#EntrepreneurMonth: Fine dining fast food with Chefs

Enter Chefs; a new inner city lunch spot that has just opened its kitchen and doors in Gardens in Cape Town. Chefs aims to deliver fresh and fine dining quality food, however, in a take away, canteen type of environment.

An ever rotating option of three meals; fish/meat, vegetarian or a lighter meal (ranging from R135–R175) are advertised via their website daily. This is then selected via iPad and paid for on arrival, removing the need for menus and traditional waiters. The meal includes complimentary filtered water and a freshly made juice with the option of coffee and dessert at an additional cost.

I visited Chefs last week for lunch and a chat with MD Campbell Stevenson and head Chef Jenny Ward. Situated on the corner of St John’s Street in Gardens, this unique eatery boasts clean and elegant lines, a very visible and open plan kitchen and a light and airy space.

Perusing the website beforehand, I had already made up my mind to go for the veggie option of broccoli falafel, pitta bread and bean, asparagus and goat’s cheese salad. This was served on a canteen style tray and accompanied by fresh guacamole, hummus and olive tapenade, plus the most zingy and fresh citrus juice. A generous portion, it was all wonderfully fresh and tasty and perfect for the sweltering day. Other types of dishes you can expect include; tempura prawns and Asian slaw, rack of lamb with crisp chips, tuna carpaccio, smokey Karroo lamb shoulder plus many more.

Q&A with Jenny and Campbell

Can you talk us through the inspiration for the restaurant?

Campbell: The main concept was inspired by wanting to access quality food in a fast food way. It’s either the take away or the high-end restaurant and Chefs aims to be in the middle, so you get great food, great taste and great freshness. It is about the chef and the food, but it’s also a startup that we can do more with. It’s a debut of a food concept as opposed to just being another restaurant.

Campbell Stevenson

Chef Jenny Ward

What has the response to Chefs been since its launch last month?

Jenny: I feel we have quite a few regular people which is quite nice.

Campbell: The feedback has been very positive. The concept is new yet people understand it quite simply; accessing fresh food in a non-fussy way.

Can you take us through the process of setting up the restaurant?

Campbell: The hardest part was the concept and the second hardest thing was finding the location. We wanted something with clean lines - that you feel almost like you’re in the kitchen, so you can view the food being made by the chef. Then it needed to be in a high dense area. There were a lot of things we looked for and it took us a year to find it and once we found it we then had to renovate it completely.

Cape Town has seen a flurry of new restaurants opening recently. What would you say is needed in surviving and flourishing in this highly saturated and competitive market?

Jenny: I think a consistent product at the end of the day, that brings people back and to supply the highest quality.

Campbell: You’re either at the restaurant or the take away. You’re usually not in an environment where you can get access to chef’s food in an easy way. It’s about the originality of it - the ethos of getting people access to good food more often. With all the global trends in food, we are on the forefront of where the world is moving to. There’s transparency in the food, which refers to where is it coming from? Is it fresh? Who’s making my food? What are the ingredients?

Can you explain the thought behind only serving a few daily menu options?

Jenny: There is a lot of food wastage with your huge menus and with the way food is going we want to minimise the amount of wastage and it also allows us to bring you a better product. We will have three perfectly well balanced dishes. The three meals cover all the basics. I do what’s in season and it’s also weather dependent.

The concept of Chefs is aligned with the current trend of non-fussy yet healthy and beautiful food. What other food trends do you think we will be seeing more and more of in the future?

Jenny: I think the live fire is definitely a trend, going back to basics. Cutting out on gastronomic cooking and additives, it’s more about the stuff you are cooking and where it is coming from and how you can do less to it. Healthy food: people are more aware of what they are eating and where it comes from. There is a definite focus on younger chefs.

Do you plan to franchise the concept?

Campbell: It would be another Chefs with another chef with their own identity. The concept and the components would be the same and the delivery and the kitchen would be the same. The quality would be the same, but it would have a slightly different personality. We’re looking internationally as well. It’s a great new platform for young emerging culinary chefs to get access to do something in a sustainable business.

This is our test store, so we sure things will evolve however the ethos will stay the same.

Chefs is open Monday to Friday from 12pm-4pm with plans to extend trading hours until 8pm at a later stage. Chefs is located at 81 St John’s Street in Gardens, Cape Town. Reservations are not necessary.

For more information, please call + 27 (0) 21 461 0368 or visit www.chefscapetown.co.za.
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