Chef Christiaan Campbell has left the Werf Restaurant at Boschendal after 7 years, and opened his restaurant Tebaldi’s at the spiritual retreat Temenos in McGregor a week ago.

I first met Christiaan Campbell ten years ago, when he headed up the kitchen at Delaire Graff, and my son worked in the restaurant as a student waiter. Campbell previously worked at the Chef Naval School and Cellars-Hohenhort.

As far as I can recall, Chef Christiaan was the first South African chef to focus on ethical sourcing of ingredients for his kitchen, focusing on organic ingredients. He refuses to serve foie gras as he focuses on the humane treatment of animals.

At Delaire Graff Chef Christiaan had a vegetable and herb garden established, from which he sourced the freshest ingredients for his kitchen. He sourced beef, chicken and eggs from Farmer Angus at Spier, the home of animals reared ethically and humanely, and previously sourced vegetables and herbs from La Motte.

This was my description of an eating experience at Delaire, after the estate planted its own vegetables and herbs: ‘When stepping into the restaurant entrance one notices the new content in the glass display case, being a collection of herbs and vegetables (kale, celery, spring onion, broad beans, red peppers, mint, and more), which are displayed in such a way that they look like they are in a hothouse, with a pair of garden gloves, little clay pots, and rolls of string.  The display reinforces what its Chef Christiaan Campbell has become known for, being a passionate advocate for healthy eating generally, and for sustainable and ethical sourcing of the organic (where possible) ingredients used in the two restaurants (Indochine is the second restaurant) on the estate. So, for example, Delaire Graff has a Biodynamic greenhouse on the estate, growing its own vegetables. It sources its beef from Greenfields in Natal, and Farmer Angus at Spier supplies beef too, as well as chicken and eggs. Only line-caught fish is served, and therefore there is no kingklip on the menu.  No European fish is sourced, cutting out prawns and scallops, and fish is caught locally, or sourced from Mocambique and Namibia.  Duck is barn-reared, and have not been fed antibiotics or growth hormones.

Chef Christiaan worked at Delaire Graff until late 2014, before moving to Boschendal, where his Werf Restaurant opened, and a huge vegetable and herb garden was planted for him. Five months after opening, the restaurant service was still shaky.

Restaurant Review: Boschendal The Werf Restaurant expensive farm foraged food, not yet perfect!

 

I described Christiaan Campbell as follows in a Blogpost, when he was awarded the ‘Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award in 2018: ‘The Werf Restaurant at Boschendal, with Chef Christiaan Campbell. Chef Christiaan is a champion for the preservation of the cold chain, and the humane treatment of animals. He recommended that we follow Jason Carroll on Instagram’.

It will be worthwhile to travel to McGregor to try Chef Christiaan Campbell’s new Tebaldi’s at Temenos.

 

Tebaldi’s, Temenos, Voortrekker Street, Mc Gregor. Tel (023) 625-1115. Tuesday – Sunday. www.temenos.org.za 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide