Thursday 4 December 2003

This site will be updated on 11 December  2003 at 17:00

Business - Sakenuus

• Le Quartier sweeps the board
• Nuwe leisels vir Vinpro
• Spa expert for new hotel
• Water plan approved
• 'Ons wil werk hê'

prestigious national restaurant guide, Wine Magazine's Top 100 Restaurants in South Africa 2004 as well as a five-star rating for food, service and value.

Sweeping the Eat Out awards, Margot Janse of Le Quartier Francais was also presented with a special honorary award after winning five Eat Out awards as one of the country's top ten chefs from 1999 to 2003 (and as Eat Out Chef of the Year 2002).

 Le Quartier Francais competed for the national title with the top restaurants from every town and region throughout South Africa.

Lannice Snyman, editor of Eat Out, comments, "It's the edge, that little bit of magic that makes the Eat Out Top 10 stand out from other hot contenders.

"We evaluate chefs on their own aspirations and single out those who correctly interpret their target market. 

"The Eat Out Awards definitely favour cooks with bags of style and creative energy - those who are constantly moving with the times and re-defining their performance along the way."

 Le Quartier Francais has won a place in the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurants every year since 1999. Editor Lannice Snyman says that Margot Janse "delivers her unique take on modern cuisine in an inviting country ambience. Frequently subtle, sometimes rustic, flavours are paired with complementary spiced citrus or herby broths. Crunchy textures are combined with soft mousses; mashes or purées, syrups or pickles may partner meats or savoury custards."

 Selected by secret ballot, the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurants are selected by the editor, one of South Africa's top food critics, who consults the guide's 15 regional editors as well as a broader network of gourmets including professional restaurant critics and foodlovers.

'n VREDENDALLER, Abrie Botha, het die leisels as VinPro-voorsitter oorgeneem van Danie de Wet, nadat laasgenoemde die tuig neergelê het met sy verkiesing tot voorsitter van KWV Groep.

Botha het reeds in die afgelope jaar, sedert die stigting van VinPro, op hierdie wynprodusente-organisasie se direksie gedien en is ook in September verkies tot KWV Bpk se direksie, nadat hy voorheen tot einde 2002 vir twee jaar op KWV Koöperatief se direksie gedien het.

Hy is ook voorsitter van WestCorp International (die saamgesmelte Vredendal en Spruitdrift Kelders) en dien op die Ministeriële Advieskomitee vir Damveiligheid en is Voorsitter van Agri Wes-Kaap: Watersake.

Johann Krige is terselfdertyd eenparig herkies as ondervoorsitter van VinPro, terwyl Jos le Roux, voorheen Uitvoerende Hoof, aangewys is as Direkteur.

THE Santé Wellness Group, which operates the Wellness Centre at the Winelands Hotel in Simondium, has appointed Rob Cowling as chief operating officer.

Cowling is widely recognised as one of South Africa's leading Health, Wellness and Spa experts.

He was involved with the Sports Science Institute at its inception, and was Wellness Director of the AltiraSpas at the Arabella-Sheraton Grand Hotel in Cape Town, as well as several other Spas in Europe.

This follows the appointment of Dr Geraldine Mitton as medical director of the Santé Wellness Group, who together with Cowling, will provide the Group with a Spa management team that is unsurpassed in South Africa in terms of expertise, innovation, and experience, to further develop the new Santé brand.

Dr Geraldine Mitton, the doyenne of "wellness" in South Africa, focuses on the research and implementation of integrated health care, emphasising nutrition, anti-ageing, mind-body therapies, stress management and prevention of lifestyle diseases.

The first Santé Wellness Centre opened in September at the five-star Winelands Hotel, Resort and Wellness Centre near Paarl.

A NEW water services development plan (WSDP) in the Drakenstein Municipality was approved at the recent council meeting and will now be published for comment.

The Municipality took over water services for the rural areas from the Boland District Municipality on 1 July.

The new plan incorporates these areas with the existing urban areas of Paarl, Wellington, Saron and Gouda.

Of the urban consumers, roughly 68% are situated in Paarl, 23% in Wellington, 5% in Saron and 2% in Gouda.

According to the plan, drinking water in the municipal area is generally of a very high quality.

The Paarl Mountain water source is however a risk, amongst other reasons also due to the pumping of water from the Berg River to the mountain.

The construction of a proper treatment plan has been approved by Province.

The Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) for Drakenstein is in accordance with the requirements of the Water Services Act and is also aligned with the approved Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for the Municipality.

According to the IDP it is a priority to meet basic community needs through the provision of affordable  services.

The main goals are basic water services (including free basic water), provision of basic sanitation services as well as higher levels of water and sanitation service.

The WSDP deals extensively with the physical and socio-economic profile of the municipality, the water resource profile, water conservation, water demand management and water balance.

Future trends are linked to the strategies and some of the envisaged projects for the next three years are network upgrading in Amstelhof, Mbekweni, upgrading of water provision at the Simondium squatter camp, replacement of the pump line on Paarl Mountain and water saving devices in municipal buildings.

OP 25 November, tydens 'n historiese gemeenskapsvergadering, is 'n Aksiekomitee deur die mense van Franschhoek gevorm om 'n volhoubare struktuur te skep wat kan meehelp om soveel moontlike werksgeleenthede uit plaaslike werksverskaffing en kontrakte te behou. Vaardigheidsopleiding sal hoog op die agenda wees.

Hierdie inisiatief het die ondersteuning van die Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit, veral die Direktoraat vir Ekonomiese Ontwikkeling.

TCTA, wat betrokke is by die bou van die Bergrivierdam, asook Frandevco, wat die Meentgrond ontwikkel, is opgewonde oor die vooruitsig van 'n gemeenskapsgebaseerde oplossing om hulle doelstellinge soveel moontlik werksgeleenthede vir opgeleide en ervare plaaslike inwoners as moontlik.

Die komitee sal so spoedig moontlik 'n werkburo op die been bring wat die sentrum vir aktiwiteit en toekomsbeplanning sal word. Hulle sal ook 'n volledige Sakeplan optrek en dit binne ses maande aan die gemeenskap voorlê vir finale goedkeuring.

Die verkose komitee bestaan uit Carlo Hendricks (Groendal), Wilfred Moses (Groendal), Khanyi Dlova (Mooiwater - sekretaresse), Zelda Thabo (Mooiwater), Nicolas Tulwane (Tsotsombeni), Simon Tshambo (Tsotsombeni), Karin Minnaar (Middedorp), Fred Simons (La Motte/Wemmershoek), eerw Greg Mitchell (Groot Drakenstein) en Adolf Joubert (voorsitter/fasiliteerder).

Enigeen wat belangstel om by die proses betrokke te raak, kan vir Adolf Joubert kontak by 083-290-7691 of adolfj@mweb.co.za of met enige van die komiteelede skakel.