one was asked to do was to bring a coupon contained in the newspaper ad to the cinema. The manager of the Cinema Nouveau Cavendish Square absolved his cinema of any responsibility, saying that it was the fault of the Sunday Times!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

Transnet owns the harbour, and last week called for ’submissions of interest in the funding, construction and operation of a terminal’. The tender notice calls for interested parties to meet on 6 June, and submit their tenders by 29 June.

The poor state of the current temporary facilities for cruise line tourist embarkation in the Cape Town harbour has been heavily criticised, making it less attractive for cruise liners to call on Cape Town as a result.  Until January this year, cruise liners were preferring to dock in the V&A Waterfront, but a Department of Home Affairs directive forbade this due to security concerns for passengers visiting Cape Town. Since then the V&A Waterfront has been calling for support in getting the cruise liners back into its quays again, as it is good for their tenants’ business.  Western Cape Minister of Tourism Alan Winde has been working on the issue too, recently meeting the national Minister of Home Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who told him to call on national Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, it being a tourism issue.  It was her department, however, which issued the directive as to the docking of cruise liners, and forbade the future docking in the V&A Waterfront. City of Cape Town Tourism, Events and Marketing Mayoral Committee member Grant Pascoe promised in January to address the cruise liner issue, but appears to not have done anything to date!

Some ships like the Queen Mary 2, which has visited twice in recent months, is too large to be accommodated in the V&A Waterfront, and therefore a new cruise liner terminal in the main port would be first prize.  It has been suggested that due to the relatively small number of cruise line visits to date, that the new cruise liner terminal be developed as a multifunctional venue, suitable for weddings and conferences too.  FEDHASA Cape Chairman Dirk Elzinga welcomed the news: ‘the hospitality industry would be delighted if a cruise liner terminal was built. It’s long overdue. At the moment the cruise liner facilities are non-existent. If there’s a good cruise terminal then operators will definitely do their best to bring more business to Cape Town‘, which would benefit Cape Town’s hotel industry.

One hopes that tenders for the development of the Cape Town cruise liner terminal will be found, despite the continued economic depression, even if it were to become a joint project between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government, as is the Cape Town International Convention Centre.  Cape Town is perfectly positioned to play a far greater role in cruise tourism, and currently is a shabby competitor to Durban, which harbour has developed good facilities to welcome cruise liner tourists to its city.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

The visit by Abigail Donnelly, Food editor of the Woolworths-owned Taste magazine and editor of restaurant guide Eat Out, added an extra dimension to the tension, joining the judges. The brief was to prepare a family meal for four persons within a budget of R150, but had to be ‘worthy of royalty’, they were told.  The finalists were told by Mrs Donnelly that budgeting is part of the real world.  She said that she would judge the dishes based on taste, they ‘should not be too fancy‘, and they should ’showcase the beauty on the plate’.  They had 60 minutes in which to complete the dish.  They had to select ingredients from the Woolworths Pantry within the budget limit, but it was evident that none of them had a calculator with them to tally up their grocery cost.  Chef Pete Goffe-Wood had an über calculator, and did the honours for each finalist.  Only Lungile Nhlahla came in within budget.  The other nine finalists had to give up ingredients to make the budget balance, Khaya Silingile being most over budget, at R265!  She admitted that she was a ‘ditz’, having gone over budget. In summary, Chef Pete told the finalists that going over budget would have led their restaurants to go under within 6 months.

