If you’re in the vicinity of Bree Street and Long Street Baths, look out for a new space called Chefs Warehouse. My friends Liam and Jan Tomlin have channelled their extensive collective restaurant experience into creating a quality Cape culinary centre here.
Liam and Jan propelled Sydney’s Banc Restaurant into Australia’s top three and consistently kept it there, before moving to South Africa. They’ve consulted to restaurants in Ireland and South Africa, and know a thing or two about eating out, quality cooking and cookware. They have a stylish eye for presenting items too, as most of the warehouse cabinets and display cases have been manufactured to Tomlin design specs.
The CBD space boasts imported kitchen gadgets and outfits, Japanese and French knives from Laguiole steak knives to Japanese Kai and Shun cleavers. Baking and cooking equipment ranges from basic cookie shapes to professional equipment, rolling pins and Madeleine moulds. There are selected items from Le Creuset, Eva Solo, KitchenAid, upmarket Scanpan designs and a few brands you probably won’t have seen before in SA. A books for cooks selection is being cultivated slowly, plus there is coffee, condiments, spices, decanters and quality cotton aprons or chefs jackets.
In conjunction with an artisan cabinetmaker and illustrator, Liam has custom-designed kitchen island units with ash countertops and drawers holding stemware, knives and kitchen clutter. It’s a clever idea that’s a play on words around the cheffing prep of ingredients called Mise en Place - everything in its place.
The cooking demo class space takes up half the warehouse. Artisan bread classes, demos by guest local chefs and occasional big international chef names are part of the 2010 lineup.
Go and have a look around but hold on to your credit card. This space is guaranteed to lure serious cooks, chefs or designers into parting with their earnings on desirable products or educational classes. Check
(classes) for the local and international chef and wine class selection.
Chefs Warehouse, 50 New Church Street, Cape Town. Tel 021 422 0128, chefs warehouse
The headline sounds quite dramatic, but actually nothing went up in flames. That line is merely to lure in all kitchen equipment junkies who get hot and sweaty when talk turns to implements… With a few April holidays to manoeuvre around, I never got around to trying out the luminous green Neoflam Ecolon fying pan I was given to test. So when the Merry Muncher decided to make French toast and bacon over the weekend, I handed over the new pan to be put through its paces.
