New Tshwane Tourism Association (TTA) Board elected
The TTA is pleased to announce that the new TTA board has been elected by TTA members to lead the association as an important player in the local tourism as well as that of the larger South African tourism community.
TTA is a non-profit association coordinated by the private sector to promote tourism in the Tshwane Metropolitan Area. TTA is an umbrella association in Tshwane connecting government, residents and visitors on tourism related matters and as such is a channel of communication, industry information and a platform for associated tourism businesses to connect and benefit from each other.
The team is geared up to continue to address the current COVID-19 challenges and work together with TTA members to focus on a proactive recovery process and continue to interact with government and the private sector to encourage the growth of tourism.
Nico Rowan, Manhattan Hotel, Managing Director
Chairperson and Hotel Chapter
Bronwen Cadle de Ponte, CSIR International Convention Centre, General Manager
Vice-Chairperson and Meeting and Event Chapter
Abia Rakoma, City Lodge Hotel Hatfield, General Manager
Treasurer and Hotel Chapter
Anette Burden, Casa Toscana Lodge, Managing Member / CEO
Corporate Social Investment
Beulah Mosupye, Hauweng Tourism for All Society, Founder
Supplier to Industry Chapter
Christian Maiorana, Villa San Giovanni and Eat In Italian Restaurants
Restaurant Chapter
Craig Allenby, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Commercial Services and Business Development, SANBI
Attractions Chapter
Didintle Modingoane, Supreme Travel, Managing Director
Travel Agent and Tour Operator Chapter
Nitasha Roopnarain, Mangwanani African Spa, Regional Operations Manager
Spa Chapter
Ronel Bezuidenhout, Capital Hotel School, Managing Director
Education Chapter
Susan Marais, 3@Marion Guest House and Pretoria Bucket List, Owner/Manager
Accommodation Chapter
Tshifhiwa Makani, Matebook Company, Founder & Director
Digital and Marketing Chapter
The road to upskilling employees is paved with success
Training and developing employees can be a costly exercise. The value and cost of professional accredited training material, combined with the time needed to complete a training programme, could result in this type of expense being reserved for larger organisations with vast training funds.
There are cost-effective ways to upskill your workforce by means of Accredited Unit Standard Based, Short Skills Programmes suited for the Hospitality Industry. At CHS we provide hospitality learning programmes that reward employees at all levels, with the skills and knowledge to ensure continuous and appropriate development of both their personal and organisational growth.
Multi-skill and empower your workforce before large workloads and packed schedules impose a barrier to formal training.
Visit our website, call +27 (0)12 430 5539 or email info@capitalhotelschool.co.za.
Tourists can now e-Bike with wild game five minutes from Pretoria Gautrain station
Ebiking Africa has set up half day experiences aimed at visitors to Gauteng. The product is trade friendly and designed to be incorporated with tours of Pretoria.
The meeting point is the Groenkloof Nature Reserve, one of the world’s first proclaimed nature reserves. It is quite likely that participants will see game like giraffe, zebra, ostrich and other buck on the 2,5 to 3 hour experience.
Aimed at first-time e-Bike riders, the attraction is not only the exhilaration of the leisurely e-bike experience on gravel roads but also the story of the geography and the history connected to the reserve.
Groenkloof Nature Reserve is 30 minutes from Sandton just off the main Johannesburg Pretoria highway near the Eeufees off ramp.
Tours start at 10am and 1:30 pm and end with refreshments and traditional treats from the local Groenkloof Tuisnywerheid. The operator has liability cover and availability, booking and payment is available online at www.e-biking.co.za. For details about commission email beth@e-biking.co.za.
How to store food safely in the kitchen
“Good storage in the fridge and dry store is one of the most important principles of food safety.”
Perishable foods by its very nature do not last as long as we would like. This is why we need to keep foods in the fridge to prolong the time it takes for the food to go off. But keeping foods in the fridge is not just about temperature and keeping the cold chain. It is also about storing foods in a way that prevents cross-contamination and food poisoning.
One of the biggest problems in the kitchen is storage space in the fridges. The fridge is most probably one of the most cramped spaces you will find. Everything from ready to eat meals, raw meats, veg to dairy and sauces need to be stored in a fridge to ensure that foods do not expire before the use-by date.
That leaves us with a very large group of foods that need refrigeration and very little space to store them in. The reality is that most kitchens don’t have the luxury of separating these foods into their own fridges. One of the biggest mistakes kitchens still make today is that they store raw foods with ready to eat foods. Usually due to restricted space.
So, what is the safest alternative?
The most efficient way to use storage space effectively is to understand the risks of causing food poisoning. This means knowing what the risks of the various food groups are. We know that raw meats and vegetables are riskier because they have a high number of bacteria that are naturally present in these foods.
Raw meats, poultry and seafood are the main culprits when it comes to high bacterial load (the number of bacteria these foods contain). We expect that these foods will have dangerous bacteria in them, so it seems logical that we want to keep these away from foods that do not have bacteria in them.
