The Test Kitchen in Cape Town has redesigned how they operate to save water in the drought-stricken province and secure the jobs of their employees.
The Test Kitchen in Cape Town was voted one of the top 50 best restaurants in the world in 2016 and one of the top 30 in South Africa in 2017. The restaurant has been a must-visit hot-spot in Cape Town for a few years now.
Like many other businesses in the drought-stricken province, The Test Kitchen has had to adapt it’s business operations to cater to the lack of water in the city. By making these changes, the restaurant has been able to save water and jobs.
The award-winning chef, Luke Dale-Roberts, will launch a pop-up “Drought-Kitchen” within ‘The Test Kitchen’ from the 1st of April to the 30th of June. The pop-up will use a new way to serve gourmet food and ensure they cut down on washing over 5000 items of crockery.
In an interview with CapeTalk’s Koketso Sachane, the award-winning chef shared some of the ways they plan to reduce water usage and retain employees.
“On April 1 we are starting on a concept that doesn’t use crockery. We are using picture frames and interchangeable pieces of cards that goes onto the picture frames. We have cut down on about 5000 pieces of crockery that we are washing.” – Chef Luke Dale-Roberts
The best ways to save water within a restaurant are to work on laundry, dishwashing and cleaning. Luke Dale-Roberts confirmed that they have basically stopped all laundry and are recycling the water from airconditioning units to mop the floors. They are also collecting the water from ice-buckets to help around the restaurant.
The mouth-watering menu.
The ‘Drought-Kitchen’ will have a 6-course menu that will include an additional three snacks such as Peaking Quail. The main will include a Goat Yoghurt Panna Cotta with slow-cooked tomato and burnt aubergine puree. There will also be a 12-hour smoked Franschhoek Trout served with various jellies and a watercress cream. Another is the slow-cooked crispy pigs head with red cabbage and a trotter pie on the side. Everything will be served on disposable service ware.
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