A Table in the Corner

Gozney Ovens are things of rare and wondrous beauty. I love retained-heat ovens. In fact I'm a little obsessed, having built two brick arch ovens and installed a prefabricated dome at my Karoo pizza spot. I've got notebooks full of doodles with designs of ovens base on 44-gallon drums. Although I read Kiko Denzer's seminal book 'Build Your Own Clay Oven' from cover to cover several times - I never had the space or time to actually construct one. When, one day a post about Gozney popped up in my Insta feed, I was immediately besotted. I tracked down the local agent and discovered an interesting back-story to the granting of an agency for Gozney to a South African distributor. With a background in building surf and consumer electronics brands, Dustin Botha of the LUKS Group started bringing Traeger pellet grills into the country from the US a while back. I've seen them around, but until I started researching this show, hadn't clicked how versatile and next-gen they actually are. This turned out to be a fascinating chat. It's worth going onto the gozney.co.za site to gaze in wonder at their ovens.

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• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Shaun Scrooby is a fantastic oke. I enjoyed an exceptional lunch at his restaurant, Vuur, on Remhoogte Wine Estate and saw a truly innovative and engaged chef at work. Then we sat down for a chat which could have gone on for days. He's a kind of Have-a-go-Joe in the best possible way. Curious about everything related to his craft and not at all nervous to try new things, the experience Shaun offers guests is truly immersive. It's proper open fire cooking in a communal space that is at once familiar and yet something you've never experienced in an eatery. 

Message me here with comments or guest suggestions.
Treat yourself - order direct from Zuney Wagyu
Get a fair price with HeadsUp

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Sue Baker is the eternal 'smous'. Starting out by sourcing and selling exceptional oysters to the top local restaurants back in 1992, Sue built Wild Peacock. Today it is a huge provisioner to the restaurant trade, with seafood, cheese and specialist patisserie and deli items available for local and international producers. Wild Peacock was a supplier of seafood, quail, porcini and a couple of other specialist specialist ingredients back when we opened The Table at de Meye and the service was always top-drawer. I caught up with Sue for a chat about the very cool business she ran and has handed over to her very capable kids to run.

Wild Peacock online
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Get in touch with A Table in the Corner

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

HeadsUp Systems has created a powerful resource for restaurants. Specifically aimed at owner-run operations, it can also benefit groups of restaurants. Their main product is essentially a massive AI-managed spreadsheet that assembles and compares the prices of goods and ingredients across hundreds of suppliers. This means small (and large) operators have better information available to negotiate or navigate better prices for their restaurants. I sat down with Sven - who is a great supporter of the show - to find out more about the product and the thinking behind his creation.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

At a recent media event to promote the Seven Colours Sunday lunches at Marble, Cape Town, I was seated opposite the vivacious and interesting influencer, Patricia Blacc. As a member of a team that was around for the first lunar landing, and once had to hire a projector to watch movies in the comfort of my home, watching her work was fascinating to me. Seeing the polished and very snazzy results of her work on various platforms after the lunch was, frankly, bewildering. While I'm aware of the massive role influencers now play in promoting anything from cars to cuisine, I thought it would make sense to invite Patricia onto the show. It is worth noting that Patricia Blacc is the public persona of the very smart, well-travelled and foodie Reneilwe Sibulela. It was a very enlightening conversation.

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Zuney Wagyu online

Reach out to me through the RWM website with comments and suggestions

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

I got to know Rudi Liebenberg when I worked as a photographer and spent many hours shooting in his kitchen at the Mount Nelson. His approach to cooking and mentoring the chefs on his brigade, constantly pushing them to do better and learn new things, has launched many careers in the industry. I caught up with him for a chat when he'd just come back from a couple of years abroad, running hotel kitchens in Ireland and then the Carribean. He was between hotels, on his way to lead the kitchen at the Westcliff in Johannesburg.
(Correction: During our chat, Rudi mentioned Dan Barber and I erroneously referred to him as the chef from French Laundry, but he is the celebrated chef of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and author of the seminal 'The Third Plate'.)

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• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

There's a trigger warning on this one for vegetarians or vegans. We do discuss the processing of livestock into meat products. 

I wanted to delve deeper into the family farming operations that produced the Zuney Wagyu brand, so I spoke to Devin Wells son of eastern Cape beef farmer Denys Wells. Devin runs the processing and distribution side of the operation - started with lifelong friend Henning Klopper - that processes and distributes the Wagyu beef produced on their respective fathers' farms in the Zuney Valley. While Henk and Denys do agriculture, their sons are building the Zuney  brand, most notably through the Zuney Burger spot, but also through a busy online store that delivers anywhere in the country.

Zuney Wagyu online store

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• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Chef Melinda Wiggins is the Director of Operations & Culinary Arts at Infinity Culinary Training a training facility that takes unskilled people - literally off the streets - and gives them basic kitchen skills and the chance of a job in a professional kitchen. ICT provides a path out of poverty for people who might otherwise have no hope of ever finding employment. It's a short course that covers basic cooking skills and essential life skills and then places students as interns in their first kitchen job - the rest is up to them. 

I've been banging on forever about the need to train young job-seekers in the skills they need to staff restaurant kitchens here and abroad. The fees for professional cooking courses are prohibitive for people from working class or impoverished backgrounds, and yet this is a trade that can change their lives. When I heard about ICT, I was immediately curious and approached Melinda to request an interview.  Woolworths South Africa is their exclusive and dedicated food sponsor, and they have a slew of donors including the actor, Denzel Washington. This was a really uplifting conversation with someone who's doing something exceptional for people and for the food industry. 

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Zuney Burger - The Smash Burger of Exceptional Taste

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

I first met Dion Vengatass in Chef Rudi Liebenberg's kitchen at the Mount Nelson Hotel. He barely looked up from his prep, just kept chopping and sorting at pace. He was the solid, do-it-all chef running all the sections that needed to operate smoothly while the complexities of the pastry section and fine dining were building a reputation for the hotel's cuisine. When Covid ripped the heart out of the hospitality industry, Chef Dion was retrenched. Never one to let anything get him down, he started Violet by Vengatass named for the grandmother who had taught him to cook. From delivering meals in lockdown, he took his broad hotel kitchen experience and a winning streak on international culinary contests, and became one of Cape Town's most sought-after private chefs. Chef Dion now works in Cape Town and abroad for top-notch clients. He's appeared on TV as a contestant on Ultimate Braaimaster, a guest chef on morning shows and a judge on a new reality cooking program. I managed to catch up with him days before he headed of for another 3 month stretch in a fabulous estate kitchen in the UK.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

This is the second time I've had Lance Littlefield on the show. Back on Episode 77 he was an absolute mine of information on the craft of baking sourdough bread. We were introduced to 'Alfonsina' his starter, and the wonders of Motherdough Bakery. Almost a year later, he and partner Willem van Schalkwyk have had their Stellenbosch store running for 6 months, and there are plans for another venue. In this episode though, with the upcoming Food Indaba in mind, I spoke to Lance about the use of AI in running the bakery. AI and the Food System is the theme of this year's Food Indaba so training a bot to make the production of a bakery more efficient and saving 25% or more on waste is a relevant conversation. Thanks so much for sharing your dabbling in these dark arts Lance.

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Order your Wagyu beef directly from the farmer at Zuney.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay