ON THE EDGE
Ahead of the hotly anticipated opening of his restaurant, Edge, in Franschhoek, maverick chef Vusi Ndlovu spoke to Khanya Mzongwana about his vision and gave Abigail Donnelly a taste of things to come
Chef Vusi Ndlovu’s new restaurant, Edge, opens in Franschhoek soon. Get a taste of what to expect with these exclusive flame-cooked recipes.
says Vusi Ndlovu, co-owner and executive chef at Edge restaurant,“but somehow I didn’t realise anyone had been waiting at all.” Edge is set to open in Franschhoek soon.“It’s been crazy trying to get funding for a restaurant, of all things, in the middle of Covid, but we’re really lucky to have a support system,” he says.
There has been much media attention since the former Marabi Club head chef announced his move from Joburg to the
Cape winelands – the culmination of a vision that he and partners Absie and Mandlakazi Pantshwa had been trying to realise since March 2018. Originally slated to open this past winter, the delay has allowed time to experiment and plan.“Conceiving the menu has been fun – it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” says Vusi, who has previously worked with chefs David Higgs and
Peter Tempelhoff.
Vusi says his aim is to educate diners through the innovative use of indigenous ingredients in waste-free, flavour-forward ways.“The idea is to create an exciting new food ecosystem in the middle of Franschhoek and, to paraphrase Miles Davis,‘cook what’s not there’.”
With values of inclusivity, community and food steeped in rich history, Vusi – who was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in SA – takes a deeper venture into the African pantry. He draws on the ancestral practice of gathering around a fire to feast and exchange stories for inspiration, and about 60% of the food on the menu is prepared over flames.
The team uses oak, pine and olive wood and through experimenting and guidance from suppliers, they are learning about the properties of each type.
Vusi is working with a team of six cooks, all Franschhoek locals apart from head chef Vuyo Somyalo, who is migrating from the intense throb of Joburg life to settle into the quiet sophistication of wine country. “Vuyo and I have worked together in the past
A LOT OF PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN WAITING
FOR THIS RESTAURANT, “The idea is to create an exciting new food ecosystem and, to ‘cook what’s not there’”
at The Marabi Club, and she’s amazing, a real OG.” Vusi values his staff’s input and attributes the success of his team to balance. Allowing space to dream, imagine and create is just as important as focus and hard work, and this is his way of decolonising the kitchen and reclaiming it as an artistic centre. “I need the staff to enjoy making each component and experiencing them together, and for them to relate to the food on a personal level.”
The menu is divided into two sections: nine small plates intended for sharing, and nine larger plates. One of the small plates includes a hay-infused sweetcorn dish, which Vusi describes as having a distinctly Horlicks-y flavour. More familiar local comfort foods such as ujeqe (steamed bread), fresh-off-the-grill rostile with umhluzi (meaty broth) for dunking, roasted bone marrow and decadent braaibroodjies also feature.The drinks menu will include six classic cocktails and six signature cocktails infused with familiar ingredients such as coconut, sugar cane and pumpkin, and a superb offering of natural wines by Stellenbosch winemaker Mphumeleli Ndlangisa of Magna Carta Wines.
Vusi’s interpretation of everyday vegetable sides is to give them the Edge treatment. He serves cabbage wedges, for example, charred with smoked butter sauce, a highly flavoursome seasoning made of powdered dehydrated mussels, heightened with dressed Granny Smith apple. A mussel broth made using Black Label beer, fresh ginger and dill is another favourite dish. Seafood plays an important role on this menu and Vusi has partnered with fishmonger Hennie Bosman of Franschhoek Fish Market to source fresh, sustainable seafood.
“Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants is a big partner and supplies all our meat. They make us an extra-special breakfast sausage, a tomato sausage that we conceptualised, and which is inspired by the robust flavours found in jollof rice.”
In keeping with his practice of minimising waste, Vusi always uses the whole animal, uplifting “cheaper” cuts to lofty new heights.
Vusi also works closely with Iming Li of Meuse Farm, which produces speciality vegetables for chefs using environmentally responsible farming practices. African pantry ingredients, as well as produce such as plantains, are sourced from the African grocery store strip in Salt River, while the traditional spice blend used in the beef suya is flown in from Nigeria.
VUSI DECLARES THAT HE HAS “CALMED DOWN A LOT”
since being ranked in the top 7 in the world at the San Pellegrino Young Chef finale in 2018.“My arrogance is no longer enough to sustain me. I need to actually believe I belong here.” It has been this journey of discovery, and repudiating old egotistical ideals, that has helped him “create room for change and inspiration without anything unnecessary being added to the food for effect”.
“People talk a lot of trash about chefs who cook competitively, but I don’t really care about that. I learned a lot about the importance of simplicity and technique while competing at an international level. It’s about so much more than just presenting a plate. It’s really about having the courage to show up as your best self.”
Vusi handles food with confidence and reverence, as if he knows he’s lucky to be here. But his illustrious food journey has had little to do with luck and a lot to do with the thousands of hours he has thrown into researching different food cultures through endless reading, travelling and hard-core experimentation.Well-loved local ingredients make daring appearances. He’s experimenting with local snack masonja (mopani worms), fermenting them to make a garum, or fermented fish condiment. He’s also working with locust “beans” (dawa-dawa) – a traditional flavour enhancer that is powerful used in small quantities. And his exploration of the limitless possibilities of butternut has resulted in a butternut vinegar.
Edge will be open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and will comfortably seat 60. Vusi and his team also plan on hosting monthly industry evenings where chefs, butchers and food producers will be invited to cook and exchange ideas – like a social club to bring the food community together.The team also has plans to host live jazz in their garden on the last Sunday of each month.
“The thing I’d like people to walk away with after dining at Edge is [the realisation] that you don’t have to go too far from home to find something spectacular.There’s an exciting food culture right here.We shouldn’t need to wait for someone from somewhere else to tell us how great our food is.”
“My arrogance is no longer enough to sustain me. I need to actually believe I belong here”