New Media-owned Eat Out has celebrated SA’s most talented chefs and restaurateurs, and the teams that breathe life into their vision, for 25 years. The 2024 Eat Out magazine continues in that tradition, shining a light on the people who turn food into an art form.
Tessa Purdon, Eat Out head of content, says: “The Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards provide a platform for us to highlight the skills, talents, innovative ideas and fascinating stories that make up the best of the best in the South African restaurant industry. Behind every Eat Out star are often unseen moments: the tears, the smiles, the long hours, the inevitable failures, the triumphant successes. The stories in this edition of our magazine stem from the Eat Out team’s discoveries over the past year – stories from within the kitchen and from beyond the restaurant to the very source of ingredients.”
The 2024 Eat Out magazine celebrates some of the key elements that make a restaurant truly excellent, including:
• The Artisans – the chefs, creators, makers and growers – including Ryan Cole (2023 Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Chef of the Year and 2023 Eat Out Birkenstock Chefs’ Chef), Motheba Makhetha (2023 Eat Out Cacao Barry Dessert Award winner) and Roché Müller, founder of Claylat Studio, which makes the crockery for some of SA’s top restaurants.
• The Destinations – the places that provide the canvas for some of SA’s most inspiring culinary experiences – such as Rust en Vrede in Stellenbosch, The Happy Uncles in Salt River, Madre in Stanford and Proud Mary in Johannesburg.
• The Method – the ways in which the industry embraces innovations and celebrates the unique South African landscape – with stories about foraging (with FYN’s Peter Tempelhoff), mental health in the kitchen (with Chefs Warehouse’s Liam Tomlin), cooking over fire (with EDGE’s Vusi Ndlovu) and growing fresh produce (with Iming Lin of Meuse Farm).
• The Luminaries – visionaries who turn dreams into reality – featuring La Colombe’s James Gaag, Meraki’s Charlie Lakin, The LivingRoom at Summerhill’s Johannes Richter, 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Trailblazer Award winner Siba Mtongana, Dusk sommelier and 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Wine Service Award winner Bafana Zondo, and a tribute to Germain Lehodey, the recipient of the 2023 Eat Out Highland Park Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award.
Purdon concludes: “The South African restaurant scene stands second to none, and we are proud to share the stories behind the excellence. We hope the Eat Out magazine will inspire readers to explore our starred restaurants and celebrate the journey of discovering remarkable places to eat.”
The 2024 Eat Out magazine is available at select Woolworths stores nationwide.
