An interactive kitchen session at The Chef's Studio

#HighburyHearsYou – At Cape Town Etc, we are passionate about getting local restaurants back and booming in business. As part of our #HighburyHearsYou initiative, we’re dishing out the deets on some incredible restaurants in and around town.

In celebration of the Cape Town Design Trail, I was invited to The Chef’s Studio for an interactive kitchen session on Friday, June 18, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Leigh-Ann Londt. The restaurant, which had just been revamped, was ready to welcome food enthusiasts like myself with splendour and elegance.

The decor was a sight to behold, boasting a unique and creative appearance that uplifted the entire atmosphere. While I immersed myself in the magnificent surroundings, my eye caught the glass of Graham Beck Brut that was making its way to me. I savoured the moment of each sip as I took my seat in the Culture wine bar section. The walls were painted rustic orange while the comfortable booths accommodated me perfectly.

The moment we were all waiting for arrived – the meeting with the Chef Patron and winemaker, Matt Manning, who is also the owner of The Chef’s Studio. He shared his vast knowledge of the building’s history, and I began to appreciate the rich background of my surroundings even more, especially after hearing that the building is 220 years old. He also mentioned that he had decided to open the restaurant during the hard lockdown period in 2020.

Fun fact: The restaurant is located on 103 Bree Street above Grub & Vine bistro. Bree is referred to as ‘breed’ in Afrikaans which means ‘broad’. In the past days, Bree Street was built to accommodate horses and carriages who used the road to pass through.

We then embarked on a tour of the restaurant, along with Chef Matt, who stores his wine in a wine library upstairs. This is where his winemaking passion comes to life. He then introduced us to two parts of the restaurant – the first section looked a lot like 7de Laan’s Oppiekoffie and the other allows customers to appreciate the view of Bree Street as well as Signal Hill while indulging in a delicious meal.

The grand finale of the tour was the actual Chef’s Studio upstairs, completely separate from the wine library. I was completely blown away by the Caesarstone surfaces, Siemens appliances, and Scanpan cookware.

The taste experience followed an amazing journey through this beautiful location, and various dishes were served with different wine pairings such as the Steenberg ruby rosé, Steenberg Semillon and Steenberg syrah.

The canapes took course afterwards, which included truffle arancini and herb aioli and a venison tartare with phyllo, which was absolutely delightful! Even though I might have not been a fan of venison before, my mind certainly changed after tasting this delectable dish.

The next meal consisted of beetroot cured Franschhoek trout, horseradish creme fraiche, capers and fennel – an absolute dream for anyone’s palate!

Our main course was so much fun! Chef Matt demonstrated a dish to us that we then had to recreate. The ingredients consisted of hake, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, pearl barley, mussels and bacon – complex but amazing! The experience felt like an episode from Hell’s Kitchen starring Gordon Ramsay, my favourite TV show. The pressure was intense but Chef Matt was a joy to be around and a brilliant teacher to us all.

This was the highlight of my experience and it was an honour and a privilege to be able to cook and make a dish of my own in a top-class kitchen.

And to add the perfect ending to an amazing day – dessert. A classic lemon tart, passionfruit curd and cashew nut brittle – 110% recommended! This is a journey I will never forget.

#HighburyHearsYou

Picture/s: Leigh-Ann Londt