Chicken seemed to be the most popular choice for the finalists’ family meals, only Samantha choosing to prepare poached trout (served with Asian vegetables and egg noodles as well as asparagus cream), and Jade de Waal making pork poached in milk (using bay leaves and lemon) served with creme fraiche, salad, parmesan, and pasta, admitting that she may have cooked her pork for too long, and that it may therefore be too tough.  While the finalists were preparing their dishes, Mrs Donelly and the judges discussed how some of the finalists push their limits and show amazing technique.  But she noticed that many do not taste their dishes.  Deena Naidoo made chicken schnitzel with a parmesan coating and mushroom sauce, which was praised by the judges for his delicious farm-style budget within budget. Mrs Donnelly said he made the ‘chicken proud’. Khaya deboned two chicken legs and stuffed them with red onion and aubergine, serving them with corn bread.  The judges were shocked that she would only serve two pieces of chicken for four persons.  She countered that she was challenging the ‘spirit of ubuntu between the chefs in sharing’ her food. Her bread was said to be too salty. Chef Pete said that she had shone in the previous episode in winning the international challenge, but that it had not been in evidence in yesterday’s episode. The chicken lacked flavour and intensity, she was told. Khaya said that she was the only finalist that had not been in a pressure test. Lungile was praised for her ‘rustic family-style’ meal, even though her portion sizes were criticised for being too small. The texture was praised, the polenta had a sweetness, and the chicken was perfectly roasted.  Jade’s salad was said to be creative, and her crispy sage was liked by the judges. However, her pasta was not seasoned, and her pork dish did not work, she was told. She admitted that she did not put out her best.   Thys Hattingh had a very quick review, his parmesan crisp being the tastiest of the whole dish. Samantha’s roasted onions were said to be too robust for the delicate poached trout. Mrs Donnelly said that she was disappointed with the asparagus cream, not really tasting it, and the roasted onions overpowered the dish. Chef Pete said that he would only eat the pasta. Manisha Naidu was highly praised by the judges, being told that she ‘truly has a palate to get flavours right’, said Chef Benny Masekwameng. Mrs Donnelly praised her for a ‘beautiful balanced plate of food’, and her dish was judged to be the best, the care and generosity coming from ‘the heart and soul’.  Mrs Donnelly loved her bottled sauce so much that she wanted the recipe for it.  While the Finalists were cooking, Woolworths ran a fabulous looking ad, inviting one to eat in for four persons, at R150, with chicken, and tiramisu for dessert.  No dishes were shown for Sarel Loots, Ilse Fourie, and Sue-Ann Allen.

The bottom three finalists were selected as Jade, Khaya, and Samantha, and were sent to the Elimination Challenge. Chef Pete brought in a big pot of Minestrone soup that had ‘purposely been ruined‘, and their challenge was to ‘get it back on track’. Chef Pete explained that things do go wrong in the kitchen, and the challenge for a chef is to rectify this.  A table contained bowls of ingredients, and each of the three finalists was given six opportunities to collect ingredients from the table.  They were told that the ‘worst tasting soup‘ goes home.  Samantha commented that the soup ‘looks like dishwater with left-over vegetables’. She selected red onions, butter beans, garlic, tomato paste, and pancetta (Italian bacon), but chopped the pancetta (sourced from Wild Peacock Food Emporium, they Tweeted proudly during the show) into cubes, which Chef Pete said was incorrect, as Minestrone is a meatless vegetable soup. The soup tasted too much of the pancetta. Chef Benny added that Samantha had shown throughout the program that she could not get seasoning right, either having too much or too little. The tomato paste and garlic should have been added earlier by her, Chef Pete said.  Khaya added red onion, garlic, fresh tomato, tomato paste, as well as coriander, which she assumed was parsley.  Chef Pete was critical of the soup in having become a tomato soup, making it more Mexican and less Italian. The judges coughed on tasting her soup, there being too much pepper, but they liked its chunkiness.  Jade identified that the soup lacked body and flavour, and she added pancetta for the flavour (but removed it before plating the soup), garlic, celery, and parmesan.  She was praised for adding and then removing the pancetta, giving her soup a smokiness, Chef Andrew Atkinson said. Chef Pete said that the soup had great balance of flavour, and that her stock had ‘beautiful body’.

