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A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He's run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, writers, photographers, bloggers... you name it. If they’re involved in the food industry, you will meet them with Russel at A Table in the Corner.
176 Episodes
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On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Ella Rykaart, the front-of-house force behind Rykaarts, the small, atmospheric restaurant she runs with her husband, chef Alex Rykaart, on Longridge Wine Estate. While chefs often take the spotlight, this conversation turns the focus toward the other half of the restaurant equation: hospitality. Ella reflects on her path from studying winemaking to discovering the pull of restaurant life, working under respected restaurateur Neil...
On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Giles Edwards, a chef returning to the pass after time away, now working in collaboration with Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen at Le Bistrot de JAN. It’s a conversation about coming back to the kitchen on different terms, with more clarity about what matters and what doesn’t. Giles first came onto the city’s radar with La Tête, a restaurant that built a loyal following through a deeply considered approach to sourcing, sustai...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Brett Michielin, the operator behind Mozambik, one of Southern Africa’s most recognisable casual dining brands. What began as a forty-seat restaurant in Ballito, KZN has grown into more than forty five outlets across the SADEC region. But the conversation starts with something far smaller: a twist of newspaper filled with pan-roasted peanuts placed on the table when guests arrive. Brett traces the origins of Mozambik back to the ...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Korean-born chef Sepial Shim, whose quiet, wandering path through Cape Town’s food world has taken her from cooking school to markets, pop ups and now a tiny sixteen seat restaurant in Woodstock called 'In the Meantime'. She reflects on arriving in South Africa more than two decades ago and training as an urban designer, only to discover that cooking offered a different way of expressing meaning without words. What followed was a...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Aidan Zieff, head chef of Ouzeri, one of Cape Town’s most quietly influential restaurants. Aidan reflects on a fast-moving early career that took him from local fine dining kitchens through Copenhagen stages at 108 and Noma, before returning home with a sharpened sense of discipline, flavour and restraint. The conversation traces his path from formal, highly structured kitchens into a looser, more generous style of cooking that s...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Andrew Kai, chef and co-founder behind Tomson, Max Bagels and One Park, to talk about building small, culture-driven food businesses in a city increasingly dominated by scale. Andrew reflects on his early years in London kitchens, the discipline of classical brigade systems, and the dislocation of returning home to a very different restaurant landscape. The conversation moves through markets, pop ups and tight spaces before landi...
In this Special Thursday episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with brother and sister team Danillo and Chiara Turilli, the operators behind Lello’s Deli, to talk about inheritance, identity and building something deeply personal in a city that is moving as quickly as Cape Town is right now. Raised within a family restaurant business run by their father, the Turillis describe themselves as restaurant babies who tried, unsuccessfully, to escape hospitality. Danillo left for fashio...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel travels to Boschendal to sit down with Travis Finch, head chef of Arum, to talk about cooking inside one of the Cape’s most ambitious agricultural ecosystems. Travis reflects on a career shaped by formative years with Peter Tempelhoff’s team and long stints abroad, before returning home to cook at the intersection of land, produce and restraint. The conversation centres on what it means to cook on a regenerative farm at scale, with direct acces...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Tasha Sideris, founder and chief executive of the Tashas restaurant group, to unpack two decades of building one of the most recognisable hospitality brands to emerge from South Africa. The conversation traces Tasha’s route into restaurants through family, osmosis and necessity rather than formal training, and how early years on the floor shaped a leadership style rooted in presence, pace and accountability. Tasha speaks candidly...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Julia Hattingh, chef and owner of Reverie Social Table, to unpack one of Cape Town’s most singular dining models. Julia talks through a career shaped by classical training, long stints in demanding kitchens and time abroad, before arriving at a form of hospitality that deliberately slows things down. The conversation traces her path from Mirandol and Le Quartier Français to London, Paris and back home, and how those experiences i...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Philippa and Graham Oldfield, the partners behind Bao Down, one of Cape Town’s most beloved independent restaurants. The conversation traces their parallel routes through chef school, hotels, yachts and serious kitchens, before converging in a small, hard working room in Vredehoek Avenue that would quietly build a cult following. Philippa and Graham talk about learning discipline under pressure, the influence of Liam Tomlin’s kit...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Drikus Brink, chef/proprietor of Toevlug, to trace a quietly serious cooking life shaped by farms, butcheries and long service beside Bertus Basson. Brink talks through his early years growing up around meat and trade, cooking boerewors rolls as a teenager, studying in Pretoria and arriving at Overture, to spend nearly a decade in Basson’s kitchens. The conversation moves through volume cooking, technique, pressure and instinct, ...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down at the counter of The Wiggle Room on Bree Street with co-founders Lester Riffel and chef Ismael ‘Fish’ Amos to explore one of Cape Town’s most provocative new dining concepts. Built around a 12-seat counter, The Wiggle Room throws out menus, consistency and convention in favour of freedom, creativity and connection. Lester and Fish speak candidly about their unconventional paths through hospitality, the ideas born during smoke breaks...
