A Table in the Corner

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Mike Fuller, co-owner and operator of Spek & Bone in Stellenbosch, as the restaurant approaches its tenth anniversary.
We talk about Mike’s journey through the Bertus Basson kitchens and how that experience shaped the way he approaches food, wine and the business of running a restaurant. He explains how Spek & Bone has evolved from its original wine-bar idea into a food-focused neighbourhood restaurant, and why the menu is deliberately relaxed while still drawing on serious culinary skills.
We also talk about wine by the glass, building relationships with regular customers and the realities of running a small restaurant in a highly seasonal market. Mike shares his thinking on the move away from formal fine dining, the importance of looking after local customers and the growing community of restaurants in Stellenbosch that is working together to build the town as a food destination.
And we return to where the conversation began: attention. Mike explains why social media matters, but why word of mouth and the experience guests have once they arrive remain the real foundations of a restaurant’s success.

www.rwm2012.com
On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to chef Anouchka Horn about Buri, the new 25-square-metre fast food banger she's opened with Neil Swart in Harrington Street. The concept is simple: take the South African boerewors roll and give it the same attention - to ingredients, sourcing and detail - that the Belly team brings to menus in their other restaurants.
We talk about developing the Buri wors with Frankie Fenner, finding the right roll, making the sauces and building a menu around something that is already deeply familiar. Anouchka explains how childhood memories of Saturday morning boerewors rolls and seaside mini doughnuts have shaped the concept, while monthly specials give the team room to keep experimenting.
We also talk about the challenges of running a tiny, high-volume operation serving more than 200 boerie rolls on a Saturday, and we get into the bigger question of how a restaurant can take a familiar South African food and make it feel fresh without losing what people love about it.

www.rwm2012.com
On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this bonus episode of A Table in the Corner, Jonathan Warncke and I chat to chef Ivor Jones at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, shortly before we sit down to eat his winter menu. Ivor has just returned from an intensive five-week trip, including three weeks in Thailand studying regional Thai cooking, and we talk about what he brought back with him.
We get into the difference between Thai food as it is understood in the West and the cooking Ivor encountered in Thailand, as well as how travel, seasonality and new techniques feed into his constantly changing menus.
Ivor also talks about ten years at Beau Constantia, why he avoids signature dishes, his focus on keeping his kitchen team creatively engaged and why winter has become an opportunity to experiment rather than simply a quieter season to get through.
 
(You can see the CW Beau Constantia Winter Menu episode of Table For Two on our Table Talk Youtube channel here.)

www.rwm2012.com
On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Don Albert, the person behind The Voyager, a new boutique hotel in Piketberg. Designed and built by Don and his partner Reece, it is the latest iteration of a concept that Don first developed in Bali, built around hospitality, food and cultural exchange.
We talk about why Piketberg made sense after a decade spent looking for the right place to build again, and how the Voyager idea has evolved through Don’s experiences of living, working and eating around the world.
Food is central to the conversation, from the Indonesian influences that shaped Don’s cooking to the way Voyager uses food as a way of connecting with a place and its people. We also talk about what happens when a hospitality project arrives in a small town and discovers that the local community is more curious and receptive than expected.
Don also has some thoughts on place-making, public spaces, tourism and the role hospitality can play in creating stronger local economies. 

www.rwm2012.com
On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Giovanni Calvani of Datterino, a Roman-style cafeteria and pizzeria in Cape Town’s New Riverlands Mall.
Giovanni grew up in Italy and has brought a very different style of pizza to Cape Town: pinza romana, an oval-shaped pizza made with a highly hydrated dough, long fermentation and a blend of flours. We talk about why his original pizza al taglio concept didn’t immediately find an audience, how he adapted the idea for the local market, and the thinking behind Datterino’s all-day café approach.
We also get into the regional differences in Italian food, the role of ancient grains and long fermentation in his dough, and why he thinks Cape Town is ready for more than just Neapolitan pizza.
This episode is part of Pizza Sessions, our video series exploring the people, places and different styles shaping Cape Town’s pizza culture, brought to you by Banhoek Chilli Oil. 

www.rwm2012.com
On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay