Luke Dale Roberts needs no introduction on these pages; we’ve written about the near-legendary chef twice and the accolades keep rolling in for him and his Test Kitchen.  He could have spent December basking in the afterglow of his Chef of the Year award; instead he was putting the finishing touches to his brand new venture situated right next to the existing restaurant, The Pot Luck Club.

We were a group of 5 lucky friends visiting the restaurant recently; all huge fans of The Test Kitchen.  We could order almost all the dishes on the small menu; we were not missing out on a single plate!

This is no ordinary plate of food served to the unexpected visitor, or food just anyone can  contribute to a pot luck club; Chef Luke’s small plates are carefully developed by him and his team – individual dishes are even named after them: “Ash’s Tuna Tartare” (R60) was one of our favourites along with “Ivor’s crispy duck spring roll” (R30).  “Ash” is of course Sunday Times Young Chef of the Year for 2011; attesting to the calibre of staff in Luke’s kitchen.

The crispy curried celery leaves (R20) were eaten with gusto by The Navigator.  Yes, he ate leaves and he loved it!  The leaves were crispy, not overly spiced and not oily at all, just incredibly fragrant, even refreshing on the palate.

There were firm favourites among us:  we all agreed the steamed scallops with grapefruit (R60) were simply exquisite; with the grapefruit adding a most interesting zing to the dish.  I thought (at that moment) that it would be my dish of the evening…then the Pork Rib (R60) made Chinese style with dark beer and doenjang glaze arrived: a triumph of balance between sweet and meaty had us licking our fingers.  The crispy pork belly (R45) with Luke’s XO dressing had The Navigator smiling from ear to ear and five of us all reaching for the last morsel on that plate.

I can write a whole paragraph about the smoked beef fillet (R80); you know it’s smoked, so it will be fantastic but noooo, they added the most elegant, rich and decadent black pepper and truffle “café au lait” sauce (take note “sauce” is far too common a word to describe it).  I will eat that fillet 7 days a week and still lick the plate, every time.

There’s also dessert: Wesley’s tapioca, passion fruit sorbet and toasted coconut (R45) and Fresh summer berries with fig leaf ice cream (R50).  The cocktails are different and wonderful;  the wine list hip and happening – all not outrageously priced.

Décor is clean and understated , service is efficient and Chef Luke wanders out from behind the kitchen counter chatting about the food.  This is the pot at the end of the rainbow and it’s filled with plates of heaven.

www.thepotluckclub.co.za

021 – 447 2337

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We can hardly believe the year is done.  Another week or so and we are going to be forced to think consciously about getting the year right when we write a date down.  It’s therefore time for a recap of a few of the things we discovered and enjoyed in 2011.

Where we’ll always feel at home

The Vineyard Hotel in Newlands, Cape Town hosts regular wine events, some of the coolest in the Cape.  During the winter months The Vineyard gives you the following for R550:  Entrance to the wine event, a 3 course dinner at The Square Restaurant, a room for the night and a full buffet breakfast the following morning.  You can’t make this up – it really is as good as it sounds.

Dining out – with all guns blazing

We dine out often.  A LOT actually.  But we don’t fine dine as often as you might think – firstly because the prices are prohibitive for regular feeding and secondly because if you do something too often, it takes some of the pleasure away from doing it as a special treat.  2 of the highlights of our culinary year was the Gourmand Menu at Luke Dale Roberts’ Test Kitchen and lunch at Waterkloof Restaurant under Gregory Czarnecki. What stood out for us of Luke’s menu is the perfect marriage of fusion cuisine with our local ingredients and the excellent wine pairings.  We had Diemersfontein Pinotage (we HATE coffee Pinotage) with gammon and it was a triumph.  Gregory plated us dishes that was so pretty we didn’t want to eat it, with flavours that just boggled our minds.  Both venues are also remarkable, with us always making sure we were seated at the kitchen counter in The Test Kitchen in order the see the action.  Waterkloof Restaurant is of course known as the glass box – views of the their amazing vineyards and a hint of ocean.  We cannot wait for Luke’s new Pot Luck Club to open – we already have reservations!

Of Bacchus and his favourite tipple

Glen Carlou has been producing two of our favourite wooded Chardonnays for more than 20 years and with the release of their new unwooded Chardonnay they’ve firmly entrenched themselves on our Top 3 Unwooded Chardonnays list.  This is the ideal summer wine: delivering bags of flavour without that heartburn-inducing acidity.  Lovers of both wooded and unwooded Chardonnay will enjoy glass after glass!  Available only from Glen Carlou Estate at R78 per bottle.  This is, without a doubt, our Wine of the Year.

