The Durban owned eatery, Mushroom Lounge scooped the prestigious Best Durban Restaurant Award during the 4th annual Durban Tourism Business Awards event in Durban recently.

The eatery, owned by Sibongiseni Mageza Mbambo, was announced as overall winner in the restaurants category.

Speaking after the win, Mbambo said he was shocked when he was called on stage as he did not expect to win any award with the restaurant only established a year ago.

“We wish to thank our customers for their support and for believing in our food. Many people questioned me on whether I did good marketing research when I opened this place, (which specialises) in traditional food.

“Today I am proud of my decision. Tourists from all over the country come to enjoy the traditional food here,” said Mbambo.

He said he was also thankful for the support of the eThekwini Municipality and Durban Tourism as well the blessings he received from King Misuzulu kaZwelithini who visited the restaurant last year. The eatery was established in April last year and was recently invited to showcase African cuisine in New York.

Speaking at the event, eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba congratulated the Mushroom Lounge and winners in various categories. The mayor said there were 161 entries for the awards and the Durban Tourism Business Awards were created to honour innovation and excellence within the tourism sector, providing a platform to showcase Durban as the best tourism and investment destination.

“After an extensive adjudication process, the finalists were selected ranging from hotels and crafters to tour operators and rickshaw pullers. The City is pleased with the interest shown by tourism product owners in the awards, demonstrated by the increase in submissions in certain categories,” said Xaba.

The prize giving ceremony saw winners from the 17 categories walk away with cash and development prizes to boost their tourism businesses. The winners in each category received cash prizes up to R50,000, while the first runner up bagged a prize to the value of R35,000. 

The second runner-up walked away with R25,000. Exceptional Achievement Award winners received an international study tour worth R100,000 and will be provided with extensive marketing opportunities to advertise their businesses.

 willem.phungula@inl.co.za

Source link