JHP Gourmet Guide 2018 launched, top 21 plated restaurants announced

Curator and author Jenny Handley owns a brand performance business and is a respected global restaurant reviewer and writer. Topping up her formal food qualifications regularly all over the world, Handley combines her passion for food, words and brand in this guide.

The launch, at which the chefs received their bespoke plates custom-designed by Mervyn Gers Ceramics, took place on Monday 23 October at The Stack in Cape Town. This year sees the first of three plate awards. As consistency is such an integral part of success, only restaurants and their chefs who were plated in the last guide were considered for three plates in the 2018 guide. The plates were awarded as follows:

One plate

Awarded for excellent cuisine

• Aubergine
• Camphors at Vergelegen
• Chef’s Table at Belmond Mount Nelson
• Chefs Warehouse & Canteen
• Hartford House
• Luke Dale-Roberts X Saxon
• Marble
• Myoga
• Nobu
• Terroir
• The Roundhouse Restaurant

Two plates

Awarded for exceptional dining that demands a detour

• Chef’s Warehouse, Beau Constantia
• Dw eleven-13
• Foliage
• Greenhouse
• Indochine
• The Pot Luck Club
• The Restaurant at Waterkloof

Three plates

Awarded for world-class destination dining worthy of a flight

• La Colombe
• Restaurant Mosaic
• The Test Kitchen

View the launch gallery here.

Swiss Culinary Innovation Award

Swiss International Air Lines presented the inaugural Swiss Culinary Innovation Award to Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic. Innovation is one of the many criteria taken into consideration when the restaurants are reviewed and scored for inclusion in the guide. She wowed the panel with her innovation from start to finish - from conceptualisation and presentation of dishes and the stories told through them, to the techniques mastered in preparation, from her personal, ever-present service to execution in the unique environment of the Orient Hotel and Restaurant Mosaic.

Mari Dartnall, Martina Popkiss representing Swiss International Air Lines and Chantel Dartnall of Restaurant Mosaic. Photo: Andrea Gema

She, with a partner, will fly Swiss Business to Europe, to be inspired by a unique culinary experience. This gives the guide the opportunity of not only showcasing top chefs but rewarding one of them with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Dr André Schulz, general manager Southern Africa at Swiss International Air Lines said: “This is an opportunity for SWISS to support the top chefs in South Africa by showcasing their work and pushing them to reach new culinary innovations while rewarding them for their outstanding work with this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Photo: Andrea Gema

The Taittinger

Top, eligible chefs featured in the guide will be afforded the chance to participate in one of the world’s most prestigious and oldest chefs’ competition, Le Taittinger Prix Culinaire International, in 2018.

“The guide and plates inspire and reward excellence. We are proud to have created global partnerships to ensure that our chefs can continue to raise their games,” says Handley

The essential aim of The Taittinger is to promote the principles of traditional French haute cuisine. Participating countries in 2017 include Belgium, France, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. National competitions are held in these countries, and a winner awarded first prize in each. In France, where the number of competitors is traditionally higher, several selections are held, each also awarding a first prize. In both the French and national competitions winners are selected following two separate heats, the first being a recipe of choice of classic cuisine on a set theme chosen by The Taittinger organising committee, the second a set recipe of national cuisine chosen by the chairman of the national Taittinger jury.

The international competition brings together, in Paris, the winners of the nationals and the French selection. The competition theme is decided by the organising committee. At the end of the day-long competition, the winner is awarded first prize in The Taittinger by the international jury. Chef Michel Roux Jr of Le Gavroche in London (2 Michelin stars), is the presiding judge, and chef Emmanuel Renaut (3 Michelin stars) is president of the Prix.