When did you last have a good old-fashioned steak smothered with Café de Paris butter? I love eating out, but even more so when a chef inspires me to get into my own kitchen and cook. This is exactly what happened last week. Because our babysitter abandoned us for a month over the holidays, our eating-out habits have not been what they usually are. But we did manage to sneak in a dinner – a steak at HQ in Cape Town.

I hadn’t been there before, but had heard so much about the super-fresh iceberg lettuce (yes, iceberg is back), Parmesan and pine nut salad with lemony mustard dressing, the aged sirloin, the butter and those bottomless crispy French fries. That’s the menu, nothing fancy, but consistency is king here. The Café de Paris butter is sensational – a creamy mass of butter and 18 herbs and spices.

 I went back three days later for another steak – I just couldn’t resist – and it was just as good as the first. I was intrigued by all those spices so, when I got home, I headed off into my own kitchen and whisked up a glorious concoction of butter – lots of it – and mustards, capers, parsley, paprika, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, rosemary and fresh tarragon, which I was particularly excited about because you don’t often find it, and a touch of brandy. We ate it slightly melted on roasted silverside. It was delicious. In fact I loved it so much that the recipe is going to be in the 50th issue of Woolworths Taste magazine, which goes on sale on 24 March. It’s so worth it!

I’d love to hear if you know of any other steakhouses that whip up a good Café de Paris butter.

 Here’s to buttering up!

Abigail