Eat Out interviews Elmari Swart

Elmari Swart is the co-founder of Cheviot Publishing, a boutique-publishing house. Before she dabbled in the printed word, Elmari made wine in France, Australia and South Africa. She now indulges her passion by producing 1 200 bottles of fine wine annually in her garagiste winery. Elmari has recently published The Essential Guide to South African Wines: Terroir & Travel. And, one lucky Eat Out reader can win a copy, plus some wine.

Where do you like to eat out?
I spend a lot of time out in the winelands researching and hosting clients at wineries during the day, so at night I prefer to frequent restaurants closer to town. Some favourites are Giovanni’s, The Cod Father, Five Flies, HQ, La Petite Fermé and Le Quartier Français.

Do you choose a restaurant for its wine list?
I choose restaurants based on the overall experience. If a restaurant offers an exceptional wine list, I am certainly tempted to visit. But when I am entertaining guests and need to present specific wines to them, I select a venue based on the food offering and arrange wines with the sommelier before our visit. I find most restaurants very accommodating to these requests, and in return I always make sure that the winemaker or tour guide meets the owner or maître d’ so that they can exchange details.

How will this book help diners in the winelands?
For me, quality of life is all about accessibility, simplicity and enjoyment. The guide provides diners with these essential food, wine and travel connections. The guide also helps you to select a wine ‘pocket’, jump in the car, and do a day-trip to visit some of the unique wineries in that area. Detailed relief maps provide GPS co-ordinates and are backed up by downloadable waypoints and routes on our website.
Every pocket takes you on a journey, where you discover the terroir, viticulture, wine-making techniques and flagship wines of some of the country’s premium producers. The pocket also provides selected restaurants, accommodation, local delicacies and festivals.

By Malu Lambert, (Eat Out magazine, 18 Aug 2010 )

Win a copy of The Essential Guide to South African Wines: Terroir & Travel and three wines from selected wine pockets.

Cape Town Book Fair 2010

This year the CTBF is in its 5th edition; and moving fast towards the digital age. A selected group of highly succesful European ePubs, in conjunction with Frankfurter Buchmesse, presented seminars and workshops, assisting local publishers in exploring this fast-paced genre. From iPad and smartphone downloads to interactive books and personalized content, we discussed it all.

With the support of the Goethe Institut South Africa , CTBF invited more than 15 publishers from other African countries to attend the fair and showcase the best African Books. This year also saw the inaugural CTBF Professional Day, with a professional programme for all exhibitors and trade visitors. Matchmaking sessions, rights-and business-lounges provided exhibitors, buyers and the trade with hours of concentrated book-talk.

A highlight at the show was a discussion and wine tasting, presented by Elmari Swart. We looked at the influence of terroir on Sauvignon Blanc. Cheviot would like to thank Onderkloof and Gabriëlskloof for sponsoring the wines, and the CTICC and CTBF for inviting us to present the tasting.

Read more about the CTBF: http://www.capetownbookfair.com/

iPhones

While we await the arrival of our new iPhone 4, we indulge in some comic relief..

Le Cordon Bleu Awards 2010

The Le Cordon Bleu Awards provides global recognition to the very best in the international food and drink publishing and broadcasting industries.

The foodie equivalent of the movie Oscars, the 2010 Le Cordon Bleu Awards acknowledges the work of food and drink professionals. Entries were received from all over the globe, including USA, New Zealand, France, Australia, Spain, Cambodia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The more than 700 entries received were judged by an international panel of 60 jurors.

South Africa performed exceptionally well, with Cheviot Publishing’s Essential Guide to SA Wines – terroir & travel short-listed for the Best Drinks Book. Publisher Elmari Swart commented: “I am overjoyed with the short-listing of our title. It is an honour for us to be in the company of esteemed international authors, photographers and chefs. And we send our heartfelt congratulations to Andrew Jefford, who won the Ladle for "Best Drinks Book”.

In addition to Le Cordon Bleu Gold ladles, two distinguished food and drink industry individuals were honoured for their outstanding achievements. British chef, restaurateur, TV presenter and writer Jamie Oliver was inducted into the International Hall of Fame, while Australia’s Maggie Beer was the national inductee.

Ian Parmenter, Jury Chairman, said “the standard of entries in this year’s competition was extraordinarily high and the international judges were faced with an enormous task. However, they were consistent in their agreement on the winners.” Mr. Andre Cointreau, President, Le Cordon Bleu said: “I am very proud to once again be involved in the Awards and its association with winners of such high calibre and international standing. Bravo and congratulations to all of the very deserving award recipients”.

We agree!!!

World Cup 2010 - feel it, it is here!!!

It is the eve of the Fifa World Cup Soccer 2010, South Africa.
We are waving our flags, blowing our vuvuzelas and all that's left to say is:















Go Bafana Bafana!!!

Financial Mail: Young Achiever 2009/2010

The second annual FM Wine Business Awards revealed astonishing depth in the wider South African wine industry. The award celebrates exceptional performance in terms of best business practice, innovation and leadership.

The Young Achiever award went to Elmari Swart for her work in Cheviot Publishing! The judges found that not only are the wine related books published by Cheviot based on in-depth research, but also provides unique insights into the subject matter. The judges noted the tangible impact on consumers’ understanding of terroir. In addition, the branching into custom-publishing and multi-media clinched the award for Cheviot. Described by the judges as “the perfect candidate for the award, Elmari is indeed the rising star with ambition, drive and demonstrable achievements under her belt that this category embodies”.

Awards convenors John Woodward (Frogitt & Vonkel Private Wine Merchants & founder Jo’burg Wine Show) and Delarey Brugman (entrepreneur, wine industry investor & owner Alluvia Wine Estate) were unanimous about achieving their goal. “The rationale behind the awards was to shift the industry’s focus to the contributions of the role players throughout the value chain” mentions Woodward. Supported by South Africa's leading business publication, the Financial Mail, participants and award-winners will enjoy the recognition of a Financial Mail Special Report supplement on the Awards.

Paris Food and Wine Book Fair

The city of Paris recently played host to inaugural Paris Food and Wine Book Fair 2010, from 12 – 15 February 2010 at new cultural exhibition centre of Le Cent Quarte.

Considered a culinary headquarters, Paris proved the perfect venue to bring together the best in the food and wine publishing industry.

More than 100 exhibitors showed their various titles, with about 55% of French origin and 45% foreign exhibitors. Most of the large French culinary publishers were present (Marabout, Hachette Pratique, Le Chêne, Larousse, First, Flammarion, Alain Ducasse Publishing to mention a few) alongside several big international publishers, distributors and printers. It was four very busy days with more than 3100 trade visitors and hundreds of interested members of the public attending the event.

Fortunately it was not all work! The long hours of serious business negotiations on distribution and international rights were balanced by loads of entertainment. Celebrity chefs presented more than 50 cooking demonstrations in a French and an International kitchen, giving visitors an interactive cooking experience with a “taste of their culture”.

The wine and spirit tasting centre was tremendously popular, hosting more than 40 tastings over the 4 days. Products from a range of diverse countries were presented: France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, USA, Canada and China. Ninety per cent of the tastings promoted a corresponding book, with the author and/or publisher discussing the title; while the balance of tastings focussed on regional products.

Cheviot Publishing is very excited about the new business connections made at the fair. It was truly a very elegant and joyful event, and indeed great for business. We look forward to reporting on our new sales partners!