It’s between shifts at Cape Town’s swankiest Italian restaurant, 95 Keerom, and I’m sipping espresso with owner and chef, Giorgio Nava. With focaccia in the oven, pungent aromas of rosemary are billowing from the kitchen and in the adjacent room waiters quietly scurry around in preparation for dinner. At the bar the manager is calmly sorting out what seems to be a shortage of staff for the evening shift.

It would seem that even high profile kitchen appointments in Cape Town’s restaurant scene have become increasingly fickle, often presenting title-hungry chefs with the opportunity to add yet another acclaimed eatery to their otherwise skeletal curriculum vitae.

Even though Giorgio’s career is firmly rooted in self-made successes, the idea of being “profiled” for the Eat Out website suddenly sparks him to avow his dislike of phoney ‘celebrity’ and the name-dropping that usually accompanies it. Although he has more than twenty years’ experience in some of the top restaurants in Milan, as well as stints in New York and Japan, it is evident that simplicity and honesty is still what matters most to him – an approach that has awarded him a place in Eat Out’s Top 10 Restaurant Awards more than once.

He speaks passionately of his background in Milan and elsewhere, but his love affair with Cape Town is apparent. It is his passion for deep-sea fishing that first brought him to the shores of South Africa in 1984, and it was during this holiday that he recognised the country’s enormous potential.

“This country, and especially Cape Town, has so much to offer. The climate is perfect and there are such good ingredients – good olive oil, fantastic fish, meat and wine. It’s the ideal location to have a restaurant.” Adding (in his charming, Italianesque English), “It is like to be at home – maybe even better.”

His style of cooking still reflects his Milanese heritage, (“Most of the great Italian chefs are from Northern Italy”), because it’s what he knows and loves – a passion proven in the superior carpaccio dishes, excellent meat and modest pastas that can be found on his menu.

“The dishes at 95 Keerom are simple. I don’t use a lot of ingredients. None of that fusion confusion. But I take personal care.”

Although he appreciates the forward thinking work of internationally acclaimed chefs like Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal, he believes that the ongoing trend towards slow food and a return to organic ingredients is the future.

“Ingredients should be left alone more. Leave the natural flavour.”

It is this passion for the quality of ingredients that has led him to acquire a boat which supplies the restaurant with its daily catch, as well as a farm in the Graaff-Reinet region of the Karoo where venison, beef and lamb is specially farmed. He even provides local vegetable growers with seeds for Italian varieties of rocket and tomato.

“It is a way to control the quality of the ingredients – you can mature the meat as you like – but customers also like the idea of organic produce. Some people are even interested in how the animals are farmed. 

This back-to-basics approach also applies to his staff. “I prefer starting from zero, so I ‘build’ my own ‘Italian’ chefs from scratch. At 95 we cook a little differently – it’s my ‘religion’”. He smiles and then adds, “I am very happy. My people are all young and motivated and they enjoy my style of cooking.”

And his views on Cape Town’s dining scene?

“Restaurants definitely need to improve on service. And consistency – that is very important. Young chefs should also try and travel more overseas. Italy, Spain, France – countries with a culture and history of fine food.”

Although lagging a little behind as far as a rich history of fine food is concerned, South Africa has certainly managed to entice signor Nava with its superb produce, of which kudu is a favourite.

“I am a big hunter and I love venison meat. Kudu, rhebok and bush pig (it makes a wonderful goulash or sauce for pasta)”
 
I mention rumours that he is involved in a new restaurant venture and although he admits that something is in the pipeline, no details are divulged. 

“I tend to do these things very calmly because it’s my passion. I have no fuss about opening.”

And for now his attention remains firmly on 95 Keerom. 

“We are always fully booked. I enjoy it most when my restaurant is full and the printer is printing – it’s such a beautiful emotion! That is what chefs should enjoy.”

95 Keerom
95 Keerom Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Call 021-422 0765