Picture: iStock
This week, the latest Eat Out Awards list will be released, while the American Express Dining Awards plated their list last week.
The next few months will see, in many ways, these lists compared to each other. But there is one distinct difference between the two juggernaut awards that help shape opinions regarding the culinary industry, and that is the people in the judging seat.
The toughest trade-off in food spaces seems to be influencer marketing. For the general public, their content won’t be hidden behind a paywall, making it accessible, but at the same time influencers are usually not specialist writers – or knowledgeable.
In fact, I’ve sat around many a table with influencer types who have no idea why that truffle shaving is special, or even simple things like appellations or the story behind the chef preparing their meal. They’re there for a free lunch and using your likes to sell an image that they are better off than they actually are.
Forti Grill and Bar in Pretoria is one of the spots on the American Express Dining Awards.
Where it goes wrong is the fact that big public relations companies use influencers in a marketing maelstrom that becomes tiresome.
But for the 2020 list of the dining awards, their accessibility and the fact that influencers get to experience more food escapes than the regular Jack and Nandipa is taken into consideration. Foodies and media personalities were responsible for creating the new list.
“The aim of the new format is to recognise establishments in a number of different categories that didn’t even exist 20 years ago,” says Chris Wood, head of American Express SA.
“The restaurant industry has changed radically since we first launched the programme and we want to recognise that innovation. And we’ve naturally chosen top foodies and media personalities to do the judging.”
Steve Steinfeld, the man behind the Instagram account, The Joburg Foodie, was named the head judge. The panel also features Clive Aaron and Greg Maloka from Kaya FM.
Greg Maloka, Steve Steinfeld and Clive Aaron will head up the American Express Dining Awards judging. Picture: Facebook
• The list of shortlisted finalists is quite diverse, featuring restaurants from Cape Town, Gauteng, Bloemfontein, the KZN Midlands, Port Elizabeth and Durban, along with a few other spots.
• The list has particular focus on newcomers – an important aspect of growing the culinary industry.
• It’s aimed at lifestyle dining.
• The judges aren’t all trained, but are rather influencers.
A dish from The Test Kitchen, a finalist in the Dining Awards.
It doesn’t get bigger than this annual showcase of the food world in SA. The Eat Out Awards, is backed with its annual magazine that becomes an annual reference point for where to eat.
Mixing the upmarket with the everyday, it’s the perfect list that ensures everyone is catered to. There’s also a focus on wine lists and a general introduction to where the food industry is at. It is the little black book of food in SA.
A dish from Camphors at Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West, 2017 winner of the Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award.
• The public also has a say in finalists, and the final results are based on a 50-50 composite score from the public and the critics.
• Everyday places are also included on the list, which makes it less daunting.
• The list can be arbitrary.
• Up-and-coming places often don’t make the cut.
• The awards are driven by advertising.
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