Food storage in the fridge
Raw Meats
- Raw meats should be stored on the lowest possible shelf.
- Red meats and poultry should be stored separately.
- This is because chicken is notorious for having Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and L. monocytogenes more so than any other raw meat.
Seafood
- Fish and seafood should be stored on the same line but separately from raw meats.
- Seafood carries less dangerous bacteria and certainly different bacteria from the common food poisoning bacteria.
- However, many people are prone to seafood allergies especially shellfish such as prawns.
- You would do well to keep these away from many other foods.
Fruits and vegetables
- Vegetables should be stored on the next lower shelf above the raw meats.
- Most bacteria live on fruits and vegetables can easily be washed off with water and a treatable vegetable sanitiser.
- These carry fewer bacteria and do not leak blood. Raw meats will always have blood spillage which carries millions of bacterial cells.
- Usually, fruit and vegetables are stored separately from meats because they require different holding temperatures.
Ready-to-eat foods (RTE Foods)
Prepared salad ingredients and cooked foods should always be stored above all else and can be stored with dairy.
Cooling foods
- Food that is undergoing the cooling process needs to be placed in the fridge in an uncovered manner until cooled to fridge temperature.
- This is a high-risk time when anything falling into these foods can cause contamination.
- This means that the topmost shelf should be kept for the cooling process.
Preventing cross-contamination
The next step in safe food storage is to further ensure no cross-contamination can occur. We do this by using sealable containers. Storing each food group into clear sealable containers, locks in freshness and prevents any outside contamination. This practice should also ensure the longevity of your foods by limiting exposure to the outside environment. This prevents odours as well.
Using date codes
Keeping a record of when food was prepared will help minimise expired foods and will help with the first in first out policy. This is achieved by the use of date codes.
Food storage in the dry storage
Most of the principals used for cold storage are the same for dry goods.
Dry goods should have a date code, or an expiry date in order to ensure that the first-in-first-out (FIFO) policy applies. Dry storage areas are more likely to encourage chances of chemical and physical contamination than cold storage. It will still have the possibility of biological contamination.
The dry store is often overlooked in terms of food safety because of the long shelf life of the products. Yet for example, a weevil infestation could contaminate all dry stock in a matter of days.
Therefore, all dry goods should be:
- Covered in order to ensure quality is maintained and to prevent pest harbourage of pests and insects.
- Foods should be stored separately from equipment and chemicals.
- Reusable open containers or transferred to resealable containers.
- All decanted items should be given a date code and include the expiry date.
Become an FCS Food Safety Partner
FCS has built a strong food safety partnership with many of southern Africa’s largest, blue chip food retailers, food manufacturers, hotels, restaurants and food service companies.
To find out how you too could benefit from FCS’s excellent service and pricing structure, contact us now, and let us become your food safety partners.
Visit our website, call +27 (0)11 315 5007 or email info@foodconsulting.co.za.
Mangwanani – Summer sunshine in a box
As summer approaches, getting your skin summer ready is a must; from improvement of texture to ensuring the proper hydration. With this in mind Mangwanani has designed a new gift box set, namely the Hydration Gift Box Set. This box set is not only the ultimate gift for a birthday, as a corporate gift or just to say thank you, it also includes three spa vouchers.
These vouchers are for a 60-minute traditional full-body massage with 100% natural oils, a 60-minute relaxation foot therapeutic massage, and a 60-minute North African pressure point head neck and shoulder massage. Also included in this gift set are two exclusive Mangwanani Milk & Honey body butter and the Milk & Honey body exfoliator, plus a must-have Mangwanani exfoliation sponge and a gorgeous bright yellow bathrobe. A 350-gram Toblerone is also packed inside the beautiful gift box. They are priced at R2499 each – buy yours now.
We offer free delivery within South Africa and the spa vouchers can be redeemed at our Boutique Spas, such as Mangwanani Royal Elephant, located at the Royal Elephant Hotel in Centurion.
Shop now! You order your Hydration Gift Box Set online or by calling 087 809 0055.
Corporate gifts and spa packages
For corporate gifting or to reward your VIP clients or staff, you can contact our event’s team Winile or Cindy (087 809 0055) for group vouchers or corporate spa packages such as the Executive Full Day Spa package or the Half day spa package. These packages are for 10 or more people and come with a Coral fleece robe, and two exclusive Mangwanani bath and body products. The Executive Full-Day Spa package includes welcome drinks, light breakfast, beverages, lunch with desserts, use of the spa facilities, and six spa treatments. Price: midweek rate of R1799 per person or the weekend rate of R1999 per person.
The executive half-day spa package comes with either breakfast or lunch, depending on the selected session, beverages, and three spa treatments. This package is only available Tuesday to Thursday, priced at R1399 per person for either the morning or afternoon session.
These packages can be redeemed at our River Valley branch on the outskirts of Centurion.
Visit our website, call +27 (0)87 809 0055 or email marketing@mangwanani.co.za.
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3 November 2020, Rekord Pretoria
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