Marcelle Roberts is the chef and owner of Café 1999. Malu Lambert chats to her about Durban’s unique ingredients, SA’s most inspiring chef, and her sausage dog’s favourite meals.

Have you always wanted to be a chef?
I’ve always enjoyed cooking but my first choice was music. I’ve played the piano since I was four and thought it was my destiny. When I turned 18 I decided otherwise – much to my parents’ dismay! But I’ve never looked back. I’m a people person and I don’t think I would’ve been able to practise for eight hours a day!

What ingredient is unique to KZN, and do you use it in any of your dishes?
We’re blessed with a melting pot of local, interesting ingredients. I love using all the tropical fruits that are available – mangoes, pineapples, bananas, avos. We also have access to beautiful fresh fish. The most unique of all our ingredients is the Indian spices. All of these ingredients are a great inspiration, they also complement each other really well.

Durban is famous for its curry. What other culinary secrets should an out-of-towner know?
Curry is definitely our most famous local food, especially the bunny chow. There are great restaurants though, Beanbag Bohemia has been a favourite among the locals on the Berea for over a decade. I also think that we have some of the best waiters in the country.

What are Durbanites eating?
Durbanites like good, honest, well-cooked food. They are not into molecular gastronomy and over-the-top tasting menus; they would rather eat good ingredients that are well prepared. Italian restaurants do really well and value for money is very important. We used to serve half-portions to encourage patrons to sample many dishes, but quickly realised that there was a demand for bigger portions. Now we do both and it works really well.

What are Durban restaurants doing to prepare for the World Cup?
To be honest everyone is feeling a bit uncertain and I haven’t noticed any special preparations being made. I haven’t noticed any fly-by-night restaurants that have opened in the hope of making a quick buck. It’s almost like the calm before the storm. We’re ready for busy times but are not planning to hike up our prices because we’re committed to our local customers. We can only wait and see!

Where do you like to eat in KZN, and why?
We have an eleven-month-old son so we are doing very little eating out and a lot of eating in! But when we have a chance we love Bel Punto in Umdloti for long, lazy Sunday lunches, The Deli on Windermere Road for breakfast and Harvey’s for dinner.

Most inspiring SA chef?
Margot Janse. There are not many female chefs around and she has maintained such a high standard for so long. I also know that she is a mom and, being a new mom myself, I know what it’s like to juggle such a demanding career and family life.

How would you define Café 1999?
It’s a vibey café that serves good food and wine in a relaxed atmosphere. Our boutique-style wine list complements our modern twist on Mediterranean dishes. Sharing is big and we encourage people to get stuck into small, tasty portions.

Marcelle is married to Sean and they  have a 11-month-old baby. She met Sean eight years ago when Sean was a waiter and Marcelle was a chef. They also have a sausage dog called Stitch who “loves anybody’s cooking” but his favourite is roast chicken and sushi.