Advertise on podcast: A Table in the Corner

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Bérengère Cristini, (Beran to her friends) founder of Thirteen Ice Cream, a Cape Town ice cream maker supplying restaurants, chefs and specialist food retailers. Originally from Burgundy, Beran trained as a chef in France, working in professional kitchens in Paris and Monaco before moving into pastry and food production. He came to Cape Town in 2013 and established the business that would become 13 Ice Cream, formerly known as Sorbetier.  We discuss the decision to build a production business rather than open a restaurant, and how supplying chefs with bespoke ice cream flavours gives them options they might not have the equipment or time to produce themselves. We scoop a little into the technical side of making ice cream and sorbet, from balancing sugar and fat to managing texture and working with seasonal South African fruit. We also talk about the more unusual flavours he has developed for restaurants, including caramelised onion ice cream served with gazpacho, strawberry with basil and vanilla with Sichuan pepper.  We also look at how Thirteen Ice Cream has grown over the past 13 years, its distribution through Wild Peacock, the expanding range available directly from its Woodstock shop and Beran’s more recent move into sourdough bread. It's a conversation about the craft and science of ice cream making, the relationship between a specialist producer and restaurant kitchens, and the business of building a food company around a product rather than a restaurant. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Pamela Shippel-Granoth, the cook, teacher and restaurateur behind Fynkos at Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town. Pamela has spent almost 50 years working with food, beginning with home cooking and small-scale catering before moving into cookery teaching, recipe development, radio and food writing.  We trace her career from those early days through 12 years at Pick n Pay, where she ran cooking demonstrations and built a cookery school, to three months studying at Prue Leith's cooking school in London and a decade running a catering business in Israel.   We then get to Fynkos, the Kirstenbosch restaurant she took over more than 20 years ago and has developed into a daytime restaurant built around fresh ingredients, baking and cooking from scratch. Pamela explains why she has always focused on teaching people how to cook, why salads became such an important part of her repertoire and how many of the recipes people kept asking her for eventually found their way into the Fynkos at Kirstenbosch cookbook we have just made together.   It's also a conversation about a lifetime spent feeding people, learning through experimentation and passing that knowledge on. As we mark the publication of the book, Pamela reflects on the career that brought her to Fynkos and the food that has kept people coming back.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Justin Joubert of Southern Cross Seafood Deli, the Cape Town fishmonger and seafood supplier established by his father, Paul, in 2007. Justin joined the family business after working as a chef for eight years, bringing kitchen experience to a business that sits between fishermen, suppliers, restaurants and home cooks.  We talk about the realities of buying and selling fresh fish, from building long-term relationships with small-scale fishermen and commercial suppliers to dealing with unpredictable catches, changing seasons and fluctuating prices. Justin explains how his experience as a chef allows him to advise restaurant kitchens on alternative species and different ways of using what is actually available rather than simply supplying what is on the order.   Sustainability is another important part of the conversation. We discuss responsible fishing practices, the amount of a fish that can end up as waste and the importance of using more of the whole animal. Justin also talks about Southern Cross's relationships with restaurants and its growing home-delivery business, which is bringing restaurant-quality seafood directly to Cape Town cooks.   Finally, Justin explains how he has helped give a long-established family business a more contemporary public face through Southern Cross's website and social media, and what he would like to do next, including the possibility of a seafood deli with a small seafood tapas offering.   www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to chef Carla Burger about Bloem, the restaurant she co-owns with Bertus Basson at Paul Clüver Family Wines in Elgin. We talk about Carla’s journey through the Basson kitchens, from Overture and Eike to Spek & Bone and Chorus, and the move from pastry chef to running her own restaurant. Carla explains why Bloem was conceived as a more relaxed, family-friendly restaurant suited to the Elgin landscape, rather than another destination fine-dining restaurant. We also talk about the produce coming from the farm, the addition of the Pizza Garden and the realities of running a restaurant in a seasonal destination. Carla discusses finding her own voice within the Basson group, learning the business side of hospitality and the ambition to help establish Elgin as a food destination in its own right.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Mike Fuller, co-owner and operator of Spek & Bone in Stellenbosch, as the restaurant approaches its tenth anniversary. We talk about Mike’s journey through the Bertus Basson kitchens and how that experience shaped the way he approaches food, wine and the business of running a restaurant. He explains how Spek & Bone has evolved from its original wine-bar idea into a food-focused neighbourhood restaurant, and why the menu is deliberately relaxed while still drawing on serious culinary skills. We also talk about wine by the glass, building relationships with regular customers and the realities of running a small restaurant in a highly seasonal market. Mike shares his thinking on the move away from formal fine dining, the importance of looking after local customers and the growing community of restaurants in Stellenbosch that is working together to build the town as a food destination. And we return to where the conversation began: attention. Mike explains why social media matters, but why word of mouth and the experience guests have once they arrive remain the real foundations of a restaurant’s success. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to chef Anouchka Horn about Buri, the new 25-square-metre fast food banger she's opened with Neil Swart in Harrington Street. The concept is simple: take the South African boerewors roll and give it the same attention - to ingredients, sourcing and detail - that the Belly team brings to menus in their other restaurants. We talk about developing the Buri wors with Frankie Fenner, finding the right roll, making the sauces and building a menu around something that is already deeply familiar. Anouchka explains how childhood memories of Saturday morning boerewors rolls and seaside mini doughnuts have shaped the concept, while monthly specials give the team room to keep experimenting. We also talk about the challenges of running a tiny, high-volume operation serving more than 200 boerie rolls on a Saturday, and we get into the bigger question of how a restaurant can take a familiar South African food and make it feel fresh without losing what people love about it. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this bonus episode of A Table in the Corner, Jonathan Warncke and I chat to chef Ivor Jones at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, shortly before we sit down to eat his winter menu. Ivor has just returned from an intensive five-week trip, including three weeks in Thailand studying regional Thai cooking, and we talk about what he brought back with him. We get into the difference between Thai food as it is understood in the West and the cooking Ivor encountered in Thailand, as well as how travel, seasonality and new techniques feed into his constantly changing menus. Ivor also talks about ten years at Beau Constantia, why he avoids signature dishes, his focus on keeping his kitchen team creatively engaged and why winter has become an opportunity to experiment rather than simply a quieter season to get through.   (You can see the CW Beau Constantia Winter Menu episode of Table For Two on our Table Talk Youtube channel here.) www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Don Albert, the person behind The Voyager, a new boutique hotel in Piketberg. Designed and built by Don and his partner Reece, it is the latest iteration of a concept that Don first developed in Bali, built around hospitality, food and cultural exchange. We talk about why Piketberg made sense after a decade spent looking for the right place to build again, and how the Voyager idea has evolved through Don’s experiences of living, working and eating around the world. Food is central to the conversation, from the Indonesian influences that shaped Don’s cooking to the way Voyager uses food as a way of connecting with a place and its people. We also talk about what happens when a hospitality project arrives in a small town and discovers that the local community is more curious and receptive than expected. Don also has some thoughts on place-making, public spaces, tourism and the role hospitality can play in creating stronger local economies.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Giovanni Calvani of Datterino, a Roman-style cafeteria and pizzeria in Cape Town’s New Riverlands Mall. Giovanni grew up in Italy and has brought a very different style of pizza to Cape Town: pinza romana, an oval-shaped pizza made with a highly hydrated dough, long fermentation and a blend of flours. We talk about why his original pizza al taglio concept didn’t immediately find an audience, how he adapted the idea for the local market, and the thinking behind Datterino’s all-day café approach. We also get into the regional differences in Italian food, the role of ancient grains and long fermentation in his dough, and why he thinks Cape Town is ready for more than just Neapolitan pizza. This episode is part of Pizza Sessions, our video series exploring the people, places and different styles shaping Cape Town’s pizza culture, brought to you by Banhoek Chilli Oil.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Elaine Rousseau of Food Fanatics and Homestead Venue about a career in hospitality that began almost by accident and has grown into catering, events, mentoring and community food projects. Elaine traces her journey from learning the trade at the Swartland Hotel and working at Paddagang Restaurant in Tulbagh, to starting Food Fanatics in 1998. We talk about the practical realities of catering, the importance of logistics and site visits, and the role she has played in mentoring young chefs, including Clara Bubenzer of the Lebanese Bakery. We also talk about the GRAPA Garden, a community vegetable garden in Plumstead that has turned a neglected piece of city land into a productive growing space, employing two people and involving around 30 volunteers. Elaine explains why keeping produce affordable and making the garden genuinely accessible to the surrounding community matters to her. And finally, we talk about Homestead, the venue she developed as a home for Food Fanatics, and how the business has evolved from predominantly off-site catering to a combination of events, Friday pop-ups and public food occasions. It's a conversation about hospitality as work, business, teaching and community, and the people who make all of those things possible.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

