The oldest restaurant in the world: Sobrino de Botín in Madrid has apparently been in operation since 1725, and didn't even stop serving food during the Spanish civil war, with the owner claiming that "everything was dangerous back then", so his grandparents (who owned it then) decided they may as well keep their doors open. They've been using the same oven since the day they opened, and continue to roast about 50 suckling pigs in it, daily! Ernest Hemingway was a regular too, and used to make his own martinis when he dropped by. Sounds like an excellent example of undisrupted success.
Avant-garde by grapes: One chef who's certainly known for pushing boundaries is Ferran Adrià, the erstwhile owner/chef at the famous elBulli restaurant, also in Spain. (Some would probably call him a "disruptor", but he appears to have a much calmer demeanour than that word suggests.) Watch him here explain avant-garde cooking using a bunch of grapes (obviously).
Cooking for a high-powered critic: It's debatable how much influence professional restaurant reviews still have in an age where "everyone's a critic" thanks to Yelp and the like, but the top-end eateries in places like New York still take cooking for critics pretty seriously. One chef recounts cooking at Union Square Cafe when they were expecting a visit from Pete Wells, the New York Times critic: "Every night, we would all reserve the finest portion of every single component of a dish just in case Pete — 'Don Pedro,' as some of us in the kitchen called him — graced us with his presence. I also kept a small plastic cup of seltzer filled with equal-size calamari rings and tentacles, handpicked for Pete. Next to that were two identical scallops and four perfect triangles of red and yellow peppers. (Most nights, a critic didn’t come in, and the portions were sent out to other diners late in service.)" Lessons learned: dining late will probably get you the best plates that the critics didn't show up for.
|
|
Latest from our site
For this month's Story of a Plate feature, we chat to chef Warwick Taylor at Source in Hermanus about his smoked tomato risotto with mussels, which is served with home-baked baguette, "fired by alien wood".
Jean-Pierre reviews the Indian fare at Marigold in Franschhoek, where he finds a lively lunchtime scene, and concludes that "Marigold’s obvious competition, and perhaps peers, are Bombay Brasserie at the Taj Hotel, Indochine at Delaire Graff and the original Bukhara. All of these offer more polish and more vibrant cuisine. If Marigold is aiming to be more “casual”, then the comparison would be Thali where chef Liam Tomlin has taken his Chefs Warehouse “tapas” concept into the Indian realm. After one dining experience here, I can report that the succession of little plates are good, if not likely to stop you mid-sentence – but this job is ably handled by the extremely noisy cacophony of diners and kitchen. There’s little chance of a romantic conversation, but you do feel you are in the midst of it all – which is, I guess, as Indian as it gets."
And for his most recent instalment of Pinch of Salt, Pete Goffe-Wood brings you his own version of the Food Oscars.
Don't forget to follow Rossouw's on Facebook to keep up with the latest on the local dining scene.
|
|
But wait, there's more!
Epicurean group The Talking Table and the Old Vine Project are hosting a very bespoke food and wine weekend for only 12 lucky guests. It takes place in Riebeek Kasteel on the 17-19 November, and includes tutored tastings, tours of the Swartland region, the opportunity to buy highly coveted wines, and of course lots of good food and cheer! The fee for the weekend varies between R9 500 and R12 500 depending on your room choice. This includes accommodation, a farm visit and three meals a day of which one is a longtable meal of hearty food, tasting of rare, expensive wines and lingering conversation. To enquire and reserve your place, email Douw Steyn at info@thetalkingtable.com. (Don't forget to mention that you heard it from Rossouw's, as seats to this unique opportunity are sure to be in high demand!)
And finally, the much anticipated Platter's by Diners Club South African Wine Guide for 2018 will be released in early November. It's an excellent stocking filler, so be sure to follow them on Facebook to hear all about it. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to disrupt the course of the modern restaurant", the building it's housed in (pictured here) has been 