Chef Benny was very ‘talkative’ on Twitter during the show last night, and made some funny comments.  He remarked on Khaya’s red lipstick, saying she was wearing it for luck!  He called Manisha the ‘Flavour Queen’ on Twitter too.  Chef Andrew’s blue shirt was criticised on Twitter, and once again many wrote that Khaya should have gone home, given that she did not know coriander from parsley.  Criticised too was that Ilse Fourie’s dishes rarely are featured, as happened last night.

It was Samantha that was sent home last night, and she was told that she can ‘cook with passion, and that no one can take that away from you‘. She said that she ‘will never forget any of it’!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

At the Franschhoek Literary Festival ten days ago we asked Chef Reuben a question in this regard, and he had a well rehearsed answer to it, justifying his endorsement of Robertsons on the basis of not all herbs being available all year round, and that fresh herbs and his restaurants are not affordable for all.  The question must have irritated him badly, as he wrote a disparaging comment about it on his Facebook page later that day.  He must have realised that it would get him into terrible trouble, and he has since closed down his Facebook page. Robertsons’ response to the disparagement and damage to their brand is surprising: ‘We were alarmed when we received this complaint and assure you that we have taken this very seriously. We would like to clarify that as a brand Robertsons does not condone the use of inappropriate language in any forum or in any social media channels. We have  however discussed this further with Reuben and believe this to be a personal matter with a deeper history and would suggest that you address it directly with him. Our team of lawyers have reviewed the complaint and advised that contractually there is no breech (sic) or transgression to our contract. Our contract and relationship with Reuben is limited to his chef expertise and his appearance in our advertising, it only governs his opinions in relation to our brand and does not extend to personal opinions on a private matter’. There is nothing ‘personal’ about asking a valid question about Chef Reuben’s endorsement of Robertsons, and the impact it has on his credibility as a chef, a question asked by many of his chef colleagues too. One wonders what ‘personal’ issues Chef Reuben could have been referring to. The endorsement, and the resultant lack of attention to and focus on his Reuben’s restaurants, has already cost Chef Reuben dearly, in that he did not make the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant shortlist of twenty late last year, the first time in Reuben’s Franschhoek eight year history.  He achieved a miraculous Top Chef and Top Restaurant accolade in the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurant awards six months after opening, an unheard of achievement at the time.

It is the programme for ‘Cook Franschhoek’, to be held in the gourmet village from 15 - 17 June, that is the confirmation that Chef Reuben believes in and uses fresh herbs.  The write-up for his outrageously-priced R1500 sessions, information which must have been supplied to the organisers by him, refers to a ’stroll to our secret vegetable garden to pick fresh vegetables and herbs (Reuben believes firmly that only the finest ingredients should be used for the best results)’, a clear confirmation that he believes that fresh is best! This is confirmed in his latest cookbook ‘Reuben Cooks Local’, which does not have a single recipe in it necessitating any Robertsons herbs or spices. When asked, Franschhoekers said they have no idea where the ‘secret‘ herb and vegetable garden is, which must be in walking distance from his restaurant. Someone jokingly saying it must be his Robertsons’ spice rack! Another local has guessed that it must be the garden of Klein Olifantshoek, across the road from his restaurant parking, but staff of the boutique hotel deny this. It is said that when Reuben’s Franschhoek moves to its new location close to Place Vendome later this year, they will develop a vegetable and herb garden there. Currently Chef Reuben sources his restaurant herbs and vegetables from Mouton’s, behind Leopard’s Leap.

Robertsons has had a bad time in choosing its marketing partners, not only in signing up Chef Reuben to endorse its brand, and in running Masterclass videos with Chef Reuben on the Robertsons’ website aligned to its sponsorship of MasterChef SA,  but also in having appointed controversial Sonia Cabano as its Social Media Manager when MasterChef South Africa started in March, and then having to terminate her services when she abused the Robertsons’ Twitter account to settle personal scores.

