Volume 8, Issue 6 of Restaurant Business will be jam-packed with exciting articles and features. See below:

Profile: Protea Hotels Vineyard Estate

The newly opened Protea Hotels Vineyards Estate targets the executive and conferencing market in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. The hotel’s vineyard setting is a Unique Selling Point for this star grading, as are the wine tastings and estate tours that are on offer.

The hotel intends to utilise the authentic outdoor pizza oven located on the terrace at the centre of its food offering. We investigate what the Vineyard Estate’s executive chef have up his sleeve for the new restaurant, including his signature dishes and what make them special.

We also chat with him about his plans for the food and beverage offering and what guests can expect from the menu.

Sustainable seafood

We look at the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organisation set up to promote solutions to the problem of overfishing. The FAO ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries’ require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

• Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilising scientific evidence.

• Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures.

• Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

Restaurants serving MSC certified sustainable seafood can be assessed to the MSC Chain of Custody standard for traceability. Successful restaurants are entitled to use the MSC ecolabel on menus, packaging and other point of sale material, to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable management practices to their customers.

Décor and design Part 2

A current trend in restaurant design is kids’ play areas which are safe, fun place for kids to play, during the day and evenings. Moms also want to be in the “vibe” of the restaurant, not relegated to the outskirts sometimes, in cold, isolated play areas.

Moms want sophistication and need to feel acknowledged in the retail environment, not just forced to go to a food court some with fast food outlets. Most play areas lack any sense of grace, warmth and comfort or vibey adult atmosphere. Generally, materials and finishes are plastic, vinyl and concrete in a variety of glaring primary colours which screams: ONLY FOR KIDS!

We will be exploring different concepts, elegant flows of space and function that is even in keeping with upmarket establishments. Other factors to be considered include a heating facility for outside seating areas, table sizes and comfortable seating, etc.

Bottled water and energy drinks

Bottled water as a consumer product in South Africa constitutes 1.3% of the total beverage industry (by volume) while Africa constitutes only 3.3% of the global bottled water market.

In 2009, 381.7 million litres of bottled water was consumed in South Africa; the forecasted growth to 2014 is 2.3% and would bring the total volume to 426 million litres.

Bottles currently used for bottled water weigh 27% less than they did seven years ago. The bottles, made from PET, a by-product from oil-manufacture, are 100% recyclable.

A survey by Nestle Waters North America found that:

• Bottled water represents less than one-tenth of one percent of an average consumer’s overall environmental footprint.

• Consumption of water of all types (both bottled and tap) accounts for 41% of beverage consumption, while producing only 12% of the associated impact on climate change. In comparison, the combination of milk, coffee, beer, wine and juice provide just 28% of the volume of beverages consumed but are associated with 58% of the climate change impact.

• Water —in all its forms— is the best beverage option for the environment. Tap is best, and bottled water has the lightest environmental footprint of all packaged beverages—one that can be reduced by 25% simply by recycling the bottle.