{"id":66580,"date":"2015-03-03T00:02:49","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T22:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=66580"},"modified":"2015-03-04T00:50:22","modified_gmt":"2015-03-03T22:50:22","slug":"steenbergs-bistro-sixteen82-chef-change-almost-seamless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/steenbergs-bistro-sixteen82-chef-change-almost-seamless\/","title":{"rendered":"Steenberg’s Bistro Sixteen82 Chef change almost seamless!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bistro<\/a>I had so looked forward to meeting Chef Kerry Kilpin at Bistro Sixteen82 yesterday, not thinking that the chef would not be at her post, or to ask when booking if she would be in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

I made the booking with Nicole, something I don’t often do, but for the drive between Camps Bay and Constantia it was worth doing, given how full of tourists Cape Town still is. \u00a0I had invited regular and loyal Blog reader Lisa Harlow from the UK, on holiday in the Cape currently, to join me for lunch, so that we could try Chef Kerry’s menu.\"Bistro<\/a>\u00a0Lisa visits the Cape twice a year, and is one of our region’s most loyal ambassadors, and is very knowledgeable about our restaurants and wine estates. \u00a0I suggested that she start a blog, with all her information about accommodation and restaurants, but she said that she is too busy back home to do so. \u00a0She provides input about our region from a UK perspective, and adds feedback about the places she has visited to our Blog.<\/p>\n

Nicole was guided by the ‘system<\/em>‘ in taking my booking, and insisted on my phone number because the system demands it, sounding as if my booking would not be accepted if she did not have the number. As I would be at the restaurant in two hours from the call, I did not see the point. \u00a0Then she could not spell ‘Chris’<\/em>, a very poor reflection on the restaurant, and a bad start to the restaurant experience.<\/p>\n

\"Bistro<\/a>Given a crazy Cape Town day, with terrible fires in the South Peninsula, I had made the decision to stick with my usual way of driving to Constantia via Hout Bay. At the traffic circle leading to Valley Road, men with placards saying ‘Constantia Nek 3 hours<\/em>‘ looked like they were on strike, and unfortunately did not stop all traffic on this road, to tell us that a truck had crashed at Constantia Nek, and that no traffic could get through to Constantia in the next three hours. \u00a0Just past The World of Birds another gentleman in safety clothing told us to turn back, and drive to Constantia via the city \u00a0– ouch, costing me an hour to get to Steenberg! The human billboards were a great service if one understood what they were trying to communicate, and if they had been implemented in Camps Bay already! \u00a0 As luck would have it, there were roadworks everywhere, between Llandudno and Camps Bay, then on De Waal Drive, these roads carrying heavier than usual traffic loads as a result of the closure of Main Road, and then garden maintenance on the M3, the City of Cape Town not thinking to take action to open up lanes of roads to ease the congested traffic.<\/p>\n

Thankfully the ‘check-in’ at the boom at the entrance to Steenberg was smooth and without hiccups, usually a problem, but the magic password ‘reservation’<\/em> seemed to open the boom. It was only at this point that one realised how close the fire was to Steenberg (earlier yesterday I had seen a Tweet from the wine estate, thanking the firefighters for keeping the fire away from them). \u00a0Dark smoke clouds came from behind the mountain, on the Hout Bay side.<\/p>\n

After the crazy drive, it was a relief to take a seat at the table with Lisa, who had waited for me \"Bistro<\/a>for half an hour. \u00a0Luckily the Twitter DM worked, wifi and 3G connectivity being a disaster in the restaurant, meaning that no Tweets can be sent from there. Not receiving calls over lunch maybe isn’t such a bad thing after all! \u00a0I told Manager Nathalie about the booking problem, and she echoed Nicole, in saying that is how the system works! She was very distant and unfriendly, and did not bother to check on our well-being at all, and came across as rude when I left. Perhaps the heat of the day was getting to her pregnancy. \u00a0Lovely was Caroline van Schalkwyk coming to say hello, handling the marketing of Steenberg wines. \u00a0She offered her assistance, should we require it, and sent a glass of MCC to the table for Lisa to enjoy, as I did not want to drink and drive. \u00a0Chef Kerry Kilpin took over from Chef Brad Ball three months ago, having moved across from The Food Barn. \u00a0Chef Brad has moved to Peddlars on the Bend, now renamed Peddlars & Co, regarded as an odd move by many, as he set up Bistro Sixteen82 five years ago.<\/strong><\/span><\/a> \u00a0Chef Kerry’s kitchen was run by Sous Chef Odette yesterday, Nathalie not knowing her surname!<\/p>\n

\"Bistro<\/a>Our waiter was patient with us catching up on getting to know each other first, so we took some time to look at the menu. The separation of Starters and Mains is very faint, and I only saw it when I wrote the blogpost. \u00a0Lisa ordered the Seared Beef Carpaccio (R85), an absolute hit of Chef Brad Ball, then called Beef Tataki. \u00a0Odd was the aioli drizzled over it, something which Chef Brad had never added, spoiling\"Bistro<\/a> the taste if one is used to his original recipe. Chef Kerry has toned down the spiciness, so overall it was disappointing for me, but Lisa loved it, not having had it before. I ordered a take-away portion, which did not have radishes added, and was also covered with rocket. I ordered a perfect chicken liver parfait, served with an unusual nectarine chutney, as well as four minute slices of toasted brioche, too few for the generous portion of parfait (R64).<\/p>\n

