New Pot Luck Club opens in Woodstock

Chef Luke Dale Roberts

Designed to please

Chef Luke Dale Roberts has collaborated with Cape Town based architect Greg Scot and his designer Nina Sierra along with some of the city's foremost art and design personalities. These include: Peter Eastman (art and screens), Otto du Plessis (bronze work), Egon Tania (sculptor), Starry Eve Collett (furniture), Lawrence Friedman (wood design), Andrew Lawrence Gibson (artist) as well as his talented wife Sandalene (clothing and chair designs), who is also responsible for The Test Kitchen's eye-catching and stylish waiter uniforms.

Taking the glass lift to the sixth level, the eye is immediately drawn to the custom-made Otto du Plessis bronze manhole with its wild boar motif, now synonymous with the Pot Luck branding emblazoned in its centre. Stepping out of the lift onto a cobbled 'street', the diner's eyes follow further to the herringbone chestnut floors. The focal point which has become signatory to the restaurants is the open plan kitchen which is illuminated by studio lighting giving the impression of a stage.

Sharing flavours

Drawing from the best of the original Pot Luck Club & Gallery, the new restaurant will also feature the very popular plate-sharing concept. Sharing-plates will be cleverly divided into flavour profiles: salty, sour, bitter and umami. Assisting with this unique menu, a team of highly trained floor staff will be on hand to guide patrons through their tailor-made experience. The food and menus will be based on inspiration Roberts has gained from his extensive travels to South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Wesley Randles, who has worked with hm for the past four years, has been appointed the new head chef of the re-branded and concise Pot Luck Club. Wesley was part of a team of three chefs that opened The Test Kitchen in late 2010 and has held the position of sous chef during this exciting growth period. Simon Widdison has been appointed restaurant manager after holding a similar position at The Test Kitchen for the past two years where he and his team played no small part in clinching the No 1 position at the 2012 Eat Out Dstv Food Network Restaurant Awards.

Popup potluck

Together, both Randles and Widdison opened the Pot Luck Club pop-up restaurant at the Neighbourhood Goods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill every Saturday while the new venue was in construction. "The pop-up has been the ideal opportunity for product development and testing," explains Randles. "Here, we interact with the market's visitors and receive instant and invaluable feedback on what appeals to guests appeal.

A pop-up Pot Luck Club is also currently on the international scene at Switzerland's hottest ski destination, Verbier. Located at the stylish ski lodge Hotel Farinet, the pop-up Pot Luck is open for the duration of Verbier's ski season and makes for an added ideal laboratory to test tastes and ingredients to a well-heeled audience."