The phrase ‘a meeting of minds’ perhaps best encapsulates the ethos behind Etienne Bonthuys’s newest epicurean endeavour, Casparus. Housed in a Stellenbosch Victorian that once belonged to the Dutch East India Company doctor Casparus Termytel, the restaurant is as much a tribute to Etienne’s celebrated fare as it is the work of landscape artist Strijdom van der Merwe.

Etienne, who has been an avid follower of Strijdom’s works for close to a decade, would often regale the artist with pipe dreams of opening an ever-evolving restaurant that would double as a permanent exhibition space for Strijdom’s transient land art.

‘When Etienne left Tokara last year, we started to put his plans into practice,’ says Strijdom. ‘I made loads of sketches of what the interior would look like, some completely far-fetched and impractical, but Etienne encouraged them. He had some pretty funny ideas himself. He had dreams of letting people enter the restaurant through the kitchen, and having a cooking space that could move from one end of the restaurant to the other!’

The final product, though not quite as adventurous as Etienne’s initial ideas, is quite a sight to behold. Sparsely adorned with a sprinkling of crosshatched lines, the entrance lobby is a mere amuse bouche to the organised chaos of geometric lines that reign in the main dining area. The cavernous space is broken up by moveable wall-to-ceiling screens emblazoned with pictures of Strijdom’s land art, behind which Etienne and his staff busy themselves in the kitchen.

‘The idea behind the screens is to be able to sporadically slide them open to incorporate the action of the kitchen into the interior,’ explains Strijdom. ‘On the days when Etienne’s feeling a bit introverted, the kitchen can be completely hidden.’

Supplying conversation fodder to talked-out diners, there’s a show reel depicting how many of Strijdom’s now iconic works came into being. The most interesting décor detail, however, are the rough-hewn wooden trusses that gradually disintegrate into a jumble of crisscrossed beams, a motif that’s well known in Strijdom’s work.

Even though Etienne’s Tokara signature fillet with bone marrow in red wine sauce still enjoys a prime spot on the menu, there’s an array of new, innovative creations that are being meticulously plated. Take, for example, the hake soufflé starter, where Etienne turns the ramekin-confined retro classic on its head by quenelling the soufflé mixture and slow-poaching it. The delicately fishy, mousse-like spheres are complemented by slow-roasted red pepper and macadamia nut sauce, Shimeji mushrooms and basil oil, and topped with a dusting of caviar. Equally satisfying is a simple salad of marinated artichokes, slices of poached pear, straw mushroom and tapenade.

Etienne’s new signature dish is the artfully prepared shredded oxtail with baby calamari. The former is a gloriously rich, slow-cooked, salty perfection with hints of aniseedy sweetness, while the flash-fried squid is butter-soft and served with a creamy multi-layered saffron sauce, no doubt inspired by the time the chef spent in Belgium.

Etienne is decidedly modest when asked how his food complements the interior and vice versa. ‘It’s a gallery first,’ he says.  ‘The restaurant bit is just coincidental.’

Having sampled Etienne’s culinary artistry first hand, I’d say that’s the understatement of the year.

By Annette Klinger