Latest news with #ThePotLuckClub
TimesLIVE
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Pot Luck Club's London debut
One of South Africa's most acclaimed restaurants, The Pot Luck Club, is heading to London for a three-month residency at the Waldorf Hilton — also known as the Waldorf London — a grand Edwardian landmark in the heart of Covent Garden. From mid-August, the Pot Luck Club will take over the hotel's flagship restaurant, Homage. Set near the Royal Opera House, the Waldorf has been a fixture in the capital's cultural and hospitality landscape since it opened in 1908. Founded by William Waldorf Astor, it was one of the first hotels in London to combine luxurious accommodation with a full social experience, offering everything from elegant dinners to refined afternoon teas. The London residency is a natural extension for The Pot Luck Club. Cape Town's restaurant scene is highly seasonal, with a surge of visitors in summer and quieter during winter. Add to that the explosion of new high-quality openings in the city, and it has created a more competitive environment — making this timing spot on for an international pop-up in summer. This isn't the first global outing for celebrated chef and founder Luke Dale Roberts, who has taken Pot Luck to Verbier and Andermatt in Switzerland, and Test Kitchen to the Shangri-La Le Touessrok in Mauritius, as well as guest appearances around the world. Known for putting fine dining on the map in South Africa, Dale Roberts has built a global following with his inventive, flavour-packed small plates and bold approach to 'global tapas'. Since opening on top of Cape Town's Old Biscuit Mill in 2012, The Pot Luck Club has drawn crowds for its punchy, eclectic menu and striking city views. For the London residency, Dale Roberts and his Cape Town team will personally oversee the launch, with sous chef Rachel Maroun staying on to lead the kitchen for part of the time. Dale Roberts has been in discussion with hotel operators since the Covid-19 lockdowns, and stayed in touch as new opportunities emerged. There will be fewer dishes than at the Pot Luck Club in Cape Town and the team has been rehearsing fervently. The menu will include some Pot Luck family favourites. Diners can expect smoked beef fillet with truffle café au lait, Springbok tataki with mandarin gastrique and Cape Malay-spiced vegetarian dishes — all underpinned by British produce and seasonal ingredients. 'As a Brit, there's something meaningful about returning in this way, partnering with one of London's landmark hotels and sharing what we've built in Cape Town with a new audience. We've been fortunate to grow an international following at home and this feels like the natural next step,' says Dale Roberts. 'It's going to carry all the DNA of Pot Luck. Punchy global sharing plates, touches of Cape Malay influence and the very best ingredients we can source in the UK.' The experience goes beyond the food. Service and atmosphere will mirror the relaxed yet refined Cape Town original. The dining space will concentrate on the Pot Luck table set-up and food style, while relying on the old-world charm of the room. Meanwhile, front-of-house and culinary staff from both Cape Town and London have been training, and soft openings will precede the official launch on August 13. A curated cocktail programme will accompany the food, led by the Waldorf's head bartender Abby Long and developed in collaboration with Dale Roberts. Served at The Wild Monkey bar, the drinks menu will feature house-infused cordials, seasonal ingredients and cocktails designed to echo the kitchen's bold flavours. For the first time, a dedicated bar snacks menu — also designed by Dale Roberts — will be offered to complement the drinks. Guy Hilton, area GM at The Waldorf London, says the partnership brings together one of London's landmark hotels and one of South Africa's most celebrated restaurants. Dinner will be served daily from 5pm, with the final seating at 10pm. Diners can choose from an à la carte offering, a shorter prix fixe menu, or indulge in the full tasting experience. For those who can't make it to London, The Pot Luck Club continues to operate in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In the Cape, it's running its Sunday Brunch Winter Extravaganza — a decadent 10-course affair with bottomless bubbles and a standout Bloody Mary DIY station for R1,250 a person. Expect indulgent offerings like oysters topped with trout roe and spicy dressing, cornbread with lobster, brioche with quail egg and an interpretation on the classic Arnold Bennett smoked haddock omelette. There's also risotto, roast lamb served with seasonal vegetables and a trio of desserts: chamomile madeleines, strawberries and cream, and a selection of pastries. The winter brunch offering runs until September 28. In Johannesburg, The Pot Luck Club recently relocated from Rosebank to the elegant yet intimate Peech Hotel in Melrose. Its London residency joins a growing trend of top South African restaurants reaching global audiences. In July, Salsify at the Roundhouse held a two-night collaboration with Michelin-starred Akoko in London — another sign of the country's increasingly confident culinary voice on the world stage.
