I came across the following interesting blog article written by Chris von Ulmenstein of The Whale Cottage Portfolio this past weekend, which got me thinking about Beluga, Sevruga, Service and PR.

In her words:

“The Sour Service Award goes to ‘Blonde’ Oscar Kotze of Beluga restaurant, for asking this writer to leave the restaurant when invited for lunch as a member and Chairman of the Camps Bay Accommodation association. Kotze is a director of the Caviar Group of restaurants, which also owns Sevruga and the Caviar deli, as well as Blonde restaurant, which is to open in February. The reason for the eviction appears to be that Beluga sister restaurant Sevruga received a Sour Service Award from WhaleTales more than 2 months ago in regard to the poor handling of the Penny Vincenzi launch lunch.

www.whalecottage.com/blog/cape-town/stellenbosch-university-sweet-and-sevruga-sour-service-awards

The Marketing Manager Sam Obery was in a state, repeatedly being instructed by Kotze by phone to ask the writer to leave. The staff ignored the writer, even though she sat at the table with her guest house colleagues, not taking her food order, and not serving her drinks other than water. Kotze was asked to call the writer, but he refused, and also refused to take the call from the writer. He instructed his staff to call the police, so that the writer could be evicted by them! Kotze is short-sighted, as he had a fantastic opportunity to make good the writer’s perception of the Caviar Group of restaurants, which unfortunately has worsened as a result of this incident. Ms Obery was severely embarrassed, understanding that in marketing one tries to turn things around to the positive, and that her marketing effort to attract business from guest houses in Camps Bay had become a PR flop. A smart restaurant owner would have called the writer, and thanked her for the Sevruga feedback, and asked her to retry the food and service that she had critiqued”.

Makes on think, doesn’t it?

Product Description

Only the best Sevruga is farmed in the waters of the Caspian and the Black Seas in order to import to you this most sophisticated selection. Sevruga is part of the sturgeon family, being trim and small in comparison to the Osetra and the Beluga. Although with smaller and darker grains than Classic Grey Sevruga , this Sevruga caviar has an intense flavor with a caramel touch and a slight oiliness, with fine grains of a dark slate-grey color.