Woolworths_Taste_July_2017

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1.
THE TEST KITCHEN
FOR CONSISTENT INNOVATION AND REINVENTION
“My mantra is ‘taste, taste, taste,’ ” says chef-proprietor Luke Dale-Roberts, and it’s this mantra that underpins his bold experimentation
with layers of flavour, first at La Colombe, where he joined the team in 2006, then at the now legendary The Test Kitchen, which
Luke opened in November 2010 in Woodstock. Here he had free rein to innovate – the sum of his prior experience in London
and Switzerland, as well as a five-year stint in Asia – in a way that captured the imaginations and taste buds of local diners and
international luminaries alike (Heston Blumenthal described Luke as having the ability to “put seemingly incongruent ingredients
together in such a way that they work amazingly well – something close to my heart”). The Test Kitchen has won countless South
African and continental awards, including best restaurant at the Eat Out awards five times, and moved swiftly up the World’s Best
Restaurants list, from 74 in 2012 to 22 in 2016 (unfortunately losing its spot in 2017 following a temporary closure to accommodate
a redesign). And, in an unprecedented step by a South African high-end restaurant, The Test Kitchen recently took fine-dining to
Langa in Cape Town for two pop-up charity lunches (see the story in next month’s TASTE). In a mere seven years, Luke has added The
Shortmarket Club and The Pot Luck Club (breaking news: there’s a pop-up running from July to September at Hallmark House in the
Maboneng Precinct in Joburg ) to his portfolio. And he now has a permanent home in Joburg at LDR at The Saxon.
We can’t help but ask: what in the world will Luke do next? We can’t wait to find out. thetestkitchen.co.za
Above, from left: Luke Dale-Roberts; carob mousse, roast banana butter, meringue,
rum foam, coffee and Tanariva cremeux. Left: Tandoori lamb chops at Bukhara.
2.
BUKHARA
FOR BRINGING INDIAN FINE-DINING TO SA
Cape Town’s city centre in the mid-nineties was an unlikely place to open
a restaurant – the area was practically empty of businesses, many of which had
moved to the Foreshore. But Indian-born Sabi Sabarwhal wanted to share his
passion for the food of his homeland and had identified a gap for a restaurant
serving premium north Indian cuisine. He decided to take a chance on a space
in Church Street and, in 1995, opened what would become one of the city’s
longest-standing restaurants – an institution that played its part in the CBD’s
revival. From day one, Capetonians and tourists flocked through its doors
to feast on Punjabi cuisine – his dhal makhani is legendary – from a menu that
has evolved to include dishes from other regions in India – always using authentic
ingredients and techniques. The collection also includes Haiku, which opened in
2005 to offer authentic multi-Asian cuisine (another first for Capetonians); while Del
Mar in Camps Bay serves genuine contemporary Mexican food (a departure from
the Tex-Mex style South Africans know and love). And to think it all started as a
way for Sabi – a trained particle physicist with a passion for great food – to remain
connected to his Indian roots! bukhara.com; haikurestaurant.com; delmar.restaurant