Latest news with #JenniferHugé
News24
11-08-2025
- Business
- News24
Seventh heaven: FYN restaurant unveils sleek new look ahead of anniversary
Afro-Japanese restaurant FYN has reopened ahead of its seventh anniversary in November. Chefs Peter Tempelhoff, Ashley Moss, and service director Jennifer Hugé marked the milestone with a full-scale renovation led by interior architect Tristan du Plessis. The update includes a new layout, redesigned kitchen and service pass, new furniture, and an immersive sensory layer. Cape Town's neoteric Afro-Japanese restaurant FYN has reopened with a new and evolved sleek designed interior before its seventh anniversary in November. FYN, owned by chefs Peter Tempelhoff, Ashley Moss, and Jennifer Hugé, has been at the forefront of South African fine dining since opening seven years ago. 'In restaurants, there's an unspoken rule about the seven-year cycle,' says Tempelhoff. 'Spaces start to show their age, no matter how timeless the design. At FYN, we've had guests dine with us over 60 times. We wanted to give them something worthy of that loyalty.' Supplied/FYN Restaurant Group FYN opened in 2018 and is housed in a former silk factory on Speaker's Corner, Cape Town. Over the past seven years, Tempelhoff, Moss and Hugé have orchestrated the restaurant's rise and consistently refined its philosophy. They have also expanded their culinary empire by adding three more upscale establishments: Beyond, Ramenhead and Sushiya, collectively forming the FYN Restaurant Group. Inside FYN's sleek new interior Interior architect Tristan du Plessis redesigned the layout, reconfigured the kitchen flow, and added new furniture. Working with Guideline's Christoff Karl, he created a new entrance hall with Japanese-etched black panels, brass inlays, and LED lighting. 'The refurbishment was conceived as a subtle evolution rather than a renovation, focused on enhancing the guest experience without changing the essence of the space,' explains Du Plessis, whose portfolio includes Clay restaurant in Bahrain and Cape Town's Gorgeous George Hotel. The dining room keeps FYN's signature ceiling installation, but now has dark wooden floors and a deep olive, rich chestnut, and brass palette. Custom tables with brass inlays and new leather-cushioned chairs complete the look. A blue LEGO block mounted to an I-beam adds a playful touch. A large oil painting by Jaco van Schalkwyk replaces the stairwell mural. It depicts a Cape kelp forest, maintaining the restaurant's focus on South African ecosystems. Evolving the Afro-Japanese menu The seasonal menu, led by culinary director Moss, continues to explore South African landscapes and indigenous ingredients through Japanese techniques. The FYN Restaurant Group tells News24 Food that the menu will strongly focus on indigenous ingredients, locality, heritage flavours, and the Cape's natural abundance, with a commitment to integrating edible plants and seasonal specialities like kelp. Chef Moss has also highlighted that spring is a perfect time for kelp and will maximise this season going forward. 'We're diving deeper into South Africa's landscapes, from the Cape's wild coastline to the mountainside slopes of fynbos, exploring indigenous ingredients with the precision of Japanese technique,' he explains. The FYN menu will focus of locality and heritage ingredients. Supplied/FYN Restaurant Group In a previous interview, Tempelhoff said that seasonality forces innovation across the kitchens of the FYN portfolio, including Ramenhead, Sushiya, and Beyond. 'We're really blessed in South Africa to be away from the rest of the world. When you start foraging, you realise we're so intrinsically connected to the seasons that it forces us to be creative and plan ahead.' New cutlery, glassware, and crockery allow for more tableside interaction. READ | Cape Town restaurant makes history by earning first three-star sustainable rating in Africa Sommelier and Service Director Hugé has expanded the cocktail programme with an 'Elemental' series inspired by the Cape's natural abundance. 'There's so much beautiful produce unique to the Cape,' says Hugé, 'and there are exciting ways it can be used in cocktails to create a real sense of place.' Supplied/FYN Restaurant Supplied/FYN Restaurant Group FYN sources ingredients from small suppliers in Japan and local South African producers. Tempelhoff partnered with Hugé and Moss in 2018 to create the 'neoteric' Afro-Japanese menu, earning international recognition, including a two-knife ranking in the 2024 Best Chef Awards and Relais & Châteaux membership. 'For us, this is not a reinvention, it's an evolution,' he says. 'The bones are the same, but everything else is fresher, sleeker, smarter, and more alive.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by FYN Cape Town (@fynrestaurantcpt)
Daily Maverick
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Because Great Wine Deserves Great Food
'Favourite Pairings', a collaboration between Radford Dale wines and top South African Chefs Wine and food are – as Jamie Oliver would put it – 'best mates'. Paired well, they simply lift each other. Wine, with its abundant aromas and intricate flavours, has the power to elevate a meal, just as food can greatly enhance the nuances of a fine wine. When perfectly paired, wine and food create a combination of tastes that resonate on multiple levels, transforming an ordinary dining experience into an extraordinary one. That's why this winter you'll find Radford Dale teaming up with some of South Africa's most exciting chefs, discovering how they would perfectly pair their favourite Radford Dale wine from their restaurant's wine list, with one of their own stand-out dishes. We aim to whet your appetite. We hope you feel inspired. And if you book a table to dine out at any of our partner restaurants before 31 October, you'll receive a gift voucher towards all Radford Dale wines, and you could even win a free case! See more info here. Grub & Vine Chef Matt Manning ' The elegance of Radford Dale's Frankenstein Pinotage, with its silky, ripe palate of strawberry and cherry fruit, is in perfect balance with Grub & Vine's hearty Beef Welly' Aubergine Chef Harald Bresselschmidt 'I am pairing the Radford Dale Organic Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc with the Springbok Medallion and Fillet, Pistachio and Forest Mushroom with Poppyseed Sauce because of the firm and fine restrained Tanins, ripe red fruit and light herbal spice.' Fyn Culinary Director Chef Ashley Moss, Beverage Director Jennifer Hugé and Founder Peter Tempelhof f 'Radford Dale Organic Revelation Sémillon 2022 paired with Atlantic Ridge kingklip, kapokbos tempura, coastal plants and daikon dashi.' Read More COMMENT: Sémillon is underrated in South Africa, one of the grape varieties Jennifer Hugé really enjoys, especially with a bit of age that adds complexity and enhances the honey-nutty character of the wine. At its youth, the brightness of the wine from the cooler climate of Elgin brings through the citrus-y / melon character. The tension of acidity of the Radford Dale Organic Semillon pairs extremely well with our delicate kingklip dish, where the slight honeyed flavour complements the umami-saltiness in the dashi broth. Speaking to Hugé, she comments on how the minerality of the wine enhances the flavour of the coastal plant elements of the dish (spekboom, samphire and salty fingers), really bringing out the essence of sea in the plate. Merchant Bar & Grill (Chef's Warehouse) Chef David Schneider & founder of Chef's Warehouse, Liam Tomlin 'The Radford Dale Vinum Gamay Noir is such an approachable wine, lightly oaked with a hint of spice and tart cherry and red berry flavours of the roast duck breast enhance the fruitiness of the wine and the wines acidity cuts through the richness of the duck' Read More Coy Chefs Teenola Govender & Geoffrey Abrahams 'The Radford Dale Vinum Pinot Noir enhances the Venison Tataki with its juicy cherry and sweet berry notes, while its savoury spice and fine tannins complement the green olive tapenade and ginger chiffonade for a harmonious pairing. ' Marble Chef David Higgs