Celebrities and brand endorsers are not protected from social as well as legal norms in writing what they think about others on Social Media forums such as Facebook and Twitter.  Cabano went on a shocking Twitter rage last week, making it unlikely that any brand would wish to be associated with her in future.  She is a cookbook writer, and her racist, religious, political, and other views expressed on Twitter last week could cost her potential book purchasers and publishers. Chef Reuben seems disillusioned by Social Media, even though he was looking for trouble in writing his disparaging Facebook comment, and it appears that he has given up on Social Media, writing on Twitter a few days ago: ‘To all real friends on twitter, fb. See you in the real world. Unfortunately people with bad agendas makes (sic) this less enjoyable’.

We have always held Chef Reuben and his Reuben’s Franschhoek in the highest regard, and recommended it to our guests for seven years.  Last year we had a particularly bad service experience at the restaurant, and an unsatisfactory response to our feedback from Chef Reuben, and decided to remove the restaurant from our portfolio of restaurant recommendations in Franschhoek.  It would be a shame if it were true that Chef Reuben has sold his soul, in endorsing brands such as Robertsons and SAA Business Class on the African and USA routes, in writing books, in doing live and TV demonstrations, all for the revenue, and no longer caring about his Reuben’s restaurants, as the Franschhoek locals and fellow chefs say. Celebrities become the focus of media scrutiny, and even parody, Chef Reuben’s Robertsons’ endorsement being the subject of Another Damned Food Blog last year.

Chef Reuben was praised for his humbleness despite his fame for many years, but as the cover of his cookbook shows, there is a change in attitude with a taste of arrogance, confirmed by those who are looking to do business with him.  We wish for the return of ‘old’ Chef Reuben in the Reuben’s kitchen(s) again! He also owes Robertsons and its customers honesty in his endorsement of their brand.

POSTSCRIPT 22/5: The Advertising Standards Authority is an advertising industry self-governing body, and its Code governs what advertisements may or may not say.  The Preamble in section I states:

“1.1 All advertisements should be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

1.2 All advertisements should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the consumer.

1.3 All advertisements should conform to the principles of fair competition in business.

1.4 No advertisement should bring advertising into disrepute or reduce confidence in advertising as a service to industry and to the public”.

Expanding upon this, clause 2 in section II focuses on honesty in advertising:

“2.Honesty

Advertisements should not be so framed as to abuse the trust of the consumer or exploit his lack of experience or knowledge or his credulity”.

Testimonials are addressed specifically in clause 10:

“10.1To be genuine

Advertisements should not contain or refer to any testimonial or endorsement unless it is genuine and related to the personal experience over a reasonable period of the person giving it. Testimonials or endorsements which are obsolete or otherwise no longer applicable (eg where there has been a significant change in formulation of the product concerned) should not be used.

10.2Conformance to the Code

Testimonials themselves should not contain any statement or implication contravening the provisions of this Code and should not be used in a manner likely to mislead”.

POSTSCRIPT 22/5: We accept Chef Reuben’s apology for the disparaging comment on his Facebook page, which he has reinstated (see the Comments to this blogpost).

POSTSCRIPT 22/5: In the Robertsons’ commercial in MasterChef SA last night, Chef Reuben is described on screen as ‘South Africa’s top chef’. As Chef Reuben did not even make the latest top 20 Eat Out Restaurant shortlist, this is a misleading advertising claim.

POSTSCRIPT 23/5: Elizabeth Pretorius, Communications Director: Africa for Unilever, has responded to our feedback and this blogpost as follows, not addressing the real issue: ‘Unilever is committed to conducting its operations with honesty, integrity and with respect to human rights and as such we do not condone any actions to the contrary. We strive to provide our consumers branded products that meet their needs and aspirations, and Robertsons is one of the main brands in our stable, making herbs and spices available to the widest possible consumer base’.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

Orcas are the largest dolphin size, and also called killer whales, and were observed hunting a school of hundreds of dolphins between Kalk Bay, Seal Island, and Strandfontein. Hurwitz saw four dolphins caught by the Orcas.  His photographs were published in the Cape Argus, Cape Times, and spread like wild-fire on the internet.  Hurwitz observed a similar group catching a dolphin three years ago, and believes that they may be the same group of Orcas.  He said that Orca sightings have been rare in the past, but he had seen the group of four predators every day in the previous two weeks.   He added that there is plenty of action in False Bay at the moment, with four Bryde’s whales too, and up to 600 penguins feeding, a rare sight.

