Making the world a better place, one chef at a time

Our first newsletter of the year opened with reflections on the recent saddening revelations of harassment in the restaurant industry. While such inappropriate behaviours don’t disappear overnight, it’s heartening to be in a more hopeful news cycle that reminds us that all is not lost: in South Africa, the swearing in of our new President has certainly injected a new optimism about the future, while our culinary progressiveness was recently recognised when Liam Tomlin (who heads up the Chefs Warehouse family and Thali in Cape Town, and was named Eat Out S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna Chef of the Year for 2017) joined a stage of gastronomic luminaries (including chef Jan van der Westhuizen of Restaurant Jan in Nice, France) at this year’s CARE’s, the “ethical chef” event held annually in Italy. Generally motivated by addressing issues of ‘sustainability, territory development, environmental protection and, above all, ethics’, the focus of this year’s gathering was combatting the growing problem of food waste, which Tomlin and his teams are strongly committed to:

When questioned about his venues in South Africa’s sustainability practices, Liam said: “The way that our menus are set up, we have absolutely no food wastage in any of our kitchens. For me the biggest problem worldwide is food wastage not only in the restaurant industry but especially in the retail sector. We are also very fortunate at two of our restaurants that we have large vegetable gardens, so we are producing as much as possible our own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Our menus are all seasonal, using local growers and suppliers as much as possible. Our biggest concern at the moment is our water shortage in the Western Cape. Obviously in all our restaurants we have implemented water saving initiatives.”

Chef Tomlin and the dish of vitello tonnato he prepared for CARE's lunch at Rifugio Las Vegas

Further afield, Spanish-American chef José Andrés was recently named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation for his disaster-relief efforts after the earthquake in Haiti, Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (where his NPO World Central Kitchen has provided more than 3 million meals to date), and the massive fires in Southern California late last year.

Tomlin and Andrés are of course not the only chefs to dedicate time and attention to alleviating some of the obstacles the planet and the people on it throw at us (and each other), but they are excellent reminders that there are more constructive responses to those problems than throwing up our hands in despair.

Latest from our site

Winelands restaurants in spectacular settings with (literally!) strong heritage roots, like Camphors at Vergelegen, named after the giant camphor trees that were planted on the estate in 1700, provide either the "most fantastic foundation for a restaurant, or a list of nerve-wracking expectations". Fortunately the former was confirmed to Jean-Pierre on a recent visit, his review of which could be summarised as "a simple exhortation for you to visit, or revisit, soonest".

One of the dishes he sampled was so intriguing that we followed up by featuring it for our latest Story of a Plate, where chef Michael Cooke explains the science and creativity behind a "risotto" made of sunflower seeds rather than rice, and which succeeds in celebrating the sunflower plant in its entirety. (You may be surprised to learn, as we were, that the sunchoke, or Jerusalem artichoke, is in fact the bulb of a sunflower!)

Green sunflower, sunchoke, butternut, quince. (Image courtesy of Michael Cooke)

Don't forget that there's a small treasure trove of delightful writing by guest columnists Darrel Bristow-Bovey and Pete Goffe-Wood on our site (watch out for chef Goffe-Wood's next piece next Friday!), and to follow Rossouw's on Facebook to keep up with the latest on the local dining scene.

Bits and Bites

Local spots to put in your dining calendar: Another chef doing his bit to combat the drought in the Western Cape is Luke Dale-Roberts, whose award-winning The Test Kitchen will be installing a "Drought Kitchen" during the months of April and May, featuring a six-course menu prepared with minimal water and served on specially designed "crockery" that also minimises dishwashing requirements. Meanwhile, Jo'burg wine-lovers should check out the recently opened Le Wine Chambre in Illovo, which offers a selection of fine wines from around the country and "a few other corners of the wine-making world" (open every day except Mondays from 11.30am till late).

Odourless fried chicken: Because everyone apparently knows that "Bringing smelly chicken on the bus is just not a socially acceptable thing to do", KFC in Japan have come up with a novel way of cooking the chicken that "locks in flavour and aroma" so you can eat it on the bus or train "without pissing anyone off". Not concerned with odours, on the other hand, if you order KFC's smoky grilled wings from selected locations in India, they'll be delivered in a box which you can turn into a drone. They call it a Kentucky Flying Object (obviously).

Inside the members-only eating clubs of San Sebastián: This city in the Basque region of Spain is historically known as one of the cities with the highest number of Michelin stars per square metre in the world, but the most exclusive dining in San Sebastián is no doubt in one of the "sociedades gastronómicas, members-only social clubs whose existence revolves entirely around food. In a town where cooking and eating seem to be the raisons d’être for just about everything, from the three-star restaurants to the napkins-on-the-floor pintxo joints, these culinary clubs, which have been around for about 150 years, still harbor some of the most interesting kitchens of all". Enjoy t his fascinating look into those kitchens and dining rooms (because you're sadly unlikely to be granted access to one in person).

Please share this newsletter with your food-loving friends, and feel free to email us with any queries, suggestions, or eating recommendations!

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