I have been a superfan of Chef Kerry Kilpin from the very first meal I devoured at Bistro 1682. Her food is warm, huge on flavour and always has that one taste or texture that keeps you guessing, because chef loves playing with ingredients.
Kilpin is always smiling, and her personable character spills into the atmosphere of the restaurants she heads up at the restaurants at Steenberg Farm, in the Southern Suburbs.
During this uncertain lockdown period, Kilpin has unselfishly parted with her food knowledge by recreating dishes on her Instagram feed, and even put together a quiz about lesser-known ingredients. She has kept her audience thoroughly entertained, and now she heads back to the space that brings her the most joy – the restaurant kitchen – albeit under new restrictions.
Steenberg@Home is the new concept headed by Kilpin under level 4 restrictions. The menu is a limited offering available for delivery only.
There are two options diners can choose from:
1. Heat, Plate and Serve: The dishes are fully cooked for you, just heat and eat.
2. Semi Prepared Dinner: The ingredients are measured out and sent to you along with the recipe. You simply put them together with the step-by-step process and voila!
I highly recommend the risotto of the day, which is semi-prepared. It was a dream to put together the sweetcorn and cauliflower risotto, and also made me realise I have been using low quality paprika, which I need to change asap. The instructions were really easy to follow. If you are not a cook and want to wow your partner, this is definitely a great option.
The meal was proudly presented to my family as my very own, I did put it together in one pot after all – wink, wink.
I have missed the taste of Kilpin’s dishes. It doesn’t compare to lunch at Tryn’s overlooking the rows of lush green vineyards, with wine available at the raise of your empty glass. It does, however, give you a moment to dream that hopefully soon, we will be able to go back to dining at fabulous restaurants with views of incomparable mountains and lots of blue sky.
The beef tataki was every bit as dreamy as I remember. The Asian-inspired dish offers lashings of seared beef with speckles of yellow corn, freshly dressed with shimeji mushrooms, rocket, chill and mayo. The meat is buttery and the only way to devour it is slowly, making sure you swoop up all components onto your fork. It tastes decadent, as it should.
The mushroom, truffle and emmental tagliatelle is another win to choose from. I was a little concerned that the sauce might dry out after reheating, I stand corrected. The meal was every bit as lush and delicious as though it was prepared minutes before. There is nothing better than homemade pasta, it is has a creaminess to it that can’t be replicated. Add mushrooms, truffle oil, broccoli, sweet cherry tomatoes and drench it in emmental, and you have a creative, minimalist pasta.
Choose your dessert wisely, in other words it has to be the chocolate brownies which are light, packed with coco-love and perfectly conclude a very fulfilling meal.
I have no doubt that the other dishes on the menu are as magnificent as the ones I ordered. Kilpin cooks with her heart, it shows in the masterpieces she creates. As an avid foodie, you learn to appreciate a chef who can bounce pots in the kitchen of a five-star restaurant and then rises to the occasion with take out that tastes equally as good.
Yes, we eat with our eyes and presentation is important, but so is the love put into that meal to make a cohesive, incredible dish that tastes great even from take out containers.
How to order:
Visit https://bit.ly/SteenbergAtHomeInfo. For queries, email [email protected] or call 021-713 7178 Mondays to Fridays between 8am – 5pm.
Note:
Orders along with your payment are required 24 hours prior to the expected date of delivery. Deliveries are available between 2pm and 6pm on weekdays in the following areas: Lakeside, Tokai, Kirstenhof, Meadowridge, Diep River, Bergvliet and Constantia at a nominal fee of R40.00 with complimentary delivery for orders over R350. The delivery fee further afield to Noordhoek, Bishopscourt, Claremont and Kenilworth is R60. They have also included Hout Bay to their route and will be delivering to this area every Wednesday.
Pictures: Nidha Narrandes and Steenberg Wine Farm