The most overused phraze in consumer driven writing is probably “value for money”; a difficult concept when describing wine , as it is such a personal experience.  Vondeling is one of those estates where you can heartily throw the term “value for money” at them and it will always be true.  A small winery from the Voor Paardeberg area, they produce 6 white wines, 3 red wines and a sweet wine.  The wines are all great, with our favourites being the 2 Mediterranean blends, the unwooded Petit Blanc (blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier) and the wooded Babiana (the same as the Petit Blanc but with a dash of Grenache Blanc added).  They retail for R39 and R95 respectively and over deliver at the price.

See if you can lay your hands on a bottle of Jean Daneel 2003 Signature Chenin Blanc; Wine of the Year in the 2005 Platter Guide.  You will be amazed by the enduring freshness of an 8 year old wine that has developed remarkable complexity over time.  For anyone who thinks South African White Wines cannot age we say you’ll drink your own words!

Our Favourite Wine Events

If you’re a wine geek, like we are, look no further than The Swartland Revolution.  In actual fact, if you are a human being, look no further than The Swartland Revolution.  It is by far the best wine event you can attend – 2 days of intensive wine tasting, partying, eating and socialising.  There’s something for everyone – the wine geek, the wine novice, the party animal and the wallflower.  It truly is a fantastic event – you can read about the 2011 event day 1 here and day 2 here

There’s also the Franschhoek Champagne and MCC Festival (unsurprisingly also organised by DnA Events, the same organisers of the abovementioned Swartland Revolution) Taste your way through the best MCC’s produced in South Africa and some of the greatest Champagnes in the world, all in a classy setting over 3 days in November.

Sticking to the bubbly theme, there’s also the Wine Concepts Finer Things in Life Champagne Festival held at the above mentioned Vineyard Hotel.  You get to taste some of the best Champagnes available in South Africa all under one roof, whilst swallowing oysters the size of your fist.  We had an amazing evening here, and can’t wait for the next one.

What is in a word?  Waiter, waitron and service ambassadors

We’re both extremely focused on quality service, be it in a retail environment, hotel or restaurant.  We are forever looking for service experiences where we will be wowed (alliteration not intended!) We frequent a few places regularly, and the main reason for it (other than a good quality product) is the exceptional service we receive whenever we are there.  The 3 stand out venues for service in Cape Town is most certainly in our book Societi Bistro, La Mouette Restaurant and the Planet Restaurant at the Mount Nelson.

Home is where the heart (and the stove) is

We do occasionally eat at home and we do prepare our own meals, with The Navigator perfecting home made pasta – not a feat to attempt at the height of summer as all that turning-of-the-handle can be pretty sweat inducing.  Our favourite pasta dish is a simple one: Richard Bosman chorizo sliced and pan fried (to release all the oil), add a few cherry tomatoes and add the freshly cooked pasta to the pan.  Garnish with rocket or basil leaves – easy and incredibly fragrant.

We now source most of our meat products (including Richard Bosman’s bacon and other charcuterie) from Frankie Fenner; so easy, just order and collect.  When in Napier, we buy mutton (not lamb but stuff that actually taste like meat) from the local butcher.  Fresh produce from the Hope Street Neighbourhood Goods’ Market is a requirement for people like us who do not cook much – the potatoes stay fresh for weeks and taste like proper potatoes.  In view of the latest (in a long line) of trust abuses by Woolworths, we’ve decided to (try to) avoid shopping there; let’s see how long our resolve (and disgust) lasts.  We prefer to purchase wine directly from the Estates but in cases of emergency (and to buy champagne) we love the selection offered by Sue and Neil Proudfoot at Wine Concepts on Kloof Street.  They stock CWG wines at reasonable prices, are always ready with advice and will even order your favourite tipple when requested.  It is no surprise that their sister outlet, Wine Concepts in Newlands, hosts our favourite tasting event of the year: The Finer things in Life Champagne Festival.

Easy living and lazy days

Beautiful Cape Town makes it easy to forget you have to work for a living with ample opportunities to play tourist in your own city.  We rediscovered the Red Open Top Bus Tours (they’ve even added a canal tour by boat to their 2 existing routes).  The Table Mountain Cable Car now offers pre-booking of tickets online.  Living in the CBD and walking everywhere gives you a unique perspective on our City and leads to interesting discoveries.

Places where we’ve been known to laze our days away at are amongst others Brewers and Union with their delicious craft beers and pulled pork sandwiches. These guys do not allow an inferior product to enter their premises and have lately added a sommelier who has “beefed” up their wine list offering.  The stoep at El Burro in Green Point is ideal for lazy summer afternoons whiled away with good Mexican Food (no oily Mariachis or oily food allowed) and decent tequila cocktails.  The Long Table Restaurant at Dombeya/Haskell Wines offers dining under generations-old trees with an incredible view of the Golden Triangle of Stellenbosch’s vineyards.  Add exquisite Reds from Haskell and imports at reasonable prices from New Zealand and Australia and you have to call a taxi when the sun has set.

There has, of course, been many more wines we’ve savoured and restaurants we’ve enjoyed visiting and will continue to do so.  We are lucky to be living in the Cape Winelands, where good wine and good food go hand-in-hand.

As the sun sets on another year we’re excited about 2012 ahead, we’re looking forward to the new year and everything she has in store for us.  We’ll be keeping you updated on our progress as we continue our intrepid journey honouring Bibesia and Edesia; the Roman godesses of Food and Drink.

Certain stereotypes are so entrenched in our psyches that dispelling it can come as a great surprise.  Picture the Cape Dutch manor house.  From the outside you see the curved gable, the broad porch, a thatch roof and you notice thick walls – much much thicker than the modern abode.  Inside you picture dark wooden furniture,   wooden floors, dark corners, a mustiness stemming from great age and exposed wooden beams.    It’s a dark, austere place.

From the outside the Grand Dédale House looks the part of the stereotypical Cape Dutch manor house.  A hint of what waits inside is given as you pass the modern patio furniture.  A light, airy, foyer leads you into the heart of the manor.  Beautiful light furnishings, white marble floors and plenty of mirrors await you.  The space is opulent without being garish.   I was blown away by the beauty.

We were invited to Grand Dédale by Angelo Casu, the owner, to cover a wedding they were hosting.  Run of the mill you might think. The kicker, however, was the fact that Luke Dale Roberts of the Test Kitchen was catering the event.  Rarely do we pass up the chance to see someone of Luke’s calibre in action, so we made the trek out to Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington where Grand Dédale is situated.  Read our review of The Test Kitchen here

Grand Dédale has 6 luxury rooms and there is a separate cottage away from the manor house that can also be booked.  They were choc full on the day we visited, with the wedding party having booked out the property.  The patio outside the manor house was set up for the wedding reception, with the ceremony held in a meadow nearby.  The whole place had the feel of opulent class – the sort of wedding you would see in the old days on Dynasty or Falcon Crest.

Getting 5 minutes of Luke Dale Robert’s time was a big ask on a day like that.  The man is a nice guy, and even though he was slap bang in the middle of prep, he gave us a few minutes to chat.  The question we burned to ask was whether he caters outside of his restaurant often.   Surprisingly for a man as busy as he is, he is more than happy to cater outside events.  He says he needs to be happy that the event is do able in the sense that it is not too big and that the venue is suitable to ensure he gets it right – there’s no half assed ventures here.  The wedding was for 80 people, which is more than twice what he’d have in a sitting at The Test Kitchen.

The couple getting married had eaten Luke’s food before on a visit to SA (they’re Swiss). Obviously blown away, they asked him if he would be interested in doing their wedding.  The rest is history.  Luke proposed the menu, they asked for some changes and voila – one of the best chefs in the country is in your stable for your big day.  Luke says doing food for a wedding is very different to the dishes he would put out at his restaurant.   You cannot simply push out experimental or very complex dishes.  Instead he focuses on maximising flavour in the luxury dishes he sends out.

The menu was made up of canapés like tempura mushroom sushi, chicken liver parfait with pear compote and smoked salmon blinis.  The starter consisted of crayfish salad with roasted butternut, chickpea, ginger and water chestnut.  Certainly luxurious!  Luke confesses to loving Springbok and says that in his opinion it is the best venison you can use.  The passion the man has for food comes out in the glint he has in his eye when he discusses how beautiful he considers a piece of Springbok meat to be.  No surprises then that the mains consisted of Springbok loin with celeriac puree, potato fondant and truffle jus.  We asked him what wine he’d pair with the Springbok, and he said he’d go for a South African big gun like a Waterford The Jem to compliment the richness of the truffle.  To end things off, a dessert of lemon and choc tartlet with raspberry sorbet, berry salad and apple foam left us wishing we were invited to the reception.

Asking Luke what he thinks of the availability of fresh produce, he tells us in no uncertain terms that things have improved a great deal.  He does lament the lack of certain Asian produce, but quite obviously it doesn’t hold him back as his Test Kitchen dishes has a distinct Asian fusion influence.

We couldn’t hang around for the event – I don’t like intruding into somebody’s special day – but on the way out we asked Luke where he would eat if he had to eat out at the same place every day of the week.  He didn’t hesitate too long before he said 95 on Keerom, because of the Italian menu and quality (of course).  High praise indeed coming from the man.

Finding bliss, class, gourmet food, beautiful scenery and opulence in Wellington has become easy.  Stay at Grand Dédale on Doolhof Wine Estate, and you will have it all.  Now for us to find the time to actually go and stay there.   We simply cannot wait.

www.granddedale.com
021 873 4089

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