An evening at the Foodbarn

When I was a student at chef school for a year, we had two big practical exams, one halfway through the year and the other at the end of the year. For these exams, we had to cook a three course meal including specific elements that showed off the techniques we’d learnt. And we had to cook it all perfectly and present the food beautifully while sticking to a time limit. I can’t remember what the time limit was – three hours, maybe? It was nerve-wracking. They were the two scariest exams of my life, apart from, possibly, my driver’s licence test.

   

To make myself feel a little more confident going into these exams, I cheated. Sort of. We were meant to design entirely original menus and accompanying recipes, and our overall exam mark included a mark for the menu design. The problem was that, surrounded by some brilliant fellow students, I didn’t trust myself to come up with a decent menu. So I decided to "get inspiration" for recipes and dishes from cookbooks.

As a poor student, though, I couldn’t afford cookbooks, so I’d gather up a pile of the latest and most inspiring ones at my local book store, hide behind a bookshelf with my stash, and go through them slowly and carefully. Hidden under the cookbooks on my lap would be a small notebook and pen, where I would surreptitiously jot down ideas, names of dishes, and even entire recipes. This was of course all very much against the rules, since I was using the books but not buying them. Luckily I only got caught and kicked out once.

Despite all the many cookbooks I copied from, there was only one whose ideas and recipes I eventually used for my exams: Feast, by Franck Dangereux. Back then he was the head chef at La Colombe, making what I thought looked and sounded like some of the most beautiful, yet simple food imaginable. So that’s what I attempted for my exams.

Nowadays, Franck Dangereux owns the Foodbarn in Noordhoek, a much more relaxed space than La Colombe, but still with his signature beautiful, simple food. On Wednesday evening, I was lucky enough to be taken by Andrew (so thoughtful!) to finally see him in action, doing a cooking demonstration of three different dishes before we were served a three course dinner with wine pairings. He was just as lovely and entertaining as I’d hoped, and I came away from the demonstration having learnt lots.

Franck Dangereux putting the finishing touches
on the dishes he demonstrated

Cooking, talking, and generally being charming

And then, dinner. All I can say is that I managed with some effort not to lick my plate after every course. 

We both ordered this starter: cauliflower and basil mousseline ,
yellow fin tuna sashimi, aioli, soy sauce, and pickled ginger.
I couldn't wait for the camera before digging in.

Andrew's main course: candied pipperade galette, grilled kingklip,
and thyme butter

My main course: slow roasted pork belly, almond mash, wilted spinach,
balsamic jus, and marjoram swirl

My dessert: banana crepe with rum, treacle ice cream,
and coconut sauce

Andrew's dessert: trio of homemade ice creams - hazelnut, horlicks,
and white chocolate