FIVE MINUTES WITH PETE GOFFE-WOOD OF KITCHEN COWBOYS

You’ve seen him judging hopeful cooks on MasterChef SA. If you’re lucky, you’ve fallen face first into his tender steak rolls from the Kitchen Cowboys stand at markets around Cape Town. And maybe you’ve even taken his Kitchen Cowboys cooking courses.

Pete Goffe-Wood is certainly no stranger to our culinary radar.

We caught up with the man himself at Hout Bay’s Bay Harbour Market, where you can catch the Kitchen Cowboys in action on Friday evenings and Saturdays from 9 am – 4 pm.

Yours is a well-known name in the restaurant industry. What made you branch into markets?
Our first market stall was at The Old Biscuit Mill in 2006. It was an obvious extension of the food experience in Cape Town that had potential for huge growth.

What makes Bay Harbour Market in particular so special to you?
There is a great neighbourhood vibe about the place; the organisers have always been very supportive of the local Hangberg community, from hiring to supporting burgeoning businesses. They are also great supporters of the local music scene, of which I am a huge fan.

Can you tell us the secret to those amazing steak sarmies?
I can, but then I’d have to kill you…

Just kidding. There’s no great secret, we just concentrate on the quality of the ingredients: properly aged meat, beautiful freshly baked bread, home-made relish and ripe and crisp salad items. Simplicity, authenticity and integrity are the watchwords that govern everything we do at Kitchen Cowboys.

Are the challenges of catering to a market crowd very different to those of working in a restaurant?
The thinking is the same. We are meticulous in our planning, taking into consideration things like the weather, sporting events, performance on previous years’ weekends… Like the restaurant game, we are only as good as our last sandwich.

What can someone expect from a Kitchen Cowboys workshop?
Kitchen Cowboys will enable men to tap into the culinary subconscious; we equip them with the skills and know-how to make the kitchen their new hunting ground.

It will equip guys for intimate dinners, brunches with family and friends, braaiing that will make men quiver and women swoon, baking prowess that will leave swollen bellies in its wake, Asian secrets that will stun and mystify, desserts that will melt the sternest resolve and an appreciation for all things vinous that would make Bacchus a proud and mighty god.

If I were a guy who’d never made more than a toasted cheese sandwich before, would I find the course too advanced?
The course is for interested amateurs – if they are keen to learn, then their enthusiasm is all they will need.

Follow Pete on Twitter at @PeteGW.

Photography Juliette Bisset/HSMimages.co.za