The judges are from all over the Garden Route, and paid for their own meals. They visited the finalists' establishment three times each in order to test the quality and consistency of the food. This was revealed on Monday evening by celebrity chef, Francois Ferreira, the co-convener of the competition and also the Bailli Délegué of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs SA when the winners were announced. Entries were whittled down from 80 to 20.
Leon Coetzee of Kurland Estate, was named the prestigious 'Gastro Nomix Chef of the year' while George participants fared well in the Legends category and honoured for their high quality of food and consistency in standards over several years. In this division five of the nine restaurants, coffee shops and eateries are from George and surrounds - Serendipity of Wilderness, The Girls of Wilderness, Travel Bugs in George, La Laconda in George and Roadside Deli in Waboomskraal were named Legends.
In the Top 20 Culinary Destination category - Flava Cafe, Caloroso, and Salinas from the George/Wilderness areas were named, while Beans about Coffee in York Street was named the Best Coffee Emporium.
Paul Maguire of Pomodoro was awarded the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Server; Jacques Buys of Flava Cafe was awarded the Eden School of Culinary Art Young Chef of the Year trophy; and The Rose Restaurant & Upstairs received the Achiever of the Year - a special award for moving their business in record time.
The Legends category was judged by Francois and Ann Hadley as the co-conveners of the competition for eleven years as both have extensive background knowledge of the regions' restaurants and eating establishments. "The reason why were are no longer judging the Top 20 Restaurants/Cafe's is that we have become too close to the people involved, and we therefore opted for ghost diners who love food to do the judging."
This year the awards took place at Cafe Gannet, and owner Gareth Shippen was complimented on the sublime cocktail snacks served and the setting of the restaurant with its superb views over Mossel Bay. Cafe Gannet was also one of the Top Twenty in this year's competition. Ferreira concluded the awards evening by saying the standards were high and expressed the hope that everyone would have a top season.
View more photos here.
Claudio Nespola - Pomodoro and Salinas; Ani Kuronen - Manageress Pomodoro; Anne Hadley, co-convenor of the competition; and chef Dario Soresi - La Laconda, at the awards evening held at Cafe Gannet.
This years' winners of the 2013 CXpress/NLR Wines Garden Route Culinary Awards on Monday at the Cafe Gannet in Mossel Bay after receiving their awards. Photos: Pauline Lourens
ARTICLE: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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