The Corona Lockdown brings interesting news, and challenges and changes, so it was a surprise when I opened up my Instagram to the Janse & Co post last night, announcing the departure of Chef Arno Janse van Rensburg at the end of this month. No future plans are revealed. The restaurant is currently closed, but the Instagram post hints at the reopening of the restaurant at an undefined time.
Chef Arno is one of my favourite chefs, demonstrating no ego, staying in the background with very low key Social Media presence, and does things differently in every way. During the beginning of Lockdown he and his wife Liezl worked tirelessly in cooking with Ladles of Love to feed many disadvantaged communities in Cape Town. He opened Janse & Co just over two years ago, after leaving Maison in Franschhoek, which was then my favorite restaurant in the gourmet village. Whilst at Maison, Chef Arno took the month-long restaurant winter closures to travel to Spain, South America, and other countries, to learn more about food.
I took a walk through Instagram today, to get an idea of what the top ten chefs and restaurants of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List are dong right now, many are lucky enough to be getting ready to open up for service again, while others remain closed for sit-down Service, and are cooking for their communities.
