2013 Eat Out Award winners announced

The biggest news of the night was the announcement that chef David Higgs of Five Hundred in Joburg was named the 2013 Eat Out S. Pellegrino Chef of the Year. His new restaurant, Five Hundred, landed an impressive second position on the highly contested Top 10 list. For the second year in a row, South Africa's Restaurant of the Year is The Test Kitchen in Cape Town.

Luke Dale-Roberts (Restaurant of the Year), Abigail Donnelly (Editor and Chief Judge), David Higgs (S. Pellegrino Chef of the Year)

This year also featured the introduction of two new accolades as part of the restaurant awards. The Rising Star Award, won by Vanessa Marx of Dear Me in Cape Town, recognises promising talent in the industry; and the Wine Service Award, won by Joakim Hansi Blackadder of Rust en Vrede in Stellenbosch, acknowledges the top sommelier in the country.

The Team at Rust en Vrede (Eat Out number 3 restaurant, Service Excellence and Wine Service Awards)

The winners were:

S. Pellegrino Chef of the Year:

David Higgs, Five Hundred

Restaurant of the Year:

The Test Kitchen

Top 10 Restaurants

2. Five Hundred
3. Rust en Vrede
4. The Greenhouse
5. Hartford House
6. Jordan Restaurant
7. Overture
8. Camphors at Vergelegen
9. The Tasting Room
10. Pierneef à La Motte

Service Excellence Award:

Rust en Vrede

Rising Star:

Vanessa Marx, Dear Me

Wine Service Award:

Joakim Hansi Blackadder, Rust en Vrede

Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award:

Michael Olivier

Best Asian Restaurant:

Kitima

Best Italian Restaurant:

Burrata

Jacobsdal Best Steakhouse:

Carne SA

Best Country-style Restaurant:

Towerbosch

Best Bistro:

The Leopard

Boschendal Style Award:

The Pot Luck Club

Woolworths Taste Eat Out Bursary:

Amanda Manyatshe

Also revealed at the ceremony were the four anonymous South Africa-based judges, who worked alongside Eat Out editor and chief judge Abigail Donnelly to determine the winners: Garth Stroebel, Liam Tomlin and Andy Fenner (for the Top 10) and Jenny Morris (for the "Best of" winners).

To find out more, go to www.eatout.co.za
For a full list of the winners, go to http://eatout.co.za/News/Category/General/2865/The-winners-of-the-2013-Eat-Out-DStv-Food-Network-Restaurant-Awards and the Facebook page www.facebook.com/EatOutMag for photographs of the gala dinner. Follow on @Eat_Out on Twitter and search #eatoutawards #dstvfood for commentary from the night.

Photos by New Media