Scenes from the 2023 Eat Out Awards held at GrandWest in November 2023, from left, Germain Lehodey, James Gaag, Siba Mtongana, Abigail Donnelly. (Photos: Tony Jackman) 
The date has been set for the next outing of the annual Eat Out restaurant awards. Sort of. It will be in April 2025, more than four months after the previous edition in November 2023, though a specific date was not stated in a press release issued this week.
No awards will be handed out in 2024, thanks to the organisers having listened to strong criticism from TGIFood in Daily Maverick, chef Kobus van der Merwe, and others, and acted upon them. To recap, we published this piece by me, which rattled a whole lot of cages, following which Van der Merwe broke ranks to write this, while this was their response. A year earlier, in November 2022, I had written this. Before that, over a period of nearly two decades, there has been much criticism, not only by myself, all of which came to a head during the last round of awards.
Kudos to Eat Out for having the grace to step back and examine the way they run their awards.
Search for culinary excellence
Eat Out announced this week that “the search for South African culinary excellence has begun, with a robust new judging process and an anonymous judging panel”.
In their own words:
“Following extensive consultation with the restaurant industry and its patrons earlier this year, Eat Out has implemented a new judging process. Eight anonymous judges, carefully selected for their diverse backgrounds and expertise as restaurateurs, chefs and sommeliers, have embarked on a journey to discover and celebrate South Africa’s best dining experiences.
“Eat Out’s new approach is designed to ensure that every shortlisted restaurant is judged by all eight judges over a number of different visits, seasons and times. To that end, this panel of judges will be visiting restaurants across the peak and off-peak seasons. That means the awards ceremony will no longer be held in November each year. The next Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards ceremony will take place in April 2025.”
This would appear to suggest that the awards will not return to their former November slot, but will fill a new slot roughly a quarter into the year.
Highest standards
Melissa Cumming, Head of Eat Out, said: “At Eat Out, our dedication lies in showcasing culinary excellence in South Africa, celebrating restaurants that continually strive for the highest standards. We want nothing less than an awards system that lives up to those same standards and we are proud to have commenced the judging season with an even more comprehensive process in place. Another heartfelt thanks to the industry for contributing to the research that helped us refine this new model.”
The industry spoke. Eat Out heard. Fair dues.
“The research confirmed the relevance and order of importance of Eat Out’s judging criteria as follows: taste and technique (25%) and service (25%) hold the most weight, followed by menu composition (15%), presentation (15%), beverages (10%), ambience (5%), and perceived value (5%).”
One key shift is an issue that Van der Merwe and other chefs raised: that scorecards should be available to the restaurants selected.
“The scorecards have been adjusted accordingly and each starred restaurant will have transparent, automated access to their aggregated scorecard, which is another critical step Eat Out is taking following the industry feedback. You can find the full scoring criteria here.”
The response by Woolworths to continue backing the awards was staunch, despite having been associated with aspects of the criticism, not least the lavish bash thrown every year (look, not everyone is complaining). Next April will reveal what changes, if any, will be made to the annual Golden Globes of the South African restaurant industry.
Eat Out said: “Woolworths continues as the headline sponsor for the 2025 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards. This comes after Eat Out’s consultation revealed that both the restaurant industry and patrons value Woolworths’ commitment to quality and see their association with Eat Out as beneficial.”
Cheers to that.
Woolworths marketing head Elizka Ferreira said: “At Woolworths, we believe that the details make the difference, and Eat Out have certainly left no stone unturned with their judging process this year. The care and attention to detail in their approach shows their impressive commitment to the industry, and we are proud to continue our role as headline sponsor, supporting the celebration of culinary talent, innovation and excellence.”
Dedicated team of scouts
Further details provided by Eat Out included: “Eat Out’s dedicated team of scouts – made up of qualified chefs, food and wine experts, and key industry players – have also been visiting restaurants, uncovering hidden gems and newcomers across the country. Those scored higher than 70% by a scout have already filtered into the judges’ shortlist. The new multi-stage review process means two judges go to these establishments to ratify the scouting score before Eat Out sends the remaining panel.
“Note that restaurants considered for star awards must have been open by 1 July 2024, but any new restaurant may be considered for the prestigious Best New Restaurant Award.
“Restaurants had the opportunity to motivate why they should be considered for judging. (Submissions closed on 31 July.)”
Good luck to Eat Out and their judges. We hope for a happy outcome and a clear change for the better that is sufficient to quell the criticism that had been welling for many years. DM