Orca whales are thought to be the most plentiful of all whale species, and occur in all the oceans of the world.  They are 7 - 8 meters long, weigh up to 8 tons, swim in pods of up to 50, can reach a speed of 50 km per hour, and feast on birds, fish, squid, seals, and dolphins, and are also known to attack whales, hunting in large packs, reports the Cape Argus.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

We are also running a weekly lucky draw for the correct prediction of who our readers think will be booted out of the MasterChef SA every week. For the correct prediction of who will leave MasterChef SA in episode 10 (on 22 May), I ♥ my Laundry has generously offered a food and wine pairing voucher to the winner.

I ♥ my Laundry opened two months ago. The back section is on two floors, and contains the laundry, with washing, dry cleaning, ironing, and collection/delivery (within the City Bowl initially) services offered, not visible from the coffee shop/restaurant on the ground floor. It has been beautifully transformed, with a 14-seater silver grey concrete table top resting on steel legs, comfortable white and black high-back chairs, a wooden counter, and wooden shelving.  On the mainly brickwork walls are artworks, which will be rotated over time. The inspiration for the name and concept for I ♥ my Laundry, which is co-owned by Clayton Howard and Mico Botha, comes from The French Laundry in New York, which was first started by a husband and wife team, running a restaurant and a laundry first as two outlets next door to each other, and then opened up to become one entity.  The Buitengracht branch is the third to open in the past four months, with branches in Durbanville and Kenridge too.

Free wifi is offered, and a coffee machine makes perfect cappucinos from Brazilian-imported beans by Joga Joga Café, exclusively stocked in South Africa by I ♥ my Laundry. Cupcakes, fudge, and chocolate pops are for sale, as is delicious Dim Sum all day long, at the most unbelievable value of R40 for eight pieces and a cup of coffee or a glass of Chenin Blanc.  An exciting subsidiary business is I ♥ my Wine, for which Clayton and Mico host interesting events, in which they bring together an alcoholic beverage supplier and a chef or restaurant to create magical food and wine pairing evenings.

Tweet your prediction of which of the 10 remaining finalists will be booted out of MasterChef SA to @WhaleCottage, or e-mail it to whalecot@iafrica.com. Closing time for entries is Tuesday 22 May at 19h30, at the start of episode 10.  The winner will be contacted immediately after the show ends. There will be a weekly Restaurant Voucher prize draw per episode for the correct prediction of who will be booted out of MasterChef SA, and voting for the following episode can start as soon as that day’s episode has been aired. Should there be no correct entry received, the prize is rolled over to go to another week.

POSTSCRIPT 22/5:  Samantha Nolan was sent home in episode 10 today.  There was no correct vote for her elimination.

I ♥ my Laundry, 59 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town.  Tel 084 660 0777 (Clayton)/083 6020291 (Mico) www.Ilovemylaundry.co.za Twitter:@ILovemyLaundry,  Monday - Sunday, 7h00 - 19h00.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage whalecot@iafrica.com

We wrote last week that losing the bid to be a host city for Afcon 2013 is a major tourism blow for Cape Town, and is a further disaster created by our City’s Mayoral Committee member for Tourism, Events and Marketing, Councillor Grant Pascoe, also having cost our city the Heineken Cup final earlier this year.

The City of Cape Town media release, issued yesterday, announces the tournament, organised by the City of Cape Town in conjunction with the Cape Town branch of the South African Football Association (SAFA) with a financial contribution by the Western Cape government, is to be played both at Cape Town Stadium and at Athlone Stadium in eight matches.  Teams from South Africa, Argentina, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Japan, Cameroon, and Kenya are participating in the soccer tournament, seen as preparation for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup to be held in Turkey next year.

