Brought to you by McCain Foodservice Solutions

In Waterkloof Golf Estate in Pretoria lies a restaurant that offers exceptional views and something for everyone when it comes to food. Its ability to combine local ingredients with contemporary cooking styles and methods resulted in De Kloof Restaurant being named one of the winners in McCain’s Foodservice Solutions’ Dishruption challenge.

Their winning dish is called Not Sushi, a play on what happens when you take South African ingredients and mix it up with Japanese flavours says the team at De Kloof Restaurant: “[Not Sushi] represents how diverse we are as a restaurant, showcasing how we can speak different languages in the form of food.” 

Chef Phillip, the head chef at De Kloof, is driven by his desire to reach the highest standards of excellence and culinary creativity. He likens being a chef to playing multiple roles: “You are an artist, a chemical engineer, a dietitian. Working with food is just such an inspiration.”

The offering at De Kloof Restaurant perfectly complements Chef Phillip’s approach. The restaurant serves two functions, providing fine dining and wine upstairs, and gourmet burgers downstairs for a more casual vibe. The location also provides beautiful sunset views, overlooking Centurion Hills.

Despite offering so much diversity and meeting everyone’s needs, like all restaurants, De Kloof struggled during the pandemic. “It’s been very challenging, especially not being able to operate at full capacity and not being able to serve alcohol at times, when you still have to pay fixed expenses, such as rent,” they explain. 

But, they add, “the restaurant industry teaches you skills that are essential to life, such as tolerance, patience and multitasking.” And it’s these skills that have helped them to survive and thrive.

“We’ve learnt to never take anything for granted and to live life to its fullest. Restaurant owners will have to be smarter than we were before and plan for natural disasters like COVID-19. As for customers, they will continue to be cautious about crowded restaurants.”

And how will the prize from the McCain Foodservice Solutions’ Dishruption challenge help with their vision? “We will be able to cut down on food costs and buy new equipment that is needed.”

Initiatives like McCain Foodservice Solutions’ Insider Club are vital to De Kloof and other restaurants as they try to rebuild after the pandemic. “They provide resources and services for restaurants to be able to better their services.”

Read more about the Dishruption challenge and winners here.