Semi-finalists for wine service award named

Semi-finalists

All first-round applicants needed to be currently employed in the service of food and wine and have at least three years' experience. Most entrants work at top restaurants and hotels in the main tourist regions, although, surprisingly there were no entrants from either Mpumalanga or Limpopo provinces. Six of the semi-finalists are from the Western Cape, three from Gauteng and one from KwaZulu-Natal.

Gauteng

• Mike Buthelezi of Signature Restaurant
  
• Sean Trollip of Kream Restaurant
  
• Francis Krone of Saxon Boutique Hotel

Western Cape

• Gregory Mutambe of The 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa
  
• David Nel of La Colombe Restaurant
  
• Joakim Blackadder of The Roundhouse Restaurant
  
• Josephine Gutentoft of Grande Roche Hotel & Bosman's Restaurant
  
• Carl Heinz Habel of Mount Nelson Hotel
  
• Wayve Kolevsohn of Le Quartier Français

KwaZulu-Natal

• Eric Botha of The Oyster Box Hotel

The association aims to provide training and mentorship to guarantee the continuous development of professional standards of wine service at the highest level.

Higgo Jacobs, secretary of SASA articulates its support, "We are excited to be involved in the judging for the award, thus endorsing this initiative, as the newly formed association. We hope that this will become a sustainable and key motivator in our aims to improve wine service in South Africa."

Competition

The semi-finalists will be tested on their knowledge of wine styles and tasting ability in the form of a blind tasting for the practical component of the competition. They will be assessed further on their competence in making food and wine pairing recommendations, and finally on their ability to perform tasks of professional wine service.

The finals will take place in Cape Town in October 2011 and the winner will be announced at The Swartland Revolution on 11 November 2011.

For further details, go to www.wineserviceaward.co.za