INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT AWARD PUTS THE SOUTHERN KALAHARI ON THE CULINARY MAP – RESTAURANT KLEIN JAN HONOURED AT LA LISTE AWARDS 2022 AS ‘INTERNATIONAL HIDDEN GEM’
Cape Town, 3 December 2021; Tswalu Kalahari is proud to announce that Restaurant Klein JAN was honoured at the prestigious La Liste 2022 gala evening in Paris on 29 November 2021. With South Africa’s first Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen at the helm, the restaurant was awarded as the ‘International Hidden Gem.’
Described as a ‘restaurant worth going an extra mile for’, Klein JAN is situated in the middle of South Africa’s largest privately owned reserve dedicated to conservation and research. Klein Jan was launched in April 2021 and is an exciting collaborative project between chef Jan Hendrik and Tswalu Kalahari.
Creating Restaurant Klein JAN at Tswalu has been the South African-born Jan Hendrik’s great homecoming project. Growing up on a farm, he felt an instant connection to the vastness of the Kalahari and knew that the time had come to return the spirit of JAN – his Michelin-star restaurant in Nice, France – to home soil. The Kalahari felt like a blank canvas with unlimited possibilities, he said.
Every taste at Tswalu Kalahari is a reminder of South Africa’s culinary heritage, interpreted in a fresh, modern way. Tswalu’s executive chef, Marnus Scholly, and Jan Hendrik spent two years delving into the authentic flavours, heritage foods and ingredients in the Northern Cape.
“The idea behind Klein JAN is to celebrate local and foster a sense of community. Our suppliers are the real heroes and have become part of the greater Tswalu family, which includes the talented teams behind Klein JAN and Tswalu. Being recognised as the world’s Hidden Gem will keep on motivating us to do better, to learn more from nature, and to keep searching for authentic stories from the Kalahari to tell. It is a privilege to convey the Kalahari’s unique sense of place to the world.” – Marnus Scholly, Executive Chef, Tswalu Kalahari
In true ‘hidden gem’ fashion, the restaurant has a magnificent root cellar at its core. This subterranean storehouse is stocked with all the ingredients destined for the plate, many of them cured, preserved or pickled in-house. Storytelling is a fundamental aspect of the dining journey, bringing to life all these region-specific ingredients on a multi-course, seasonal menu.
Dining at Klein JAN is a culinary adventure from start to finish with different courses – visual works of art – served in theatrical, interactive spaces. As part of their stay, Tswalu’s guests get to enjoy one complimentary dinner at Klein JAN, adding a unique dimension to a safari of a lifetime in the southern Kalahari. With the addition of this destination dining room to the guest experience, the culinary traditions and ingredients of the Northern Cape have become the shining stars of a seasonal menu rooted in local culture.
The wide, open spaces of Tswalu Kalahari have long drawn those seeking a deeply layered, immersive safari. Transformed by summer rain, the green Kalahari is nature at its most diverse and surprising, and to spend time here is to be touched by exuberant, soulful beauty.
Through a vision of restoration and biodiversity conservation, Tswalu Kalahari is striving to protect this breathtaking wilderness for future generations. A commitment to celebrating local provenance, heritage and culture, as part of Tswalu’s journey towards greater sustainability, makes the reserve the perfect home for Klein JAN.
- Published in News
CHEFS WAREHOUSE TINTSWALO ATLANTIC VOTED ‘AFRICA’S BEST NEW RESTAURANT’
Chefs Warehouse Tintswalo Atlantic was voted ‘Africa’s Best New Restaurant’ in the 2021 World Culinary Awards. Earlier this year it was also included in the coveted Condé Nast Traveller Readers Awards 2021 as one of the Best New Restaurants in the World.
Sister-event to the World Travel Awards, the World Culinary Awards serves to celebrate and reward excellence in the culinary industry and aims to foster growth, innovations and best practice on a global scale. The programme recognizes the full spectrum of the global culinary sector with categories ranging from Best Culinary Destination and Best Hotel Restaurant, to Best Rooftop Restaurant and Best Landmark Restaurant.
Few places in the world offer dining so close to the wild Atlantic Ocean as Chefs Warehouse Tintswalo Atlantic. On site at the iconic Tintswalo Atlantic boutique lodge on Cape Town’s Chapman’s Peak Drive, it boasts a breathtaking location on the shoreline within the Table Mountain National Park.
Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo Atlantic features Liam Tomlin’s fine-dining quality global tapas concept, brought to table by Head Chef Braam Beyers. Ingredients are fresh, local and sustainable, paying homage to the ocean at its doorstep. As a multi-sensory dining experience on the sprawling wooden deck, here guests may immerse themselves in the idyllic views and fresh sea breeze, or dine in the contemporary dining room in cooler weather. The décor is elegant and understated, allowing the ocean, mountain, fynbos and the unique food and wine experience to shine as the star attractions.
- Published in News