What keeps a restaurant running and the dishes seamlessly appearing on tables? You seldom bump into a chef pushing a trolley around a supermarket shopping for the next service, so how do the ingredients get into their kitchens? In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Richard Kershaw, co-founder of Kerston Foods, which has quietly stocked the pantry of Cape Town's hospitality industry for more than 30 years.  Richard offers a rare perspective on the restaurant business, from sourcing ingredients and supporting small producers to navigating COVID, sustainability and the changing needs of chefs. We also explore the relationships that underpin hospitality, why service extends far beyond the dining room and what it takes to keep hundreds of kitchens stocked, one delivery at a time.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

If you think you know Cape Town's food scene, this conversation might make you think again. In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I sit down with Dennis Molewa, founder of Unexplored Cape Town, whose work takes visitors beyond the city's celebrated restaurants into the cafés, markets and neighbourhood kitchens where many of the city's brown and immigrant communities eat every day. Dennis explains how growing up in multicultural Frankfurt, working in hospitality and later settling in South Africa led him to explore the city through its food. We discuss Malay and Xhosa restaurants, Somali cafés, Ethiopian eteries, West African kitchens, the remarkable food market around the Bellville Transport Interchange and why so much of Cape Town's culinary life remains invisible to both tourists and many locals. Our conversation also looks at food tourism, heritage and the role restaurants play in preserving culture. Dennis argues that tourism can be a force for inclusion by supporting small food businesses and creating opportunities for people whose stories are rarely told. It's a thoughtful discussion about identity, migration, public space and why some of the city's most rewarding meals are found well beyond the familiar dining guides.   www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

This episode of A Table in the Corner is another in our Pizza Sessions series, supported by Banhoek Chilli Oil. So naturally, I arrived at Novo Pizza + Wine with a box of Banhoek under my arm, ready to talk pizza with owners Ammy and Arno, and to discover why so many Capetonians had told me, "You have to put Novo on your list."  Novo Pizza + Wine is a neighbourhood pizzeria in Mowbray built around the simple idea that great pizza brings people together. Ammy and Arno share the story of  creating the kind of local restaurant they wanted for their own community. We talk about the challenge of finding great pizzaiolos, learning the craft from the ground up, and how inspiration from Burrata, Massimo's and travels through Italy helped shape the pizzas they serve today.  We also explore what makes a neighbourhood restaurant thrive, from sourcing exceptional ingredients and building relationships with regular customers to creating pizzas that people return for week after week. Along the way we discuss long-fermented dough, Cape Town's evolving pizza culture, the story behind Novo's cult favourite Fellini pizza, and, of course, whether chilli oil deserves a place on every slice. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I sit down with chef Clara Bubenzer, co-owner of The Lebanese Bakery, a certified halaal bakery and deli with branches in Claremont and Cape Town's East City. Clara trained in fine dining kitchens before finding her way into Middle Eastern food through a career that took her from Cairo to Jack Black Brewing Co., before an unexpected opportunity led her to the bakery. We talk about how the business evolved from a small bakery into a deli serving shawarmas, falafel, dips and Lebanese pantry staples, and how Covid unexpectedly accelerated that transformation. Clara explains the influence of Egyptian and Lebanese cooking on the menu, the importance of sourcing the right ingredients and why products like their pita breads and shawarmas have developed such a loyal following. We also discuss kitchen culture, leadership and hospitality. Clara reflects on rejecting the aggressive brigade system she experienced early in her career in favour of building a workplace based on respect, trust and positive reinforcement. It's a conversation about food, business and creating a neighbourhood bakery people return to week after week.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, brought to you with the kind collaboration of Kirston Foods, I chat to Tim Wyatt-Gunning, co-founder of Vadivelu, the contemporary South African Indian restaurant on Cape Town's Kloof Street. With a background in banking, telecommunications and technology, Tim's move into hospitality was unexpected. Together with his brother-in-law, chef Jason Moodley, he's helping to tell a new chapter in the story of South African Indian cuisine, rooted in family recipes but unafraid to reinterpret tradition.  We explore the evolution of Durban curry, why Jason describes their food as authentically South African rather than authentically Indian, and how dishes like crayfish curry, crab curry and even a crayfish bunny chow reflect the creativity that has always been part of this country's Indian food culture. Tim also explains why the restaurant's constantly changing specials board has become one of its greatest strengths.  Our conversation ranges beyond the food to the realities of opening and growing a successful independent restaurant. Tim reflects on what he brought from the corporate world, why hospitality is built on relationships as much as recipes, and the importance of creating a restaurant people want to return to again and again. We also discuss ‘Shy Elephant’, Vadivelu's house Indian lager, the role of regular customers in building a business, and why generosity remains at the heart of great hospitality.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay