Brought to you by S.Pellegrino

Ground-breaking initiatives such as the Restaurant Rescue Project and Eat Out’s Restaurant Relief Fund, to which S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna contributed substantially, are a lifeline for the survival and regeneration of the South African gastronomic landscape. Chefs Chris Erasmus of Foliage, Matt Manning of Grub & Vine and Peter Tempelhoff of FYN share how they have survived lockdown and what’s currently helping them move forward.

The Restaurant Rescue Project

Saving the restaurant industry was on Alex Dale’s mind in late July. “We were seeing the carnage in the restaurants we knew and wanted to find a way of helping,” says the owner of Radford Dale Winery. “I wanted a mechanism that would generate sufficient funds to really make an impact for each restaurant.” He brainstormed with Matt Manning, chef-patron of Grub & Vine, and the Restaurant Rescue Project was born. Each restaurant is adopted by different wine estates. It’s a voucher system with a difference – purchase a voucher to dine at your chosen restaurant any time over the next two years and you get a complimentary case of wine to the equivalent value (or more) from the partner wine estate/s. “Our 200 vouchers sold out in a matter of days, generating a healthy cash injection for us,” says Matt. “From there it snowballed, with numerous other wineries coming on board in support of some of Cape Town’s best–loved eateries – all thanks to Alex’s connections and tireless efforts.”

For the customer it’s a fabulous bargain – the wineries are digging deep into their inventory and bringing out older fine wines to give away. Wine estates have suffered too during lockdown, but those who are coming on board have a strong export market that has given them a lifeline – one they’re keen to extend to the restaurant industry, says Alex. Vouchers for Wolfgat, The Pot Luck Club, Aubergine, Black Sheep, The Test Kitchen, Foxcroft and Grub & Vine sold out within days and the rest are moving fast, including Upper Bloem, La Mouette, Salsify, FYN, La Tête, SeaBreeze Fish & Shell, 96 Winery Road, Cheyne’s, Jonkershuis, The Codfather and Blockhouse, partnered with an impressive line-up of wine estates.

The Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund

Since it started in April, the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund has raised R1.67M so far, distributing funds between 55 restaurants that are cooking for communities in need. This is not slowing down as restaurants start to re-open as the need is greater than ever.

“Our restaurant partners are still actively continuing with their feeding projects – although they have had to reduce their feeding days to allow for normal operations,” says Tarryn Corlett, Head of the Eat Out Restaurant Relief Fund. “The Fund is continuing to raise money for new applications that come in, as well as topping up existing restaurants to keep them in business. Together, these restaurants have successfully managed to produce over 800,000 meals and this number continues to grow. This would not have been possible without the overwhelming support received from the public and companies like New Media, SanPellegrino, Graham Beck and Steenberg Vineyards, Retail Capital and many more.”

S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna contributed R200,000 to the fund in June as part of their #SupportRestaurants movement. The 50 Best for Recovery fund, in partnership with S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, is also set to donate over R670,000 as a result of the Bid for Recovery auction. This online initiative replaces the regular 50 Best annual events, raising funds to provide financial relief to restaurants worldwide by auctioning spectacular gastronomic experiences with the world’s top chefs and restaurants.

Adapting, surviving and moving forward

Restaurants have come up with a diverse array of offerings to survive lockdown but it has been a constant battle, so all these funding initiatives have been vital. Three chefs share what has worked for them so far:

Grub & Vine

“We managed to keep all of our staff on payroll over the past few months, and thanks to the income generated from the Restaurant Rescue Project, we can keep ticking along for another few – which will hopefully enable us to ride out the worst of the storm,” says Matt. Their survival through the worst months of lockdown was helped by a new offering, Matt says: “Virtual Dining, our interactive, at-home fine dining experience, has been a success and a very positive thing to come out of lockdown –  allowing us to create a new revenue stream. It’s something that we are very proud of, and that we will keep as part of our offering – even when things slowly start to return to normal.”

FYN

“What’s kept us sane is to evolve with what’s going on around us; come up with solutions – it’s kept our creative juices flowing,” says chef Peter Tempelhoff of FYN. They started developing ideas for home deliveries early in lockdown. “We had photos of the dishes for FYN from Home meals taken. After the shoot, we packed up all the food to give away – we saw there was a huge need and started cooking for a local shelter.” They continued to cook for various charities, including schools in Khayelitsha co-ordinating with Ladles of Love. “We’re still doing about 2000 meals a week through Ellerman House and FYN. The need is still there, so we’ve put it into our roster to keep it going.”

Now open for sit- down lunches and dinners, they have reimagined the restaurant interior with Japanese-inspired screens between tables and perspex screens around the open kitchen. “It’s important for people to feel safe at FYN. We’ve adjusted our menus – you get a QR code for the menu with information on the dishes and ingredients, so you don’t have your waiter at the table explaining things for five minutes,” says Peter. He and Ashley Moss have also come up with new culinary concepts: “It’s a shorter, cheaper menu that is incredible value and helps with current constraints of time with curfew. We’re still getting the FYN experience over to our guests but it’s costing them less, very much geared to locals.”

Foliage

Foliage in Franschhoek kept its doors open in the first months of lockdown, driving the Franschhoek community food relief effort, prepping meals and chopping veggies for local soup kitchens. Next, chef Chris Erasmus focused on Foliage’s survival. “We got permits to open as an essential business and turned the restaurant into a deli. Two Franschhoek chefs who’d lost their restaurants are selling their products here,” he says. Street food such as pies, curried vetkoek and pastries sell alongside fresh produce, sauces and meats. When Foliage was finally able to open for sit–down meals, Chris divided the space in two. The front section is the deli, while the inner room is the Foliage dining area, serving lunch and dinner on weekends to locals taking scenic road trips into the valley. The menu is shorter to keep overheads down and realistically priced for locals.

“We’ve been getting creative with things like non-alcoholic cocktails – keeping it fun!” says Chris. Foraged wild herbs and ingredients, always one of Foliage’s creative strengths, have an added benefit: “We’re foraging a lot harder these days, so we buy less.” The deli also stays open in the evenings, so that you can shop for that sauce, chutney, or steak you enjoyed at dinner and take a parcel home. “We’re extremely flexible, there is no more ‘No’. If we have it in the restaurant, we’ll cook anything you want!” says Chris, adding that the important thing is to keep positive and save our industry.

Looking to the future

As for what’s ahead, Matt says, “What keeps me going is imagining things a year from now: our restaurant, once again busy (but with sanitation protocols firmly in place), people out in the streets and festive after months of isolation, and our borders open, with tourism trickling back. I know in the greater scheme of life, these past few months are a relatively small part of the bigger picture, and I do believe we will emerge stronger, more resilient, and with a new appreciation of the things we took for granted before – spending time with friends and family and of course, enjoying good food and wine.”