Terri Dunbar-Curran
DINING out in a restaurant these days is about so much more than crisp linen napkins, soft music and candlelight. The more real the experience, the better. More and more venues are opting for open kitchens where diners can smell the mingling aromas and watch their meals taking shape amid a flurry of white jackets and Crocs.
It adds a certain excitement to the meal to watch a team plate each meal painstakingly, and hear the sizzle as they lightly sear your steak.
There’s something electric about all five of your senses being involved. That’s what makes Luke Dale Roberts’ The Test Kitchen at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock such a superb place to enjoy a meal.
The Test Kitchen prides itself on its creative and innovative cuisine, with Dale Roberts embracing experimentation and fun. And both played a huge role in The Fantastic Eben, Adi and Luke Show, which saw Dale Roberts team up with Swartland winemakers Adi Badenhorst and Eben Sadie.
The trio held extensive tastings to find the perfect combination of ingredients to make sure the “fantastic” was warranted.
The menu was indeed an exciting culinary journey and ample proof of why the restaurant is one of Cape Town’s most sought-after. The aim was for this to be the first of a series of collaborations and there was even talk of a microbrewery or two getting on board.
Act One was the most heavenly truffled quails eggs on toast served with a Cellar Hands white blend 2010. The truffle flavour mingled beautifully with the soft warm yolk and lingered pleasantly until the second course appeared.
Accompanying the fresh oysters and watercress soba dashi was the AA Badenhorst Non-Vintage Funky White, a non-fortified sherry-style wine.
Next up was the beautifully presented yellowtail sashimi, soft yuzu dashi jelly, chickpeas, edemame, green tea and soy milk yuba, paired with the Sadie Family Palladius. A tomato and miso cream cheese mousse was nicely paired with the Sequillo Cellars Red.
Act Two included the tasty red cabbage and fig mi-cuit, rabbit ham, braised chestnuts and gently pickled quince with the Sequilla White Port 2010. While Act Three saw Mrs Kirsten’s The Old Vine Chenin paired with pan-seared veal tongue and scallops, peanut and elephant garlic puree, pancetta, bourbon and American oak veloute, ginger and pea shoots.
The AA Badenhorst Single Bottling Cinsault was a good match with a warm duck salad with butternut beurre noisette, beetroot, lentil and juniper salsa with a beetroot dressing. The sweetness of the beetroot worked wonderfully with the slightly gamey flavours of the duck.
Act Five was a conversation-starter as diners watched the liquorice and liver glaze melt over the pan-fried sweetbreads and compressed field mushrooms.
Then it was time for something a little sweeter and the carrot and mineola skin ice with coriander crème pâtissière was an instant hit, followed by roasted fig, pinenut parfait, tonka and yoghurt foam.
One of the most important things to remember when dining with Dale Roberts is that you should try to get every single flavour on your plate to combine. It’s enlightening how they mingle and interact. And then partnered with carefully chosen wine, it’s a culinary adventure.
l The Test Kitchen is open from Tuesday to Saturday for lunch from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and for dinner from 7pm to 10pm. For information, call 021 447 2337.