In Karen’s kitchen
KAREN DUDLEY
– chef, caterer, creator of the “love sandwich” – has bid a bittersweet farewell to her restaurant, The Kitchen, after 11 fruitful years operating in Woodstock, Cape Town, one of the more demographically representative suburbs in the city. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a harsh new reality for chefs, restaurateurs and the hospitality industry on a global scale. Businesses previously keeping afloat despite small profit margins have been startled into submission, and those that were previously struggling have evaporated – some forced to shut shop overnight thanks to unreasonable landlords and unforgiving insurers.
Karen made her decision early on. Soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the initial level 5 lockdown would commence, she knew: the days of The Kitchen – an eclectically decorated home away from home for many locals, which saw everything from ladies who lunch regularly to marriage proposals, business deals, gossip-filled brunches, spats unfold and friendships form – were over. Famous for its lavish weigh-your-plate salads jewelled with the flavours of the Levant, Southeast Asia and something undeniably South African, nourishing sandwiches and “World Peace Brownies”, her restaurant flourished in a sunny space, somewhere between rush-hour café and city bistro.
It’s that sweet spot that Karen refers to as approachable but aspirational. And if vegetables – “an entire palette full of potential!” – were ever going to be deemed aspirational, generously piled onto large ceramic platters with torn herbs, punchy dressings and soft labneh, they earned that title at The Kitchen.
But this winter brought an unceremonious ending.
“Mine is a level 1, no, a level zero business,” Karen says. “To do it the way I did – I was deeply attuned to the needs of my customers. I believe in the connection built around sharing at the table; there has to be