In this week’s episode, Russel sits down with Carla Schulze, executive chef of Salon which is part of the Test Kitchen family of restaurants. Carla reflects on her journey from studying under Jackie Cameron in KwaZulu Natal to becoming a key creative force alongside Luke Dale Roberts. The conversation explores mentorship, discipline, seasonality and the pressure of running a destination tasting menu restaurant in Cape Town. Carla speaks openly about creativity versus expectation, evolving men...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Matt van den Berg, head chef at Mertia in Stellenbosch and one of the most quietly respected chefs in the Western Cape. Matt reflects on his unconventional path into cooking, from a BCom degree and life on yachts to training at Silwood and working in some of South Africa’s most demanding kitchens, including The Test Kitchen and La Colombe. He speaks candidly about discipline, long hours, kitchen culture, and the pressure of stepp...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I sat down with John van Zyl, chef and co owner of Melting Pot, one of Cape Town’s most talked about contemporary restaurants. John reflects on his unconventional journey into food, from music and travel to working closely with Liam Tomlin, and how those years shaped his disciplined, process-driven approach to cooking. The conversation traces the evolution of Melting Pot from pop up dinners to permanent restaurants, exploring the freedom and pressure ...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Tasmin Reid, the young, fiercely thoughtful chef behind Melfort, a seasonal farm to fork restaurant on Marianne Estate near Stellenbosch. Tasmin shares her journey from Silwood Kitchen to working with Ryan Cole at Salsify, her plans for Australia, and how an unexpected autoimmune diagnosis reshaped both her life and her style of cooking. Now the owner of a popular winelands restaurant, she speaks openly about healing through food...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Chef Nathan Clark, head chef of Test Kitchen Fledgelings. Apologies in advance - the sound quality is not the best, as I had a few technical challenges, but Nathan's story is incredible. He shares his remarkable journey from scullery to running the kitchen, rising through the ranks of the Test Kitchen group over 13 years. He speaks openly about learning under Luke Dale Roberts and Jason Kosmas, mentoring young chefs through...
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, we step into the golden world of Veuve Clicquot’s Emotions of the Sun, the global photographic exhibition created with the legendary Magnum Photos agency, now shining in Cape Town at Youngblood Gallery on Bree Street. My guest is Seth Shezi, Celebrity MasterChef winner, global traveller and lifestyle tastemaker, who curated the Sun on Your Plate Café for the exhibition. Inspired by light, optimism and the emotional power of the sun, Seth created a Cap...
Join me at my table in the corner for this incredible conversation with chef Anouchka Horn, co-owner of Cape Town’s acclaimed restaurants Belly of the Beast and Galjoen. In this episode, Anouchka shares her journey from her grandmother’s traditional Afrikaans kitchen to becoming a leading voice in ingredient-driven, low-waste South African dining. We talk about her early culinary influences, training at the ICA, formative years working under Michael Broughton, and the creation of two of Cape ...
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