According to the release, Cape Town is hosting the ‘renowned bi-annual tournament for the second time, after a successful inauguration tournament in 2010, prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup’.  No reference about the 2010 event could be found via a Google search, making the claim of it being ‘renowned’ untruthful and an overclaim!  Even worse, the release positions the event in the league of the Pick ‘n Pay Argus Cycle Tour and the ‘Old Mutual Town (sic) Oceans marathon’, and says that it helps to achieve its goal of positioning Cape Town as the Events Capital of Africa!  Magnifying its exaggeration, the release states that the soccer tournament will launch the future local and international careers of soccer players. Ivan Meyer, the MEC for Sport and Cultural Affairs in the province, said the the soccer tournament would position Cape Town as a ’soccer-friendly city’, reports The New Age, ironic given that Councillor Pascoe was argumentative with the SAFA when bidding for host city of Afcon, and so lost the bid!

Interesting is that Cape Town Tourism, funded by the City of Cape Town, has not yet Tweeted about the event, preferring to focus on the floating of the beached Japanese trawler on Clifton’s First Beach yesterday. No media release has been issued by the tourism body either, proving that it does not see the tourism benefit of the soccer tournament!

The City will be using the services of 150 volunteers to run the event. Tickets cost R50 for ‘grand stand’ tickets and R20 for ‘open stand’ seats, and are for sale at Computicket. The match schedule is as follows:

Athlone Stadium

Cape Town Stadium:

POSTSCRIPT 23/5: Cape Town Tourism has only written about the soccer tournament on its website today, two days before its start. There is no publicity about this non-event!  The Twitter page (@8Nations) only has 72 followers!

POSTSCRIPT 24/5: The Cape Times has reported that the Fan Walk will be opened for the Final on 3 June.  To date there has been no publicity to encourage locals to participate.  The article also states that the City of Cape Town is paying the South African Football Association R1,5 million as a ‘grant in aid’, while the Western Cape government has ‘in principle committed’ the same amount.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

The Sour Service Award goes to Kodak Express in Stellenbosch Square, and is nominated by Erica Meles-Liebenberg (we have edited it to shorten it): “Having gone there for an Australian passport photo I was very clear on the specifications, the most important being that the facial dimensions on the print be no less than 32mm and no more than 36mm in length. The young lady taking the photo disregarded my instructions, stating that “we take passport photos all the time”. I explained that this was not a local passport photo, but she shrugged my comments off, and insisted that I remove my scarf and all traces of hair from my face; neither of which are stipulated in the specifications from the Australian High Commission in Pretoria – and the latter of which is impossible given my short fringe. When I objected she asked if the photo was for a Schengen visa, at which point I repeated that the image was for an Australian passport. When the photo was finally taken I was sent away while it printed, and when I returned to my dismay the facial length was less than 28mm. When I raised my concerns she insisted that this was acceptable for passports, at which point I said that I would not pay for the image. Her supervisor came over and said he would arrange a larger reprint as the image was clearly too small. I instructed him about the correct dimensions – he too explained that this was their core business and he knew the correct dimensions. Again I explained that this is an Australian passport;  he replied that they frequently take photographs for such passports. He returned with a photo with a facial length of 30mm and when I refused to pay he said “look, if you don’t pay, the staff will have to pay”. I lost it and said that R38 hardly compared to the courier fees should the application be returned, not to mention the lengthy delays and waste of time for all involved. The store proprietor stepped in and suggested that he reset the machine to a maximum length of 36mm, but the final print was still only 31mm in facial length. I gave up and paid, thinking that perhaps I could scan the image in and resize it correctly myself – which has proven futile, so the images have been binned. At no stage did any of the members of staff apologise, nor acknowledge my attempts to explain why strict adherence to the guidelines was so important”.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.