An Ode to The Producer
The LivingRoom at Summerhill’s new menu is a celebration of Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Winter produce and the small-scale producers from which they are sourced.
L-R: Chef Johannes Richter, Vanessa’s whole chicken, jackfruit & amaranth, welcome board of beetroot, cucumber and curry leaf.
Situated within Summerhill Guest Estate in Kwa-Zulu Natal, The LivingRoom is South Africa’s best restaurant – named as such in 2022 as the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant of the Year. It is here where chef Johannes Richter showcases the province’s culinary diversity from garden to plate, expressed through his fine French training and passion for Asian techniques, delivering a fine-dining experience combining exceptional food with premium wines and top-notch hospitality.
Driven by the seasons, the hyper-endemic menu is a glorious showcase of the bounty of produce that is found in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Much of the menu developed using ingredients from the estate’s own gardens with remaining produce sourced from small-scale farmers from the area.
While spring through late Autumn, see the grounds offer up a plentitude of produce from their fruit bearing plants and tree, Winters are somewhat less abundant. This means Chef Johannes leans a bit more on his cohort of small-scale, independent and ethically like-minded producers to create his spectacular seven-course tasting menu. Farmers, producers and suppliers he is thrilled to be able to champion and celebrate through his cooking.
It’s a network the chef has been growing from the early days of The LivingRoom in 2017, he recalls with utmost clarity the struggles of having limited access to good, like-minded suppliers – large-scale, commercial produce seemed all that was available, and he vividly remembers the struggles this presented to his culinary ethos.
As The LivingRoom grew and word spread of what he was doing, he slowly but surely came into contact with suppliers who were farming, growing and sourcing the quality produce he was after for his menu.
“Our dishes are predominantly based on three ingredients, there’s no room to hide and every element has to shine. This only works with quality produce and having like-minded suppliers” says the chef “We strive to treat our suppliers well and pay properly ensuring a sustainable model where, as we grow, they can grow with us.”
His current menu is in many ways a celebration of these individuals and the ingredients they provide to The LivingRoom. Each piece of meat, poultry and vegetable showcased to its utmost potential.
For the first course, there’ the golden nugget pumpkin farmed by husband-and-wife duo Dion and Chisomo Bean on their permaculture farm up in Howick. The gourd, displaying a lovely sweetness and texture, is served in numerous forms and textures. Some are roasted off and glazed in miso and rolled in pumpkin seeds before being topped with raw marinated pumpkin for contrasting crunch. Then there’s the pickle, puree, and mousse which offers up flavours of pumpkin spices the likes of fennel, piment and cinnamon. It’s a dish which plays heavily into nostalgia, the warm comforting flavours of winter presented through this most humble ingredient.
Pumpkin.
Then there’s the guinea fowl, the free range and organic poultry from a local hunter is sourced from maize fields up in Estcourt. The bird is broken down ensuring as much of it is used as possible, mitigating waste. What isn’t portioned and braised is minced. The mince and liver are used to make dumpling sausages glazed in a jus of Natal coastal plums – packing in acidity and fruitiness to the dish. These are then served together with textures of green banana – grown on the estate – together with dehydrated cherries preserved from summer season.
Guinea Fowl.
On the side is a textured and tender terrine made using the slow braised guinea fowl, once again accompanied by green banana – here as a mousse and chips, candied coastal plum and freshly picked herbs. It’s a rich, hearty and flavourful dish merging specialty local produce with that grown by the chef himself.
When it comes to winter produce one of the chef’s most coveted locally sourced ingredients are no doubt the black winter truffles, sourced from Willowdale Truffles in the Southern Drakensberg. And while not in season just yet, the chef promises that they will be a special feature on the menu as it evolves and that they will be used generously.
Aubergine.
The LivingRoom’s new winter menu is available for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and for lunch on Saturdays. The tasting menu is priced at R1 250.00 per person while the reduced five-course menu is available for R950.00 per person.
Address: Summerhill Guest Estate
9 Belvedale Rd, Cowies Hill, Pinetown, 3610
For more information and reservations: https://summerhillkzn.com