Sometimes you have a restaurant experience that leaves you so in awe, so inspired that you leave with that heady feeling you only get from absolute pleasure and a resolution to visit again the next day. This is exactly what happened to us when eating at the Test Kitchen for the very first time last week.

Luke Dale-Roberts (owner and chef extraordinaire) needs no introduction.  He is the man who put La Colombe firmly at the very top of South African restaurant lists.  He lets the food do all the talking at The Test Kitchen set in a no frills, functional space at the Old Biscuit Mill.

I made the reservation for (same day) lunch via the internet, and received a reply within 10 minutes!  I’ve tried doing this with quite a few restaurants and am still waiting for replies from some – weeks after the fact…

We were seated at the kitchen bar with an unobstructed view of the sous chef plating and the saucierre doing her thing.  She was explaining what she was creating to us, preparing the most delicious sauces, reductions and risotto – for the lunch service and prepping for dinner in between!  It is absolutely fascinating seeing the remarkable food being created right in front of your eyes.  A truly professional kitchen in full swing is a sight to behold.

It is quite interesting to see the whole kitchen compacted into a small (just big enough) space.  We saw the “poor” student meticulously cleaning mushrooms and dicing butternut – such utter care is taken with the ingredients; what do the experts always say?  If you cover the basics, the end result can only be good.

I had to order the special starter of the day: Tuna tataki (R75) while Mr Batonage opted for the “standard” Asian Style Beef Tataki (R70) – nothing standard about anything here.  The flavours were unique for each dish, even if both were made in the tataki style (meat or fish is seared very briefly over a hot flame or pan, briefly marinated in vinegar, sliced thinly and seasoned with ginger which is ground or pounded into a paste). The presentation was just beautiful; making you loathe to disturb the food!

Our main courses arrived after we saw it come together in front of us – how cool is that?!  My Pan fried beef fillet with butternut and pea risotto, cracked black pepper “café au lait” (R130) was a perfect “blue”; still underdone yet warm throughout.  The risotto was fabulous and the sauce, well, it made the dish…yes I did lick the plate (creamy, peppery goodness with an intense flavour).  The Pork Belly with sous vide carrots, braised red cabbage, confit leeks and a jasmine and nectarine jus (R95) was art on a plate – Mr Batonage’s description of the food?  “Unique!”  The belly was not fatty at all, with an interesting Asian slant to the dish.

We had such fun watching all the kitchen action, that our bottle of Bouchard Finlayson 2009 Missionvale Chardonnay (R260) disappeared rather quickly and you know what?  We didn’t want to order another – the food was THAT good.

Our very capable waitress (ex Societi Bistro) arranged a dessert treat for us that was not part of the usual lunch menu: brandy soaked figs, frozen pineapple panacotta with walnut shavings; there was something heavenly and chocolately too (R45).  Awesome stuff; not only looking pretty but tasty with a variety of different textures that will appeal to any palate.

We took our leave, giddy with the experience, entranced by the food, the experience and by the feeling of utter bliss Luke Dale-Roberts’s Test Kitchen evoked.

www.testkitchen.co.za

021 – 447 2337

Shop 104A, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Woodstock