14
I
15 - 28 August 2017
Tasty new life for a heritage cottage
f there is a chef in Hermanus who has a lot on his plate it’s Warwick Taylor. It’s been hardly a year since he opened his first restaurant, Source, in Hemel-en-Aarde Village and he’s now also taken over Mon Desir in Marine Drive and renamed it Heritage Cottage.
What’s Cooking
suppliers as far as possible and his wine lists also focus on wines from the Overberg region, including wines from smaller, lesser-known producers.
RESTAURANT NEWS Hedda Mittner
At Source, Warwick and his wife Anita have succeeded in creating an edgy, original, quality-consistent and valuefor-money restaurant which focuses on daytime trade and offers what is arguably the best coffee and breakfasts in town, along with an innovative lunch menu. In little over a year it has become a highly popular eatery among locals and visitors alike, and the venue of choice for private functions and parties.
This charming fisherman’s cottage, which forms part of The Misty Waves Hotel, is one of the earliest built in Hermanus more than 150 years ago. Last year it became The Deck & Galley Restaurant, with Kim MacLean and Paul Buckingham at the helm, but closed down in April after they were issued with restraints by the Municipality regarding the enclosure of the outside seating area and utilisation of the upstairs area as a bar.
With the restaurant running smoothly, Warwick seized the opportunity to spread his wings even further, and I have no doubt that Heritage Cottage will soon gain a solid reputation as a culinary destination of note, especially for fine dining in the evening.
Warwick first stepped in two months ago to take over the breakfast service to hotel guests and since the 1st of August he is running the whole restaurant, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. The unauthorised enclosure outside has been removed and the interior of the restaurant has been stripped back to its original simplicity. Natural wood, stone, and whitewashed walls set the tone, creating a restful and welcoming ambience.
Chefs of Warwick’s calibre are a huge asset to Hermanus with its ever-increasing number of seasoned international tourists and Heritage Cottage is conveniently situated in an area with a high concentration of upmarket accommodation establishments.
The understated elegance of this establishment is carried through to the menu, which offers no more than half a dozen starters, mains and desserts to choose from, but is so well thought out that it caters for all tastes.
No stranger to international standards, Warwick paved his way through a number of five star hotels in southern Africa, including the Mount Nelson in Cape Town and the Michelangelo in Johannesburg before heading overseas.
The dishes are prepared with Warwick’s trademark attention to detail and embody classical sophistication on a plate – think duck liver paté with brandy sultanas, raspberry and mustard dressing, and brioche; or cauliflower soup with truffle and blue cheese; leg of duck with beetroot, beans and mushroom ragout; or fillet of beef with rosemary potato, caramelised onions and mustard cream; Amarula crème brulee with peppermint tuille;
THE HERITAGE COTTAGE TEAM Chef Warwick Taylor with Trisha-Lee Herholdt, Timo Nyamadzawo and Michael Badenhorst in a relaxed mood in the kitchen on the opening night of The Heritage Cottage on 1 August. or baked apple pie with vanilla crème anglaise. Perfect execution, presentation and service adds to the overall experience. Warwick appears totally unruffled by his workload – he is confident and competent, his staff is well-trained and his establishments operate like well-oiled machines. “Working with a great team of chefs and front of house is what makes it all possible – and rewarding,”
says Warwick. This is one chef who knows how to get the basics right and who doesn’t believe in fussing too much. “It’s all about getting back to basics and supporting local,” he told me last year shortly after opening Source. At the time he had just left Creation, where his exceptional skill in creating gastronomic delights had food and wine enthusiasts flocking in droves to this popular wine-
tasting venue in Hemel-enAarde Ridge. He chose the name ‘Source’, he said, because it refers to the produce and ingredients that form the basis of every dish. In order to serve good honest food, Warwick feels the focus should be more on the fresh, high quality source of the food rather than what you do with it on the plate. He believes in supporting small local
He and Anita spent four years on the Channel Island of Jersey, where she headed up the international reservations team at the 291 bedroom Merton Hotel while Warwick worked as sous chef at the Pomme d’ Or Hotel and as Chef de Partie at the four star Longueville Manor. During their time in Jersey, they travelled extensively in Europe and explored the culinary delights of the continent.
Back in Johannesburg, the couple decided to swop city life for the more relaxed lifestyle of the Overstrand. Shortly after their wedding in October 2016, Warwick was appointed by the Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa. He spent six years at Arabella, working his way up from Sous Chef to Chef de Cuisine and ultimately to Executive Chef. He was also tasked to assist Starwood Hotels with the opening of the Costa Navarino property in Greece, consisting of two 5 star hotels that together make up the largest luxury resort in Europe. In 2013 Warwick and Anita established a high-end catering and consulting company, Concepts in Flavour, and the kitchen at Creation was outsourced to them and their team, where Warwick developed the menu of heavenly food designed to complement Creation’s wines. But the couple had the goal of eventually running their own establishment since relocating to the Overstrand more than 10 years ago – and with Source and now Heritage Cottage Warwick is finally coming into his own as a chef of note, while Anita utilises her skills in marketing, finance and human resources to keep the wheels turning smoothly at both establishments. Considering that they are also parents to very energetic sevenyear-old twins, James and Amy, all I have left to say is hats off to the Taylors! Find Heritage Cottage at 21 Marine Drive, Hermanus. They are open 7 days a week for breakfast from 07:30 to 11:00 (includes a cold buffet and small hot a la carte menu for R140), lunch from 12:00 – 16:00, and dinner from 18:00 – 21:00. Booking is advisable. Call 028 312 2859. Source is situated at 12 Village Lane, Hemel-en-Aarde Village. Open 7 days a week from 08:00 – 16:00. Call 028 125 0025.