Eat Out 2009 Magazine Review Team

 

Alexis Kriel (AK) is a foodie especially known for her Indian cooking classes. When she's not instructing and enlightening the public in the kitchen, she writes about food, trains chefs and consults to the hospitality industry.

Andrea Burgener (AB) has moved between the restaurant and food-writing industries for 15 years. Apart from making and eating delicious items, she is interested in food's connection to broader issues; from the bizarre ways technology morphs our diets, to how our childhood eating patterns affect our lives.

Bernadette le Roux (BlR) is a food writer and stylist for various titles around the world. She is also an award-winning cookbook author and part owner of Café Roux in Noordhoek, Cape Town. Nothing impresses her more than seasonal ingredients used in uncomplicated, everyday dishes.

Bev Tucker (BT) is an independent writer, researcher, farmhand and food lover. She divides her time between Joburg and a farm cottage at the foot of a mountain near the Drakensberg. When not doing real work, she can be found at any of a number of her favourite eateries.

Bianca Coleman (BC) believes life is too short to eat anything that is not delicious, fresh and fabulous. She also thinks, perhaps rightly so, that people with a passion for food are the best in the world.

Charl Leslie (CL) hosts Algoa FM's midday to 3pm radio show, The Lunch Box, including the 15-minute programme "Charl Cooks", which is now in its seventh year. He also writes the "Charl Kook" column in Die Burger and offers cooking demos and classes.

Charlotte Pregnolato (CP) is a freelance writer for several South African food, travel and lifestyle magazines. When travelling, she loves eating where the locals eat and is always eager to try cooking or ordering something new.

Ciska Kay (CK) is a lifestyle journalist who probably loves good food a bit more than she should. Ciska spends a fair amount of her time staking out restaurants and trying new eateries in the Lowveld.

Clifford and Maryke Roberts (C&MR) have honed their skills writing about the good life for publications such as WINE and Good Taste. They share a passion for finding new and interesting restaurants in the Helderberg and Overberg areas.

Coenie Visser (CV), previously the owner of the popular Oak & Vigne Café in Greyton, enjoys the best of both worlds: a few days a week he's in Cape Town doing "research" in trendy coffee shops, and for the rest of the time he's in Greyton tending to the alpacas, donkeys and Italian spinone on his farm.

Diane de Beer (DdB) is a seasoned journalist who covers the arts in Pretoria and Johannesburg for Independent Newspapers. She writes a weekly food and restaurant column, and about anything book related, for the Pretoria News.

Fiona McDonald (FM) started out as a news journalist, covering stories from operating theatres to shipwrecks before falling into wine writing. The editor of WINE magazine for eight years, Fiona is now an international wine judge and freelance writer.

Francois Ferreira (FF) is known for his contemporary and quirky approach to the country's rich food culture. Whether it's beetroot and biltong mielie risotto or innovative cheese sushi, Francois contributes to the appreciation of South African cuisine with near-evangelical enthusiasm.

Frank Chemaly (FC) shares his love of food and wine with the readers of the Sunday Tribune every week. He relishes good cooking and good company, and one of the highlights of his year was eating his way through East London for Eat Out.

Gerhard Uys (GU) is a freelance photographer and journalist who writes profiles and does portraiture for magazines. A self-confessed chocoholic, he believes that food is the essential ingredient to any lasting memory, even if it's eating dry biscuits on a mountain with a friend.

Graham Howe (GH) is the wine and food editor of Habitat and contributes lifestyle features to many local publications. He is also a columnist for the Cape Times, Business Day, Wine Tourism News and wine.co.za. When he's not in Cape Town, you'll find him reporting from exotic gourmet destinations.

Greg Landman (GL) regularly contributes to Country Life and writes for Wine Tourism News and the annual Wine Tourism Handbook. His background in film distribution and marketing has seen him eating in film capitals from Cannes to California.

Hennie Fisher (HF) has cooked professionally for years and the passion continues. He now teaches at the University of Pretoria, writes for Business Day and the Pretoria News, and embraces any opportunity to eat, drink and celebrate life with friends.

