"When it comes to food and wine tourism, South Africa is a world leader" - David Higgs, Eat Out 2010 chef, restaurant and service of the year, Rust en Vrede. David Higgs of Rust en Vrede won a coveted triple crown in the Eat Out 2010 Top 10 at the "food Oscars" awards dinner at the Westin Grand Hotel in Cape Town held on 28 November. In a rare triple-whammy, Rust en Vrede won the national titles of chef, restaurant and service excellence of the year - only three years after opening at the renowned cellar in the Helderberg. In a coup for the Stellenbosch wine route, three other cellar-door restaurants in the Cape's golden culinary triangle - Jordan with George Jardine (#3), Terroir (#6) and Overture (#9) - won places in the top ten. Showcasing the growth of the Cape as the country's premier gastronomic destination over the last decade, six wineland restaurants won places in a major shake-up of the annual Eat Out Top 10 awards - ranked, respectively, Rust en Vrede (#1), The Tasting Room (#2 - up from #10), Jardine's at Jordan (#3), Bosman's at Grande Roche (#4), Terroir (#6) and Overture at Hidden Valley (#9). The 2010 ratings also saw the return of three old favourites: Bosman's (#4) at Grande Roche, Aubergine (#7) in Cape Town, Roots in Krugersdorp (#8) and Hartford House in the KZ/Natal (#10) - as well as first-time finalist DW Eleven-13 (#5) - named after its address Dunkeld West). Eat Out 2010 is almost as interesting for who didn't as who did make this year's top 10. A nomination is great but a miss is as good as a mile for the nominees who didn't make the top 10: inter alia Reuben Riffel, Luke Dale-Roberts (ex) La Colombe (Eat Out 2009 restaurant of the year), Peter Tempelhoff of The Greenhouse (#No7 last year), and PJ Vadas of The Roundhouse (#5 last year). Watch out in 2011 for cool-hand Luke's hot new restaurant, The Test Kitchen - and Richard Carstens Tokara. Chantel Dartnall of Mosaic (#2 last year and 2009 chef of the year) did not make the 2010 top 10 - though she made the best dish (a langoustine broth) at the 2010 awards. Restaurant awards like wine awards are inevitably a subjective art and no science. A different panel of judges would probably reach consensus on a different top ten. Looking at the luxury fine dining focus of Eat Out's Top 10 - where the average cost of a three-course meal with water, wine, coffee and tip averages around R400 - R500 (ie, a special occasion) - I can't help wondering about all the other local hot spots where everyday foodies dine - and the need to recognise all the little but consistently good restaurants which make up the core of any gourmet culture. There has been much debate in foodie circles lately about the need for awards for different categories of restaurants - say, informal, good value (under R250), cellar-door and country kitchens - or in different culinary categories: say best South African (contemporary and traditional) African, Italian, Indian, seafood, vegetarian, etc. Perhaps we are focusing too much on the chefs who play musical chairs - and not enough on the restaurant venue itself in the European tradition of excellence and consistency. While the four judges agreed that "Fun, gutsy and real food" is in and "Fussy, fiddly and self-serious food is out", they identified the major trends toward authenticity, sustainable produce, amazing technique and closer relationships between chefs, suppliers and growers. The judges also praised a South African trend towards "hunting and foraging for food" like wild greens, herbs, shoots and roots. (One of the best-known advocates is Danish chef Rene Redzepi of Noma (meaning Nordic Food) in Copenhagen, rated number one in the World's Best 50 Restaurants in 2010 - and Peter Tempelhoff who serves a land and sea foraging menu at The Greenhouse.) A modern chef is also a hunter gatherer. In the words of a judge, "These days you need to have more than your own herb and vegetable garden - you need your own flock!" Food fashions come and go but chefs and restaurants which stick to the classics have staying power. While there's always the novelty of new restaurants in Eat Out Top 10 - like all top of the pops charts no-one wants the same boring old list year after year - fine dining restaurants with a track record longer than ten years also made the finals in 2010. Take gastronomic landmarks like Harald Bresselschmidt's Aubergine (#7) and Bosman's (#4) - enjoying a new lease of life under executive chef Roland Gorgosilich who created a superb seafood degustation menu for me at the Grande Roche recently. The new Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award (see Margot Janse's moving tribute at www.eatout.co.za) went to Walter Ulz, a chef who has made an invaluable contribution to the culinary arts in South Africa, notching up 35 years of service at Linger Longer - a restaurant which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary on 1 April 2011. Accepting the award. Ulz said wryly, "We always feel a bit left out in Johannesburg". Better late than never. How many of today's winners will be around in fifty years? Standing out among an estimated 8000 restaurants in South Africa by making Eat Out's 1000 Best Places to Eat - is an achievement in itself - especially when competition is "more fierce than ever". Praising "the astonishing talent" of South Africa's "food heroes", the chef-judges - editor Abigail Donnelly, Arnold Tanzer, Pete Goffe-Wood and newcomer Anna Trapido - focused on the total experience of eating out from the food to the very spirit of the restaurant - and paid tribute to the improvement of service standards in particular. Most of the top ten chefs are young South Africans - and many have worked under the world’s top chefs - like Marthinus Ferreira of DW Eleven-13 who trained under Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck. "The personal touch" (a direct relationship between chef and consumer) is one of the guiding principles of an enjoyable eating out experience identified by chefs. Trend-spotters will enjoy reading the bumper new 256-page magazine edition of Eat Out 2011which features in-depth interviews with the ten winning chefs, the judges on changing food trends, the chefs' philosophy, inspiration and mentors - and the 100-point scoring criteria. Eat Out 2011 (at R50) and Eat In 2011 are also now available updated online, as digital magazines and in handy new hardcover pocket guides. David Higgs, the man who made the cover of Eat Out 2011, prepared the piece de resistance at the awards dinner - a meaty main of beef, sweetbread and caper sausage with a warm salad of tongue and cabbage in raisin purée. Rust en Vrede were ranked at #74 in S Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2010 - ahead of legendary restaurants like the River Café (#82) and Le Gavroche (#92) in the UK - while La Colombe (then under Luke Dale-Roberts) was ranked #12 (up 26 places) and Le Quartier Francais at #31 (up 6 places). South Africa sure has culinary talent (Published by Restaurant UK, the World's Best 50 are picked by a voting academy made up of some 800 of the world's leading chefs, food critics and restaurateurs.) I've been privileged to eat my way through the winelands as a food and wine writer and reviewer for Eat Out for the last seven editions (a marathon of 500 reviews). Over the last decade, Eat Out has played an important role in promoting a food culture in South Africa and distinguishing good food from the hundreds of anonymous franchises out there. The guide has made good food the subject of news headlines. To satisfy the million dollar question of restaurant referrals I get asked time and again by the public I'm going to nominate my own personal list of top ten cellar restaurants and chefs where I dined in 2010, ranked in order of great food and wine experiences: Graham Howe's Top 10 Cellar-Door Restaurants 2010 Rank/Restaurant/Chef/Dish Tokara/Richard Carstens - for his inventive, brave new world cuisine like signature carpaccio of watermelon, Franco-Japanese trio of trout, and study of tomato textures. Terroir/Michael Broughton - for his classic techniques, contemporary tastes and textures in a sublime dish like miso glazed linefish Jordan/George Jardine - for his barrel-smoked linefish and smoky wood-fired oven dishes and country ingredients. Rust en Vrede/David Higgs for showcasing locally sourced ingredients in his sublime sauces, intuitive combinations and slow-cooked/sous vide fare. Delaire Graff/Christiaan Campbell - for the fresh, natural flavours of his delicate broths, seafood, salads and terrines Pierneef à la Motte/Chris Erasmus - for bringing back big indigenous flavours like bokkoms, boer goat terrine, pickled ribs and skilpadjies Freedom Hill/Adrian Buchanan - unpretentious country cuisine on a modern winelands menu of oxtail, pork belly and mushroom risotto. Fyndraai at Solms-Delta/Shaun Schoeman - for his bold heritage menu which brings a whole spectrum of indigenous ingredients and flavours on the plate Waterkloof/Gregory Czarnecki - for classic French treatment of Cape ingredients from linefish and poultry to venison. The Long Table/Corli Els - for big, robust country flavour in amazing mushroom ravioli, oxtail and lamb pastilla