Terroir restaurant, located on the Kleine Zalze Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, was voted as Third Best Restaurant in South Africa, and has also won the coveted Prudential Eat Out Service Award at the annual 2008 Prudential Eat Out Restaurant Awards. Chef Michael Broughton and his team received the prestigious awards at a stylish gala dinner hosted last Sunday evening at the luxurious Westin Grand in Cape Town.

Since opening in 2004, Terroir has evolved into one of the most sought-after gourmet destinations in the winelands, placing Stellenbosch prominently on the culinary map. At Sunday’s award ceremony, Overture restaurant at Hidden Valley winery and Rust en Vrede at Rust en Vrede Wine Estate won fourth and sixth places respectively, adding further clout to the historic wine region’s reputation as a foodie’s paradise.

This year’s remarkable achievements at the Oscars of the restaurant industry are not a first for Broughton and Terroir. In 2006, Terroir won The Eat Out Johnny Walker Restaurant of the Year Award as well as the Service Excellence Award. In 2005, Terroir received a top ten restaurant award and in 2007 was nominated as one of the top 20 restaurants in South Africa. Since the inception of the Service Excellence Award (now known as the Prudential Eat Out Service Award), Terroir is the only restaurant to have won it twice.

Forty independent critics of the Eat Out 2009 ‘gold’ edition reviewed a staggering 1 000 restaurants this year, making the top ten nominee accolades all the more important.

Michael sums up the philosophy behind the food he creates at Terroir: "It’s all about delivering big bold flavours on the plate, although what I leave off the plate is just as important as what I put on it. The challenge of being creative is knowing when to exercise restraint." Broughton is uncompromising in insisting that, above all else, the food must do the talking.

Terroir’s latest success has further entrenched Kleine Zalze’s critical achievements of the last year. Along with a host of international and local wine awards, Kleine Zalze was named as the Wine Company of the Year at the inaugural Financial Mail Wine Awards. As well as being named Wine Company of the Year, Kleine Zalze was also chosen as Export Star for its sustainable and customised approach to market development.