When young chef Angelo Scirocco started Urbanologi, he created a transformative restaurant that turned expectations and eating habits around, and introduced many to exceptional food. Scirocco’s particular brand of science-meets-art cuisine – with a lot of Japanese technique mixed in – won him the 2016 Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star Award. Then the maverick chef resigned from his own success during its heyday. Everyone was left reeling with the questions: What and where now?

Chef Angelo Scirocco. Photo supplied.

The answer to the where part of the question, we can now reveal, is Pretoria – the Brooklyn Design Quarter, to be exact. And, as Angelo Scirocco’s fans would expect, the creation of the new place is painstaking and interesting – but completely different to Urbanologi. If you have been following his travels to Japan, there have been some clues as to the what.

More freshness!! #cherries #shibuya #tokyo

A post shared by Angelo Duarte Scirocco (@adscirocco) on May 28, 2017 at 5:40pm PDT

Called Wood&Fire, the new capital city spot will pull together finely finished and carved wood, as well as fire, with Japanese cooking techniques. The food will be rich in culture. We will not be bored. Rest assured: it will be completely different to David Higgs’s Joburg live fire restaurant, Marble.

The new space will be called Wood & Fire. Photo supplied.

Imagine the chief magistrate of Venice – in the time of the Renaissance, when traders and travellers from all over the world passed through – hosting a revered shōgun at his place. The shōgun, whose own chef accompanied him, of course, would unpack his ancestral cleaver, and treat the magistrate and his multi-national guests to a succession of feasts. Italian Scirocco, with his knack for Japanese techniques, will surely wow guests in the same manner.

So far, we know that the new open kitchen will be four times the size of the previous one and the restaurant space will be much smaller, seating a mere one hundred diners.

Opening dates are still to be confirmed, but early discussions suggest around the end of November or early December.

Stay tuned for the full story!

The new space is still under construction, but expect extreme attention to detail and beautiful wooden furniture. Image supplied.