CLASSIC cuisine, despite persuasive rumour, is not dead: it has merely morphed. Take cocooning Rust en Vrede restaurant, bastion of culinary discipline, flavour and class. Where else, these days, are you given a hot towel to refresh yourself after your journey?
From your personal welcome to your parting gift, customer care is a priority at this womb-like, red-walled restaurant in the original wine cellar.
If this sounds old-fashioned, stand corrected. It’s service down to a fine art, infused by youthful enthusiasm.
Nothing fuddy-duddy; instead, a deliciously soothing dining experience. No wonder the venue (despite upper-bracket prices) has twice-a-month regulars. And though I regard offering only Champagne and banning SA bubbles as an affectation, it’s a most enjoyable luxury.
Props are crisp white damask, crockery from local potter David Walters and handcrafted Riedel stemware. Centre stage is the streamlined, open-plan kitchen, with executive chef John Shuttleworth as star of the cast and the audience joining the action.
And what a performance. John has the enviable talent of combining spontaneity with discipline. Perhaps changing the menu regularly helps to preserve its fresh appeal. Contributing factors are prime suppliers, well-judged portions, and no excesses. Ingredients are perfectly balanced, enhancing without confusing in a perfect example of contemporary haute cuisine.
Born in the English countryside near Nottingham, John owes his career path to his grandmother. Her dough, pastry fillings and cakes set him on a culinary career from the age of nine – and he’s not wavered since. He met his South African wife, Andrea (now Rust en Vrede restaurant manager), while working in Michelin-starred restaurants in Britain, and as a result, came to South Africa.
It was at Singita that he encountered David Higgs, then head chef at Rust en Vrede, who asked him to join the staff as sous chef. When David left, John was the natural successor.
He’s careful about adopting trends such as sous vide, gel or foam, incorporating them only if in harmony with the dish and adding to customer enjoyment. Similarly, he supports experimentation “only if it is in line with the standards required of the Rust en Vrede brand”.
These statements underpin his two menus: a four-course (with choices) and six-course set menu. In both cases the perfect plating delivers more than the bald menu suggests.
We opted for the four-course, so that we could share and compare different dishes. If it is available, don’t miss the salmon mi cuit, a tastebud-tantalising meld of beetroot, white bean purée, coriander custard and Oscietra caviar; and whole roasted Carmay quail with pearl barley, quail egg, button mushrooms and quail cappuccino.
Particularly interesting is the typically South African use of fruit with meat or fish given fine dining treatment. Terrine of ham hock takes curried peaches; monkfish is roasted in masala, and offered with salsa, crèmefraîche and samosa wafer; chocolate mille-feuille mixes passion fruit with smoked dehydrated mousse and salted caramel.
In choosing wine, do take the advice of assistant sommelier Barry Scholfield: “Let the chef’s work shine through. I believe not just in wine pairing, but in food and wine companionship.”
l Set menu prices R550 (four course) and R680 (6 course) average main meal.