Pretoria - It’s celebrations all round that finally – after five years – Pretoria’s Chantel Dartnall has again been named South African Chef of the Year at this week’s annual Eat Out Restaurant Awards.
“Both times I received this wonderful award were truly unexpected.
“There was absolutely nothing different about the feeling of pure adrenalin and excitement of hearing my name announced. In 2009 I was still the new kid on the block and Mosaic had only been open for three years,” Dartnall said.
“Five years later and I believe that both Mosaic and I are better known and established. I believe I am now a little more deserving of the title than in 2009.”
She describes her food as nuanced and nature-inspired and believes it is vital to serve visually appealing dishes that tell a story and start stimulating the diners’ senses from the moment the food arrives at the table. She produces extraordinarily elegant dishes bursting with flavour.
Says Eat Out editor and chief judge Abigail Donnelly: “Her food is so unique, so special, so sophisticated. There’s a prettiness but also a boldness. She’s classic and playful which is what makes her so different.”
Also, the fact that Chantel isn’t influenced by other local chefs because she works on her own. “She is inspired by her travels and the terror,” Donnelly argues. That’s where she takes from; what she finds around her and yet, she is also travelling to experience the wide, wide world. “It’s that combination of technique and quirkiness. She is absolutely the sauce chef of the year too – something that’s rapidly disappearing. She’s phenomenal with sauces.
”Chantel enchants by her flavour pairings which are original, unusual and carefully engineered – think rainbow trout served with lime, vanilla and chervil. Sauces, as Donnelly has pointed out, are perfectly executed: from classic bisque to a rich jus, all perfectly seasoned and textured.
“A favourite is a West Coast lobster dish with citrus beurre blanc and morels, which features a rich sauce, delicately flavoured to permeate and complement the lobster.”
Trained at the Prue Leith Culinary Academy, Dartnall has gained a huge wealth of knowledge from her extensive annual travels to some of the world’s finest restaurants. This year she visited Portugal, Madeira, Spain and France. And when she returns, there are always hints of her excursions on the table.
Dartnall explains: “As a chef it is important to know what is happening in my industry across the globe. I enjoy meeting other chefs, sometimes working with them, and experiencing their creativity. It inspires me to work harder at what I do to ensure that our quality at Mosaic is parallel to what you’d encounter in the best restaurants in the world.”
She will first be off to Italy in January as part of her prize as the 2014 Eat Out S Pellegrino Chef of the Year where she will be participating in the Chef’s Cup SüdTirol in Alta Badia, an annual event which brings together 70 renowned chefs from around the globe.
But despite her extensive travels, Dartnall takes inspiration from Mosaic’s gorgeous setting in the lush Francolin Conservancy in the Crocodile River Valley. She and her team have built longstanding relationships with farmers and suppliers in the area and also grow some of their own produce. With Chantel always inspired by the garden, her kitchen has always been a supporter of sustainable food practices. For locals who still don’t know, Restaurant Mosaic is in The Orient Boutique Hotel in the Francolin Conservation Area, Elandsfontein, Crocodile River Valley, Gauteng.
It is a place as unexpected as it is spectacular; an exotic Moorish-inspired palace that transports guests to another time. It’s as if you’ve escaped to another world when you drive through the exquisite wooden gates and once you’re on one of their balconies and catch a sunset or spectacular African moonlit evening, your heart is theirs.
The restaurant has won a string of awards this year, in addition to the Eat Out honours.
* Mosaic is one of only five restaurants in South Africa to receive five stars in the luxury category in Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide for 2015.
* It has also won the coveted overall Best Diamond Award at the annual Diners Club Winelist Awards.
* Earlier this week, a third restaurant honour came its way with the Restaurant Association SA Awards bestowing both Best Elegant Dining Restaurant, as well as Rasa 2014 Restaurant of the Year Award.
That clean sweep is well deserved. The dinners aren’t cheap but if you have something special to celebrate, get out the glad rags, use some of your savings and splash out. It’s a night to remember.
Pretoria News