Winning three places in the country's top ten, the Helderberg undoubtedly produced the biggest surprise of the evening. While Stellenbosch has traditionally played second fiddle to Franschhoek in the culinary stakes, the capital of the winelands hit the jackpot with a trio of cellar-door restaurants - Rust en Vrede, Overture at Hidden Valley and Terroir at Kleine Zalze. A delighted Jean Engelbrecht of Rust en Vrede commented they might have to rename the area the golden culinary triangle. Other top ten 2008 winners in the winelands are The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais (a frequent winner from Franschhoek Wine Valley), and La Colombe at Constantia Uitsig which walked off with a double-header as Eat Out Restaurant of the Year 2008 and Eat Out Chef of the Year 2008 (Luke Dale-Roberts). Former winner Jardine and brand-new top ten Bizerca, a new classic French bistro on the foreshore, completed the Western Cape's domination of the Eat Out awards. Gourmands who live outside the Cape should head for Hartford House (KwaZulu-Natal), Roots (Krugersdorp) and Mosaic at the Orient (Pretoria), upcountry winners in the top ten. Huge black-and-white posters of twenty celebrity chefs greeted a Who's Who of 250 guests from the food and wine industry who attended the R500 a head black-tie dinner in the ballroom of the Westin Grand Hotel. MC Marc Lottering entertained the well-heeled crowd in inimitable style, performing on piano his hilarious self-penned lament for a poor abused waiter, and wondering whether a "basil emulsion" was an ointment for a skin infection. If you need a comedian to take the pretension out of the foodie scene, Marc is undoubtedly your man - along with pithy comments on service. There's no biz like the food show business. Waiting for the announcement of the awards is the hardest part for twenty nervous nominees and their kitchen crews. In the spotlight under the television cameras, four of the nominees - Bertus Basson of Overture at Hidden Valley, Franck Dangereux of The Food Barn (creator of a stunning salmon and lentil terrine), Philippe Wagenfuhrer of Roots at Forum Homini and George Jardine of Jardine (a trio of chocolate desserts to die for) - prepared a gala dinner. Bennie Howard chose accompanying wines from the 2008 Veritas winners. Top twenty nominees who almost made the top ten include former winners Aubergine, Bread & Wine, (The Food Barn), Myoga, Reuben's and The Showroom - as well as upcountry venues Linger Longer (Johannesburg) and 9th Avenue Bistro (Durban), who featured in last year's top ten. The competition for a top twenty nomination was tough - making the top one thousand an achievement in itself. Every restaurant in the guide was visited anonymously by one of 43 leading reviewers from the food industry, including food journalists, chefs and cookery school principals. What's more, no restaurant paid to be listed. The Eat Out lifetime achievement award was awarded posthumously to Frank Swainston, chef-patron of Constantia Uitsig restaurant for twelve years. Frank's passion for good food, wine and company over a culinary career spanning four decades was legendary - as were his contributions to the renaissance of the local South African food scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Sharing a table at Eat Out and reminiscing with Fiamma and Alessandro Swainston was a personal highlight of the evening for me. This year's bumper Eat Out 2009 restaurant guide is a bargain at R40. It has a new focus on "The Best 1000 Places to Eat in South Africa" as well as a new-look user-friendly review format which categorises every restaurant under food, wine, service, ambience and unique appeal. I've written about wine and food tourism trends in the Cape over the last two decades - and contributed an average of sixty reviews every year to the last five editions of Eat Out. What I particularly like about Eat Out is the transparency of the judging criteria - declared in full in the new 2009 gold edition. A judge's panel comprising four of the country's most experienced chefs including Eat Out editor Abigail Donnelly - use a 100-point scoring system to select the top ten establishments. They judge the food (70 points) based on menu, culinary style, techniques, use of local, ingredients, seasonal produce (including ethical sourcing and sustainability issues), presentation, execution of dishes, balance of flavours and textures. When it comes to wine lists, they look at price value, variety, sommelier knowledge, food-and-wine pairing and service. The service criteria (20 points) - welcome, attitude, specials, knowledge of ingredients and billing - and ambience (10) encompass the whole spirit of the enterprise down to the linen, cutlery and glassware. Terroir at Klein Zalze won the Eat Out service award as well as a place in the top ten for the third time. Abigail Donnelly comments, "All the judges experienced a great attitude from the service staff at Terroir - from the reservation and menu knowledge to matching wine with food. It's about hiring the right people, training them in the chef's methods and philosophies, keeping them happy and developing their skills." Judge Dario de Angeli, executive chef at The Westcliff, added, "Cape Town's service was unique and celebrated sommeliers and maitre'd's at their best." Say no more. The judges - Abigail Donnelly, restaurateur Dario De Angeli, director of the SA Chefs Association, Arnold Tanzer, and chef consultant Peter Goffe-Wood - also highlighted the global and local trend away from complex techniques to simplicity in the preparation and plating of ingredients. Abigail comments, "I've seen chefs devoted to home-grown, seasonal and sustainable produce. Many are printing menus daily, which allows them flexibility and creativity with the best-tasting produce on the market. Tasting menus are still popular (even if the food is sometimes overworked)." Dario says, "What stood out for me was chef's use of basic honest ingredients. Every restaurant that excelled stayed away from tricky stuff, which tied in with international trends. The reinvention of forgotten vegetables, like sweetcorn, was another exciting development". Arnold Tanzer has the last word, "There are two trends: haute-barnyard and weird science. The best restaurants in South Africa are a mix of the two: looking at their heritage, having great relationships with farmers and the land, using the latest technology and techniques to translate talent to the table - as modestly as possible." Eat Out 2009, The Best 1000 Places to Eat in South Africa, is on the newsstands at R39.95 per 240pp copy. For info, updates and reviews see www.eatout.co.za.