{"id":56811,"date":"2014-05-05T10:05:34","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T08:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=56811"},"modified":"2014-05-05T23:19:55","modified_gmt":"2014-05-05T21:19:55","slug":"top-spanish-chef-andres-conde-moving-to-cape-town-joining-harbour-house-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/top-spanish-chef-andres-conde-moving-to-cape-town-joining-harbour-house-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Spanish Chef Andres Cond\u00e9 moving to Cape Town, joining Harbour House Group!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Andres<\/a>Amazing news for the restaurant scene in Cape Town is that Chef Andres Cond\u00e9 , who worked at the former elBulli, the former number one restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, is moving to Cape Town in June, and joining the Harbour House Group of restaurants belonging to Michael Townsend<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, as Group Executive Chef.<\/p>\n

As his first priority Chef Andres will focus on La Parada, the two tapas restaurants based in Kalk Bay and on Bree Street, and will revamp their menus. \u00a0If La Parada weren’t already the most Spanish tapas restaurants in Cape Town, they will now become super-Spanish and genuine tapas restaurants. \u00a0He will also work with the Harbour House restaurant teams in Kalk Bay and in the V&A Waterfront. \u00a0He will not be involved with the Lucky Fish restaurants in the Harbour House Group.<\/p>\n

Chef Andres won an award as best young chef in Navarra, a Spanish wine region. \u00a0His prize was an internship at the former elBulli near Roses in Catalonia, a Michelin 3-star restaurant run by Chef Ferran Adri\u00e0, who many would say is the world’s most creative chef, being associated with Molecular Gastronomy, and having written cookbooks. \u00a0 The internship was for two months, but Chef Andres stayed for more than six years! \u00a0He worked in the restaurant’s hot and cold kitchens, but his real love was pastry. \u00a0His partner (South African Bianca du Plessis from Stellenbosch, Kitchen Vixen blogger<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, and previous Expresso presenter) described him as a ‘Dessert Master. An alchemist of egg and air’<\/em> in her blog, telling the romantic story of them meeting in Barcelona, when she went there on holiday three years ago!<\/p>\n

It was in that year that elBulli closed down, Adri\u00e0 having new ideas, working on Bullipedia<\/strong><\/a>, the ultimate documentation of food, and opening (with his brother Albert) the now Michelin 1 star\u00a0Tickets Tapas Bar in Barcelona, as well as the 41\u00b0 Cocktail Bar close by<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, to which Chef Andres moved as Head Chef. \u00a0Chef Andres also spent six months at French Laundry in the California Napa Valley, owned by renowned Chef Thomas Keller, who was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the organisers of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants last year. \u00a0Chef Andres left Tickets two years ago, and joined the Basque Culinary Centre in San Sebastian as a lecturer, at an institution that reflects the global leadership of Spanish chefs in gastronomy, last year’s number one World’s 50 Best Restaurant being El Celler de Can Roca, and elBulli having been the world’s top restaurant five times between 2002 – and 2009.<\/p>\n

Townsend shared how he came to connect with Chef Andres, in that he put out word via a local here with Spanish connections that he was looking for a heavy weight chef to oversee his Harbour House and La Parada restaurant kitchens. \u00a0She connected with Bianca, who is keen to come back home, and Chef Andres was keen to work here. \u00a0\u00a0‘I Googled him and nearly jumped out my skin when I realized who he was. He has been to Cape Town a couple of times before and loves it here. \u00a0He did one dish at La Parada Bree Street when he came for a quick visit over Easter, \u00a0which was the best paella I have ever experienced. He is a machine in the kitchen and a true professional<\/em>‘, said Townsend. \u00a0He added: ‘It\u2019s a major coup for the Harbour House Group to have a chef of Andres\u2019 calibre and reputation taking the Group\u2019s restaurants to a superb new level of dining experience for our customers. \u00a0Cond\u00e9\u00a0will begin with an overhaul of the La Parada menu, creating authentic tapas dishes from the different regions of Spain. The other Harbour House venues whose menus will be addressed will be Harbour House, Sirocco, Polana and Live Bait<\/em>‘.<\/p>\n

The appointment of Chef Andres is an incredible feather in the cap of the Harbour House Group specifically, and for Cape Town generally. \u00a0He has a most incredible CV, and will raise the bar of cuisine in Cape Town. \u00a0We cannot wait to see what the new chef will do with La Parada<\/strong><\/span><\/a>!<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/strong> <\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazing news for the restaurant scene in Cape Town is that Chef Andres Cond\u00e9 , who worked at the former elBulli, the former number one restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, is moving to Cape Town in June, and joining the Harbour House Group of restaurants belonging to Michael Townsend, as Group Executive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,266,20,21],"tags":[11269,25127,22287,25123,12473,5944,21146,32366,32378,4435,25125,22704,976,15681,21010,7410,25124,18751,24232,21919,6222,2624,25126,283,32373,11136],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t