Meersman’s Articles Reviews
By Deborah Marondo
Brent Meersman(55) is a journalist and writer based in South Africa, Cape Town. He is an author to many novels, short stories, poetry, feature articles and reviews. He is the author of Primary coloured (2007), Five Lives and Noon (2013). Other publications which I’ve read and will later comment on is the National Arts Festival daily newspaper (2006/7). Meersman has some of his work published on Mail and Gaurdian.
Brent Meersman’s first job was a press photographer working in Grahamstown back in 1989, one of the most turbulent periods in South Africa’s history.
He is a compulsive traveller, having visited 81 countries at the last count on all the continents, including the Antarctic. Meersman is currently working as co-editor in Ground up news.
About Brent Meersman
Bitten by the food bug- my honest comment for this article/ restaurant reviews are that I was so confused understanding what Brent’s experiences was, because everything is all over the show. He moves from one restaurant or one dish to the other without fully giving the reader important details like his experience at this place, how the food tasted, how the service was and as he recommends others to try these restaurants in Cape Town. I strongly feel it’s because of this that the review is not well written. What I like about his reviews was that at some stage, he started being clear of meals that he enjoyed, “A highlight for me must be chef Margot Janse's sensational chakalaka lollipops” - Meersman. He also highlights how the Cape Town has adopted a touch of Asia cuisines and the increase of Asian dishes in top restaurants.
I have a different perception of the second reading which is confused but content. It is short and direct, I like how it is written, the review is flowing. He talks about Italian food/ cuisine and how it is ranked as one of the world's favorites.
For the Mastrantonio restaurant group, Brent mentioned that their prices are fair, He rated the food, although it is not exceptional, but the standard is good. He includes chef Daniel Teledo’s ingredients: prosciutto with melon, caprese salad, grilled sole or kingklip.
Giavanni and his nephew go around and check if all is well with the customers, that tells you as a reviewer a lot about this restaurant, and it shows that they value their customers.
I like how the writer made a contrast from Mastrantonio to
Café Giulia. He wants the reader to imagine what bad service is like. He mentions how the restaurant environment look like; the shelves not being organized. The waiter is does not have proper training. The menu changes almost all the time and portions are moderate. They have specials here and there depending on weather fishing. The chef doesn’t fully understand English, which makes it difficult to communicate with customers that speak the language. I wouldn’t go to this restaurant based on this review.
When looking at the National Art Festival in Grahamstown, Brent draws his attention to the poverty and unemployment situation in the city. He also mentioned how dozens became entrepreneurs, selling bags etc to earn an income. This article is well written, because it gives us stats, it includes the population figure, unemployment rate (42%) and a census rate that had shown a decline in the number of young students between the age of five and twenty-four. He brings up the living conditions, water problems, bucket toilets, long queue to fetch water etc. He takes it back to Apartheid and how the white people still own means of production, from house rentals to shops and restaurants
and that they therefore accumulate a considerable amount of the money generated by the festival.
The article is very interesting as I get to know how the situation is like in Grahamstown and as an upcoming journalist, I would like to write about these hidden stories. I like how Brent somehow educate the readers that the festival, statues and infrastructure has nothing to do with government operation and people should not damage them, because it wouldn’t fix things. Accusations of elitism and “fuck art” reveal a lack of arts literacy rather than any meaningful comment on the festival.
National Art Festival//Art Literacy- Brent Meersman
I recommend people to read this article, because they will learn more about arts and the available opportunities like meeting artist from all over the continent. The festival offer R250 000 worth of tickets to people who can’t afford.
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