A TASTE FOR ADVENTURE: Salon, Cape Town, and The Pot Luck Club, Johannesburg
There’s something chef and restaurateur Luke Dale Roberts has in spades — ingenuity. I guess that comes with the territory if you want to make it as a master chef.
Territory is the drawcard at his opulent fine-dining restaurant Salon. The idea is to take a foodie expedition around the world, each dish on the menu representing a stop on Dale Roberts’ culinary journey throughout his career.
The new menu has something to delight all taste buds, from padkos to start the journey to Dale Roberts’ homage to the English countryside in the form of a cheese-and-pickle sandwich. There’s also a special tuna Caesar salad from Mexico, dumplings from Japan, duck Suzette from France, beef Kalbi from Korea, and much more.
Walking through the golden tunnel at the restaurant’s entrance and being seated at a cosy table with my date set the scene for a gastronomic trip around the world.
Back in Joburg, I wanted to try another of Dale Roberts’ eating novelties at his Rosebank Pot Luck Club Restaurant — the prix fixe menu, a multi-course meal available for a fixed price. It’s the perfect way to taste a wide range of excellent dishes.
CHEF LUKE DALE ROBERTS
My inspiration for choosing a career as a chef came after enjoying making sandwiches in the local pub. My uncle recommended I become a chef, and I jumped at the chance.
My newest restaurants, Salon in Cape Town and The Pot Luck Club in Johannesburg, opened last year. I was approached by the landlord of the Joburg venue where we’d already opened The Shortmarket Club. We initially opened as The Test Kitchen Carbon, but it was too much of a “special occasion” concept. For Joburg, we needed a local eatery. At Salon, I wanted to take people on a culinary journey around the world.
My definition of a fine-dining restaurant is elegance, luxury, attention to detail, and delicious food.
South African diners definitely get the concept of fine dining and are happy to pay extra for the experience We’re surrounded by fine wine and good ingredients.
My favourite dish at the moment is the newest one — a spring stew of barley and artichokes with smoked pig’s head.
We’re constantly changing the menus in our restaurants. The seasons symbolise dramatic shifts in the menus.
My favourite fine-dining restaurant is Frantzén in Stockholm — a hybrid of Nordic cuisine that marries classic and modern techniques.
I try not to lean on other chefs, and I try not to look at social media — it messes with my head.
The secret to success is hard work, obsession, perseverance — and a bit of luck.
My favourite food after a long shift is a bowl of cereal in bed.
Salon, Woodstock, Cape Town and The Pot Luck Club, Rosebank, Johannesburg
A TASTE OF TRADITION: Roots: Humble Riches menu.
The South African culinary scene has definitely come of age when two of the country’s top chefs decide to collaborate in one kitchen to produce a unique fine-dining experience.
Award-winning chefs Wandile Mabaso of Les Créatifs Restaurant (Bryanston) and Johannes Richter of The LivingRoom (Summerhill Guest Estate in Pinetown) came together recently at Les Créatifs to offer the Roots: Humble Riches menu.
Both were born in KwaZulu-Natal. Mabaso grew up in Soweto and worked in the US and Europe, honing his skills in Michelin-star restaurants. Richter hails from KwaZulu-Natal, left to work in Michelin-star eateries in Europe, and returned to the family estate in Pinetown to open a restaurant.
The two chefs got together because of their shared passion for highlighting traditional South African foods and flavours.
Their seven-course menu reads like a glossary of indigenous ingredients — from a purple sweet potato soup starter with msobo (a small indigenous berry) and chilli flavouring to a second course of guava rolls with a savoury filling and bitter greens.
The third course, a Mabaso special, was a labour of love — layers of tuna, sweetcorn, squid, mussel and sorghum. Richter chose chicken for his main, a flattened chicken breast with crispy skin marinated in masala spices and yoghurt, and served with carrot-pickle sambal.
For dessert, guests received a platter consisting of an edible Lion matchbox, a white-chocolate-coated “candlestick”, and an edible front page of the Sowetan newspaper.
CHEF WANDILE MABASO
I started cooking before I knew it could be a career. At 17, I was cooking professionally while completing a hotel degree. I trained in Europe and received a culinary degree at the age of 24. I spent five years in New York City training in classic French cuisine. French chef Alain Ducasse asked me to work for him in Paris at Le Meurice and Plaza Athénée.
I came back to South Africa five years ago to establish Les Créatifs.
Fine dining means quality products, knowledge and attention to detail regarding flavour and service, as well as using refined, sophisticated techniques.
Our restaurant is a hub of creativity, a learning institute for me and my team. We push the boundaries in food creativity. We’re creating a new cuisine Afrique modern.
We’ve created more than 500 dishes in the last five years. Our “Krugersdorp tongue and cheek” is a standout dish — a modern take on braised beef tongue and beef cheeks.
To keep my team excited I change the menu every month, depending on inspiration, seasonality and availability of ingredients.