Janine Walker (JW) is a food journalist who has been writing about restaurants for over 25 years. She ascribes her love of good food to her mother and grandfather, who taught her to try everything at least once.

Jeremy Freemantle (JF) lives in Prince Albert in the Karoo and recently launched African Relish, a tourist-focused recreational cooking school aimed at passionate foodies who want to escape the humdrum life and discover our rich cultural cuisine. He is on a mission to encourage the propagation of heirloom vegetables. Innovative food ideas and big, generous flavours define his approach.

Kim Hoepfl (KH) is a veteran food and wine writer who contributes to the likes of Dine, and is a one-time features editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. She's currently the editor of the South African Chef's Association's Chef! magazine.

Kobus van der Merwe (KvdM) was web editor of eatout.co.za before heading off to the West Coast to pursue his passion – cooking. He is now at the helm of the Oep vi Koep tea garden in Paternoster.

Lee Middleton (LM) is a regular contributor to Fodor's Travel Guides and Africa Geographic. She has travelled extensively since the age of seven, which has made her a discerning eat-outer.

Marana Brand van Hulsteyn (MB) is a seasoned journalist who writes about anything from food and lifestyle to crime stories. She's currently training members of small community-based organisations in basic life skills in Limpopo. On the food front, quality fresh ingredients and beautiful presentation make her tummy rumble.

Marita Pieterse (MP) says it was her love of good food that inspired her to train as a chef. Nowadays she indulges her passion by catering for selected clients and presenting cookery classes for hobby cooks.

Marlene van Eeden (MvE) is a freelance journalist, food writer and sometimes stylist that 'retired' to Hermanus seven years ago. Seeing that eating out is a favourite pastime, she thought she'd know all the food haunts in her home town by now but she found more than a few surprises this year as she ate her way through town for Eat Out 2010.

Michelle Matthews (MM) loves eating: from mushroom porridge in Seoul to milk straight from the coconut in Sāo Paulo. She writes for Marie Claire, Elle Deco, Fairlady and Obrigado, and her book, The Whole Food Almanac (Sunbird), was published in 2008.

Peter Feldman (PF) is an entertainment journalist who's been in the industry for more than 40 years. Currently working as a freelance writer and publicist, he says eating out is still, as always, a passion of unconfined proportions for him.

Raphaella Frame (RF) is a qualified chef and the food and features writer for House and Leisure magazine. She considers a great meal, a glass of quality wine, good company and a decent soundtrack some of life's greatest pleasures.

Richard Holmes (RH) is a freelance journalist and seafood fanatic who's eaten crustaceans from Patagonia to Portland. Since he eats far too much airline food, he was more than happy to tackle some restaurants on terra firma.

Rewald Drinkwater (RD) lives for his food fix, anytime, anywhere. He spends his life exploring his passions - friends, travel and, most of all, food.

Shirley Jones (SJ) has always loved dining out but only began writing about her love for food, theatre and art when she joined The Natal Witness four years ago. Now a freelance journalist, she continues to write for various print lifestyle publications, as well as entertainment website www.goingplaces.co.za.

Toby Shapshak (TS) is editor of Stuff magazine and a columnist for The Times, and has written on food for the Mail & Guardian, Sunday Times and GQ. He was listed in GQ's top 30 men in media and the M&G's 300 influential young South Africans in 2009.

Tracy Gielink (TG) is a freelance journalist who writes about entertainment, restaurants and food. With a wine diploma under her belt, she believes being an educated drunk is far more civilised.

Vicki Sleet (VS) is a lifestyle and food journalist. She relishes the opportunity to taste her way through Cape Town's best restaurants, enjoying everything from five-course dégustation menus to unpretentious comfort food such as fish and chips.

Xoliswa Zulu (XZ) is a media-liaison officer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. After a stressful day at the office, you'll find her either enjoying a good cup (or two) of cappuccino or knocking back a cosmopolitan at her favourite haunt.