Victoria Falls Hotel topples Makuwa-kuwa – the competition’s well and truly on!
The Victoria Falls Hotel entered its 3 restaurants, The Livingstone Room, Jungle Junction and Stanley’s Terrace for the first time, in the competition in 2010, feeling well ready for the scrutiny, and after working really hard on its cuisine, to ensure it was meeting the exacting standards required of such a prestigious hotel, with such a long history.

All three acquitted themselves extremely well, winning Five Plate Ratings and accordingly reaching the Finalist Lists in their chosen categories, and in addition, their Wine Lists much impressed the judging panel.

A contingent of representatives from the hotel itself and the Meikles Group of which it is a part, attended the Awards ceremony and were thrilled to bits when The Livingstone Room was announced the new winner of Deluxe Restaurant of the Year for 2010 – an award thus far dominated entirely by Makuwa-Kuwa Restaurant of Victoria Falls Safari Lodge which had won it every year since Zim on a Plate launched! 

In addition, the Hotel itself won the wine List of the Year Award, for all of its wine lists taken as a whole, which were the most impressive seen by the judges, offering an amazing array of wines from all over the world, and with the additional feature of menus showing recommended wines to be taken with specific courses, all available by the glass, plus a special Degustation Menu in The Livingstone Room, which matched a suitable wine with each of its courses and offered a package deal with glasses of these at a reasonable rate with each. 

So Makuwa-kuwa, the reigning champion for years, has been given a run for its money.  Brian Ndlovu, Executive Chef at Vic Falls Safari Lodge said at the ceremony, however, that he both warmly congratulated his rivals, and welcomed the competition, stating that competition was good for everyone in the trade, keeping standards high.

Makuwa-Kuwa – Multiple Award Winner Extraordinaire!
Makuwa-kuwa Restaurant, situated at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, has been a proud perennial feature when it comes to accolades in the Zimbabwe on a Plate competition.  Makuwa-kuwa has won Awards every year since the competition was launched in its current format, consistently maintaining the highest of standards and consistently attaining a Five Plate Rating.  For four consecutive years, from 2006 to 2009 inclusive, Makuwa-kuwa was the proud winner of the Deluxe Restaurant of the Year Award.  Not only this amazing achievement, though!  Makuwa-kuwa has also won the Most Imaginative Menu Award for FIVE consecutive years – from 2006 to 2010 inclusive – in fact, for the full duration of the competition to date. 

Makuwa-kuwa has most certainly succeeded over these years in achieving the ‘WOW! Factor’ sought by the Judges when identifying award winners.  With its extraordinarily imaginative menu, which is regularly changed, its excellent service and food, and the flourish with which meals are served, it’s no wonder at all that Makuwa-kuwa is an annual feature on the Finalist List.  Meantime, its sister restaurant The Boma is another annual award winner, scooping The Award of Excellence for 3 consecutive years, followed by a new Award, the Most Imaginative Dining Experience, for the next two!  The Vic falls Safari Lodge team were suitably and justifiably proud as they came up again and again, to collect their multiple well-earned awards for 2009 and 2010!