Chasing Ingredients rather than Seasons
As I arrive at Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West, I’m inspired by the enviable setting on the banks of the Lourens River, and distracted by majestic camphor trees more than 300 years old. And that’s before I catch sight of the historic buildings, and blossoming camellias and blooming roses.
It’s in this avenue that daily inspiration unfolds for Michael Cooke, talented executive chef of Camphors restaurant on the estate. Acorns scattered on the forest floor are replicated in a dish on his unique tour menu. His cuisine showcases the estate and its sense of place. Provenance is the order of the day, and he pays homage to every season’s bountiful harvest.
After checking on the newly-hatched ducklings, Michael catches up with me over his first of many cappuccinos. The kitchen is a hive of activity, and it’s time to find out where his passion was ignited.
Originally Michael considered law as a career but, being naturally creative, he knew a desk job would not do, and enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. Working under his mentor grand chef Peter Tempelhoff, first at Grande Provence in Franschhoek, and then at Greenhouse in Constantia, he forged his career path. Stints as head chef at La Colombe also in Constantia, and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck restaurant in the UK followed. In 2014, he became executive chef of Camphors.
Michael’s mother has also been a big influence
