Chef Heinrich-Werner Blom is shaking things up at Jessica's in the diminutive town of Montagu, courtesy of a newly acquired sous vide machine (method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period at relatively low temperatures) and a bevy of bright ideas.

Annette Klinger chatted to the young chef about his love of this progressive cooking technique, as well as his unabashed dislike of vegetables.

When did you first decide that you wanted to become a chef and how did you end up at Jessica's?
I've always loved cooking. When I was 10 years old I dreamt of becoming a chef, but when I finished school I ended up studying theology! After a stint spent as a barman in Scotland, I finally decided to follow my dream and started working at Montagu's Mimosa Lodge as a trainee under chef Bernard Hess. About three years ago my sister and her husband, Adele and Werner Joubert, told me that they were planning on buying Jessica's, and asked whether I'd come on board as chef. I've been there ever since.

Tell us a bit more about your approach to food.
I do what I enjoy and try to serve people the most honest food I can, made with the freshest possible ingredients. I also like to break the mould from time to time, and do something a little bit out of the ordinary.

Such as?
I'll use ice cream as a garnish with one of my starters, for example. I make my own black pudding with blood that I get from the local abattoir, which I serve together with sous-vide pork belly and smoked apple ice cream. You're not only playing with the different tastes and textures, but also with temperature. It adds another dimension to the dish.

Sous vide in the tiny town of Montagu?
How's that going down? It's definitely a first in Montagu. I read a lot of books by Heston Blumenthal and Thomas Keller, and I got quite excited when I learnt about the process of sous vide – using lower temperatures to get a better end result that you can't with conventional cooking. After we purchased the machine and decided to create a sous vide menu, we weren't sure how it was going to be received, but it's actually going really well.

What's on the sous vide menu?
Duck liver pâté for starters. I find that you get a much smoother pâté with sous vide liver. Veal calvados also lends itself perfectly to the cooking method, because the whole cut of meat ends up medium rare, as opposed to just its centre. There's also braised veal brisket, which is a very flavourful, but normally very tough cut of meat. It turns out perfectly tender when it’s cooked for a longer time at a lower temperature.

You've mentioned your love of incorporating local produce on your menu. What are some of your favourite local ingredients?
I'm not going to tell you that I love to work with local vegetables, because I don't like eating them at all. I think the taste of Karoo lamb is far superior to that of any other lamb. It's absolutely beautiful. Conveniently, my brother-in-law is also a butcher, so he gets me the best possible cuts of meat to work with.

What was the best dining experience that you've had this year? Apart from anything you made yourself, of course.
I was blown away by the food at Taste of Cape Town, especially Margot Janse and Peter Tempelhoff’s offerings. The things they do with food are just amazing.

 Lastly, where do you like to dine on your days off?
I don't eat out nearly as much as I would like to. A while back I went to a little place in Oudtshoorn called Kalinka's. I was very pleasantly surprised – the food was great.