IF HIGGS COULD FLY ...
The Saxon’s maestro just won another award. He talks to Shanthini Naidoo
Your restaurant, Five Hundred at the Saxon, just came second in the nationwide Eat Out awards. Why do you think it is the only Joburg establishment in the top 10? Joburg has more of a café culture, with many trendy little spots — it is not really a fine dining scene. But there is a hell of a lot of potential, not only for fine dining, but for eating experiences like Cape Town offers. It doesn’t have to be fancy: the Test Kitchen came in first, and it is in a warehouse setting where you can wear a T-shirt and jeans, but the food and service is phenomenal.
Five Hundred is pricey, even for a five-star hotel restaurant. A four-course menu without wine starts at R600, and six courses with wine go up to R1 550 per diner. How do you explain the month-long waiting list? We haven’t had negative comments regarding pricing because of what we offer. It is an experience, from that feeling you get driving through the gates, up until the food arrives. We didn’t want an everyday restaurant. A wine glass, for instance, costs R625. If two glasses break in a night, there goes my profit for the evening.
Who are your diners? We have a cross-section. Lots of businessmen entertaining clients, and hotel guests will eat here at least once, but it is mostly people who enjoy good food who travel from Pretoria or elsewhere. There is also the international business traveller with a refined palate who comes through Joburg. They ask all the right questions about the food. That is unique to Joburg. In Cape Town, you get more tourist travellers who don’t lean towards this kind of experience.
Do you have any competition in the city right now? I don’t want to sound arrogant, but no. We are in a spoilt environment that allows us to do the things we do. Nobody could — or would want to — do what we are doing if they are serving lunch and dinner every day and rotating staff. It would not be possible to be unique and maintain the finesse that goes into the food. We work five nights a week, dinner only, with the same staff who get to rest and perform at their peak, so we create a consistently high standard.
Right now your menu features octopus, pickled strawberry, saffron with sea grass, rabbit, white pepper ice cream, lavender and ponzu peach, truffled chicken, lemon and miso, black pudding and grilled lettuce, to name a few. How do you come up with these combinations? We balance things out by creating the menu together. We have to be careful about what we’re offering, making it interesting without getting too weird. Listening to customers’ needs is so important, not just doing what I want to — there is a kabeljou and kohlrabi dish that I love, but which has received the most criticism.
What What keeps keeps you you all all going? going? All our inspiration right now is from the garden. Previously, when working on a menu, we would start with what is available and in season, usually a protein. Now we walk through the garden and the veggies that are plentiful are a big part of what we decide to put on the menu. They become the hero of the dish and we have to think about how to present them and cook them in interesting ways. Vegetarian dishes don’t take a back seat here — we do a six-course vegetarian menu too.
What is your food ethic? To maintain the simplicity of an ingredient, never to overwork it. Tomatoes, for example, are a base ingredient that you can do so much with. We have 22 varieties of heirloom tomatoes here. The possibilities of what to do with them are endless.
You have been nomadic after leaving Rust en Vrede in the Cape, where you were named Eat Out Chef of the Year in 2010 — first the Radisson Blu in Sandton and then the Saxon. How long can we expect you to stay here? I am not thinking of moving. I have got to a place where I’m well supported and my input is valued. And I have an incredible team that we have built up. If it has been this exciting in a year, imagine the potential for the next four years. Joburg is treating me so well. People are very welcoming — they say it how it is. I’m enjoying the trendy counter culture. I spend time at 44 Stanley and the Maboneng precinct. I enjoy the quirky spots. Right now I enjoy eating out at Warm & Glad in Craighall Park. It is simple but awesome food.
What else are you up to? I am riding the Cape Epic next year to raise funds for a food charity project I’m working on. It has been a life-changing opportunity to do this, and I am training every day to make it happen. The idea behind it was that impoverished children are often given sponsored bicycles to travel to school, but they then pull muscles and break bones because they haven’t got the proper nutrition to support their cycling. A feeding scheme is part of the project but we also want to educate children about nutrition. There are all sorts of doors that have opened to give back as a chef, but this needs my direct involvement. I’m going to physically do it myself, which I haven’t been able to do before.
Five Hundred at The Saxon, 36 Saxon Road, Sandhurst, Johannesburg, (011) 292-6000, www.saxon.co.za.