I’d love to dine at Central in Lima, Peru. It was named the World’s Best Restaurant in 2023.
The secret of my success is passion, belief in my capabilities and achievements, sacrifice, vision, consistency and planning.
My heritage meal is samp and beans with a Karoo lamb potjie.
Awards add value to the industry and establishments, but I don’t focus on them. We work to sustain our business, nurture young chefs, create great food, and leave a legacy.
An accolade that meant a lot was the two Michelin stars we won in Paris in 2016 for Le Meurice Alain Ducasse. Locally, I was honoured to be named Chef of the Year at the 2022 Luxe Awards.
CHEF JOHANNES RICHTER
I’ve always been fascinated with produce and where ingredients come from. I grew up with parents who travelled for work, so I have seen a lot of Africa. We visited local food markets and tried new flavours and ingredients.
I originally studied commerce and law, but loved cooking. My mother connected me with a family friend, and this led to an apprenticeship at an overseas restaurant.
I trained at a restaurant that had a Michelin-star dining room on one side and an eatery with a regional, seasonally inspired menu on the other.
I did stints in different kitchens before heading to Berlin, where I started at Rutz — a restaurant with three Michelin stars, where I worked for two years and met my wife. We worked at the acclaimed Bandol sur mer in Berlin for a year before coming home to start The LivingRoom in 2017. We wanted to give Durban a stronger identity in fine dining.
The term “fine dining” is often used loosely. For me, it’s cooking from scratch with fresh produce, which requires knowledge, skill and the finest ingredients, properly sourced.
At The LivingRoom, we source the majority of our ingredients from within a 100km radius, incorporating many indigenous ingredients.
South African diners understand the concept of fine dining, which incorporates different styles. Our style is Nordic and clean, but rooted in KwaZulu-Natal’s produce, culture and heritage.
A standout dish on our current menu is a plant-based vegan dish of green strawberries sourced from a farm in Estcourt, heirloom peppers, and local macadamia nuts.
Aside from being the chef and owner of The LivingRoom, we run a 15-room guest house. We work 80 to 90 hours a week. None of it would be possible without our team.
A few restaurants stand out like Frantzén in Stockholm, Sweden; Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark; L’Enclume in the UK; and SingleThread in the US.
To be a successful chef, you have to have an affinity for what you do, and you must hone and master your skills. The most important thing is hard work.
Awards aren’t our main focus. We’ve won the country’s top award, but we’ve also faced setbacks. We aim to showcase South African produce and address issues such as fair staff pay.
The accolade we’re most proud of is witnessing individuals on the team who started with no skills discover their passion for hospitality — in the kitchen or on the floor.
Les Créatifs, Hobart Grove Centre, Bryanston
The LivingRoom, Summerhill Estate, Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal
A TASTE OF SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: La Colombe
La Colombe restaurant offers a feast for the senses. It’s no wonder it was recently placed 49th on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (the only South African restaurant in the top 50) and was named Best Restaurant in Africa. La Colombe is the flagship restaurant of Scot Kirton’s La Colombe Group, with the genius of chef James Gaag and his team at the helm.
The French-inspired culinary journey kicks off with the restaurant’s signature The Dove’s Nest, a flavourful egg-shaped dish topped with tasty morsels. Next is Tuna La Colombe, which arrives in a can on a plate — a playful experience. Then there’s the more serious Karoo Wagyu beef course. Thereafter, there is cheese is served with a local honey, while the finale — a sweet ending of rose, rhubarb and pistachio — is fine dining at its best.
CHEF JAMES GAAG
I chose a career as a chef because my mom was a cookery teacher. I grew up in the kitchen and enjoyed cooking, but it wasn’t my first choice after school. I thought I’d do engineering, but found I could engage in complex problem-solving with cooking.
I studied at Silwood School of Cookery in Cape Town. I graduated as their top student and entered the kitchen of La Colombe in 2010. We moved to Silvermist Estate in 2014.
Chef Franck Dangereux started La Colombe, before handing the baton to Luke Dale Roberts and Scot Kirton.
Fine dining has changed over the years. Now it’s about how you make guests feel and creating lasting memories.
I oppose the notion that fine dining is dead. There’ll always be a desire for this style of dining.
The dish on our menu that makes diners gasp is ... all of them. But the Namibian crab tart with game fish and Nahm Jim is one of my favourites.
A popular dish is the Tuna Can, on the menu for the last 10 years.
Away from the restaurant I enjoy fishing, spending time on boats, diving and woodwork.
Our team is everything — they must believe in the dream, and it needs to become their dream too. I’m proud to work with them all.
For fine dining, I would have liked to have eaten at El Bulli, in the town of Roses in Spain, run by chef Ferran before it closed in 2011.
The three accolades this past year that have meant the world to me are being named the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant of the Year, being placed number 49 in the world in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and named the Best Restaurant in Africa, and being invited to cook at Red Bull Hangar-7 in Salzburg.
La Colombe, Silvermist Wine Estate, Cape Town
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