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2010-12-08 : New Restaurant in Cape Town

Dale-Roberts's new venture follows a four-year long tenure as the executive chef of La Colombe restaurant at the Constantia Uitsig wine estate in Constantia. During this time, Dale-Roberts took the celebrated fine dining establishment to new heights, culminating most recently in its winning 12th place in the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants of the World Awards 2010 and gaining the title of Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Africa and Middle East.

As its name implies, The Test Kitchen, though primarily a restaurant, affords Dale-Roberts the opportunity for maximum innovation as a chef, as well as being a space to use as 'the creative hub' for a variety of different projects, including regular cooking demonstrations. 'It symbolizes a stage in a creative process,' he explains. He chose The Old Biscuit Mill as the venue 'because it is an aspirational area with a great community feeling' 'More than anything, I wanted to join the movement of making an urban area into something fresh and unique,' he adds. When he came across the vacant space in the complex, 'it was the perfect blank canvas', set in the midst of some of the city's most sought after designers and artists, of whom he has collaborated with several.

The 30-seater restaurant provides guests with the option of a casual or more formal dining experience. In the evenings, patrons can enjoy an a la carte menu offering complimentary appetizer and palette cleanser, as well as a five-course and eight-course tasting menu. Alternately, guests can sit at the more casual 'kitchen bar' and enjoy food 'dish-by-dish', straight from the open kitchen. The Test Kitchen bar menu includes dishes like 'sake-steamed scallop with langoustine, cauliflower- stalks, yuzu, limoncello and chive cream', or Luke's famous 'truffle and foie gras egg'. It's the ideal spot to savour one of Dale-Roberts's signature Kitchen Cocktails (think 'aloe vera, gin, crushed berry and yuzu fizz', or 'mulberry, Bacardi and buttermilk') while sharing a few plates before moving on, making space for the next wave of bar patrons who are catered for in a first-come-first served manner.

I definitely know where to go next time I'll be going out for a meal!