\"Bistro<\/a>For her main course, Lisa ordered angelfish, which oddly was placed on a bed of aioli, covering the whole plate (R148). The dish is called Sustainable Fish, and reflects a commitment to SASSI by Chef Brad to only serve green-listed fish. \u00a0The pan-fried fish was plated on top of an Asian green salad. served with a lime and chili vinaigrette, which Chef Brad used in his Beef Tataki. \u00a0We felt that the aoili base was completely\"Bistro<\/a> overdone. \u00a0Lisa commented that sesame seeds seem to be a Chef speciality, being prominent in her Beef Carpaccio and Angelfish dishes. \u00a0I loved my Tempura Prawns, a starter dish, three prawns served with harissa mayo, coriander (an excellent paired herb), and a rice noodle salad (R88). \u00a0It had black sesame seeds too!<\/p>\n

Other starter dishes are a Saldanha oyster (R22), a Panko crusted cheese fritter (R65), smoked trout salad (R94), and fish tartare (R78). \u00a0Other main courses offered are risotto of the day (a vegetarian one of courgette and sunflower seeds) in two sizes (R75\/R118), ricotta gnocchi (R65\/R98), fresh black mussels (R65\/R120), roast pork fillet (R168), braised lamb loin ( a new dish introduced by Chef Kerry, stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta, replacing Chef Brad’s famous pork belly, which is now a breakfast dish, our waiter said, at R185), and an open steak sandwich (R115). A special of the day was a 220 gram AAA Chalmar beef steak (‘midway between organic and free-range’<\/em> our waiter explained creatively!), at R195. \u00a0The risotto dish is changed once a week, but the menu is changed seasonally.<\/p>\n

\"Bistro1682<\/a>We weren’t going to have a dessert (all at R64), but decided to share the Chocolate Streusel, on which was placed a slice of salted caramel, vanilla cr\u00e8me, chocolate cremeux, and accompanied by a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. \u00a0Other dessert options are passion fruit panna cotta, and cranberry Bread & Butter pudding (odd for a 30\u00baC day).<\/p>\n

Later afternoons and early evenings are Tapas time, and the waiter seemed to indicate that only a handful of Chef Brad’s Tapas dishes are still on the menu (Patatas Bravas, charcuterie platter, and sticky pork). Chef Kerry has brought back some of Chef Brad’s Tapas dishes from earlier days, none costing more than R89 (charcuterie), and most are around the R45 mark.<\/p>\n

Paying for the meal, I had not transferred enough money across to my credit card before entering the premises, having forgotten how dire the internet\/3G situation is in the restaurant, and I could not transfer any more money across via my phone. \u00a0The credit card machine also was not working well, so I transferred the money into my credit card via the restaurant computer, whereafter the payment worked, an embarrassing end to our lunch, and one which held up Lisa and I, both having to run off in separate directions. Nathalie said that they have tried everything to improve wifi and cellphone reception in the restaurant.<\/p>\n

Before one knew that Chef Brad was leaving, he increasingly was not in the Sixteen82 kitchen, especially on weekends. \u00a0One hopes that this does not happen to Chef Kerry, and that she is as visible to her patrons as Chef Brad was when he was there. Many of the waiters have been at the restaurant for some time, and Nathalie has been too, but she clearly is taking strain, being close to having her baby. \u00a0Our waiter did well, but I had to request my take-away beef tataki a number of times. \u00a0Chef Kerry needs to reduce her use of sesame seeds, three of our four dishes having them! \u00a0When we reviewed the restaurant five years ago, we praised its value for money (the Beef Tataki starter costing R49 then!), which seems to no longer apply. However, a good price range of dishes is offered.<\/p>\n

Bistro Sixteen82<\/strong>, Steenberg wine estate, Constantia.\u00a0 Tel (021) 713-2211.\u00a0 www.steenberg-vineyards.co.za<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Twitter: @Bistro1682.\u00a0 Mondays \u2013 Sundays, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, 9h00 \u2013 20h00.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage \u00a0Facebook: \u00a0<\/strong>click here<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had so looked forward to meeting Chef Kerry Kilpin at Bistro Sixteen82 yesterday, not thinking that the chef would not be at her post, or to ask when booking if she would be in the kitchen. I made the booking with Nicole, something I don’t often do, but for the drive between Camps Bay […]<\/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":[4795,15,3,124,672,266,20,22,21],"tags":[8298,2648,30135,3982,32370,25672,2881,32378,257,32391,26341,14811,29574,697,28827,30134,11130,24049,24933,30138,30133,25713,231,30136,1513,1587,30137,32373,89],"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