LEISURE
RESURRECTING ‘FORGOTTEN’ INGREDIENTS Earlier this year, Wolfgat in Paternoster, of all places, was named Restaurant of the Year, the top accolade at the international World Restaurant Awards. Glenneis Kriel spoke to chef Kobus van der Merwe about the journey behind this culinary hit.
editor of Eat Out, which in turn rekindled my passion for the art of fine dining. So, when my parents bought Oep ve Koep, I saw it as an opportunity to break out of the mediocrity of everyday city life and do my own thing.
der Merwe gave up his job
T
WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE OEP VE KOEP AND WOLFGAT?
as a web editor nine years
After school, I entered a two-
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE REASONING BEHIND YOUR OFFERINGS AT OEP VE KOEP AND WOLFGAT?
ago to help his retired parents
year diploma programme at the
When starting out at Oep ve Koep,
open their own bistro, Oep ve
Institute of Culinary Arts, one of
I wanted to give visitors a truly
Koep, in Paternoster on the West
the top chef schools in the world.
unique Sandveld experience.
Coast. Since then, he has opened
At that stage I wanted to be
his own restaurant, Wolfgat, which
a musician, so I quit the
has been ranked among the top
course after the first
10 restaurants in the country
year and went to
in the 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-
London where I
Benz Awards, and walked away
did administrative
and create food
with the S. Pellegrino and Acqua
work for British
that celebrated
Panna Chef of the Year title, which
Telecom. On my
the unique
recognises an innovative chef who
return, I decided
biodiversity of
is pushing the boundaries and
to rather do media
the West Coast.
making a notable contribution
studies because
to the South African restaurant
I also enjoyed
scene. Then, he scooped both
writing, and career
the Off-Map Destination award
prospects in this field
as well as the overall world’s
seemed more promising.
Restaurant of the Year category at
My journalism career started
the inaugural World Restaurant
out with me writing classical
cave, became available, as I felt
Awards held in Paris in February.
music reviews for Die Burger as a
the cave would enhance the
freelancer, after which I became
eating experience by making
employed as a copywriter for a
people more aware of their roots
travel website, where I got some
and nature. Oep ve Koep is still
exposure to HTML coding. This
open. The two restaurants are
paved the way to my job as web
complementary, with Wolfgat
ired of city life, Kobus van
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SILVER DIGEST // AUTUMN 2019
Oep ve Koep gave me the platform to experiment with veld-harvested food, test out some traditional recipes
After seven years, I felt ready to take this endeavour to the next level and was fortunate when Wolfgat, perched on top of the Wolfgat
