05 Jan |
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 Even if your cheffing ship has sailed, there’s still the chance to get a taste for life on the other side of the pass with Societi Bistro’s ‘Kitchen Unconfidential’. Societi’s one of my favourite Cape Town eateries, so I was intrigued to play cook – not critic – for a change and signed up for this three-day peek into a chef’s world. Three days, twelve hours a day. I had my work cut out for me. ‘Kitchen Unconfidential’ has a bit of a split personality. Chef Stefan Marais happily tailors the course around what you’d like to learn, but this is also a working kitchen. If cupcakes and prawn gumbo aren’t on the menu, chances are you won’t be cooking them. And it’s key not to be too precious in the kitchen. If pepper needs crushing, or onions need chopping – yes, all 10kgs of them – then dive in and sharpen those knife skills. Chances are you’ll learn something new from old kitchen hands, and the crew will respect that you’re not afraid of getting your hands dirty. Each day starts at 9am, and prep is already in full swing. I get stuck into the daily bread, before flouring and searing two-dozen lamb shanks. Coq au vin for 20 is next, followed by cooking down a pork belly. Most dishes are prepped fresh each day, so if you miss out one day you can always get stuck in on the next. Throughout the day Stefan and Kyle (the sous chef) keep me busy on a variety of dishes, offering tips and moving me between stations. After a two-hour break (my feet are already a little weary), I come back to the kitchen at 6pm and there’s a sense of the team getting ready for battle. Cooks check their mise-en-place of clarified butter, stock, salt and herbs. Dishtowels are shifted nervously from shoulder to apron and back again. I watch and learn, helping to top up herbs and wipe down sections in preparation for the inevitable rush. As diners start arriving, the chattering printer dictates the pace of life in the kitchen. Although the pace ebbs and flows, there’s always a corner of the kitchen that’s working flat-out. Cold section bookends dinner with salads and desserts, while the grill and hot starters are a flurry of activity throughout the evening.  Across the three days you’re given a chance to work the service across all sections of the kitchen. Watching the team in full flight can be intimidating, but I take it one dish at a time and soon learn how the pieces fall into place. Risottos become second nature, spinach is sautéed without second thought and I have burns from the grill to show off. Working the pass is a highlight, as it’s where the magic comes together. Stefan plays air traffic controller with incoming orders, and plates each dish perfectly before handing it over to waiters. It’s an exciting and exhausting day in the kitchen… and we’ll do it all again tomorrow. Did I learn how to cook new dishes? For sure, and Stefan is only too generous with his recipes. New skills? Absolutely, and I can now chop veggies with the best of them. But most of all I learnt new respect for the professional chefs who slave away behind the pass, obeying the printer and conjuring top-class meals each and every night. This is a cooking experience, not just a cooking course. If you want to learn a few dishes and skills you’ll certainly find that here, but it’s more than that. It’s a taste for the enthusiastic amateur of what could have been. Kitchen Unconfidential costs R3000 per person for three days. Call 021 42 42 100 or visit www.societi.co.za. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites            |