Time Out
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Salon: Carla Schulze on cooking with heart and sauce
Tucked beneath The Pot Luck Club in Woodstock's Old Biscuit Mill, you'll find Salon - a space that began as an overflow area and is now an award-winning dining destination in its own right. There's a considered rhythm to service here: a storytelling Explorer Menu unfolds course by course, from cheese shaved on a girolle to the theatre of a Crêpe Suzette-inspired duck plated table-side with a three-day citrus jus. A hush falls as plates arrive - not out of stiffness, but out of anticipation. 'When Luke Dale Roberts opens a restaurant, people want to eat,' says Executive Chef Carla Schulze with a laugh. 'People were ordering the canapés twice over. So we introduced a main course. And it eventually evolved into an 11-course tasting menu.' Carla's been there through the thick of the evolution, leading the pass to clinch Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Luxe Restaurant Awards, where she was also awarded Culinary Innovation of the Year. In short, Salon's Explorer Menu is a globally inspired seasonal journey, visually mapping flavours across Italy, Morocco, France and the United Kingdom, while being anchored by local South African ingredients. Karoo saffron lifts a Sicilian-inspired broth. Simon's Town choka (octopus) is paired with miso and chilli. The reinvention of the humble 'slangetjie' is a quirky surprise, as each plate nudges you towards unexpected memories of homegrown flavours in the most wonderful way. A breakthrough in simplicity One of the defining dishes on this menu was initially centred around turnips. 'We were working with beautiful winter turnips,' Carla recalls. 'The original dish had duck ham, salad, orange dressing, walnuts… it was a celebration of turnip. But it didn't click.' After several rounds of reworking, they stripped it all back. 'We pulled out a plate: a piece of duck, an orange sauce. That was it. We just knew — this is the dish.' It was a turning point. Simplicity with intention is now the driving philosophy. The final version features dry-aged duck, velvet celeriac purée, and a Crêpe Suzette-style sauce that takes three days to make. "Now, there are only four elements - for a main course, that's risky. This dish taught us to pare things down and perfect them." A legendary apprenticeship The refinement on each plate speaks to her mentorship under Luke Dale Roberts. Carla has spent almost a decade in the LDR group — from The Test Kitchen to the Pot Luck Club. She wrote The Test Kitchen Cookbook and has designed dishes for pop-ups and private dining experiences. Outside of Salon, she has also ventured into the playful pop-up space as co-founder of How Bao Now in 2020, alongside longtime friend Matt van den Berg, centred on the fluffy Asian traditions of bao buns, together with authentic Cape flavours. 'Luke's not just a phenomenal chef. He's a good man,' she says. 'He trusts his team and that makes you want to rise to his level.' Trust is evident in Carla's stewardship of Salon's evolving tasting menus. 'I really believe that when food is cooked with love, you can taste it. That energy translates directly to the plate," says Carla. And it starts with the kitchen culture, she adds. "The most important thing is maintaining a happy, focused team. If the kitchen environment is tense or people feel like they can't express themselves, the food loses something." This translates into a safe space "to mess up, ask questions, and learn without fear", according to Carla. "We take a lot of time to teach - not just the how, but the why behind everything, whether it's a chipotle chilli or a tamarillo. We meet weekly, we taste together, we talk through new projects and prep. And we really back each other - if someone's finished early, they'll walk over and ask, 'What can I help with?' It's this sense of community and shared respect that makes the intensity of service "worth it.' And the same can be said for the two restaurants cocooned in the Biscuit Mill. When service hits a pressure peak, Salon and The Pot Luck Club function less like neighbours and more like an extended brigade. 'If we're slammed and they've got hands to spare, they'll jump in - and we'll do the same,' says Carla. Her overall sensibility seems to stem from her childhood home. 'My dad was the cook in our house,' she reflects. 'He was Austrian and had this way of doing everything properly - nothing fancy, but always done right. I remember his fried kingklip, he'd make his own breadcrumbs. Food was always something special and we sat at the table, never in front of the TV." Art of the Sauce For Carla, sauces are the foundation that elevate every plate. A careful layering of flavours with exacting technique, to turn good ingredients into unforgettable dishes. 'Sauce work has always felt the most instinctive to me. It's where I'm happiest. There's something incredibly grounding about the layering of flavours, the stages of building and reducing, and the precision involved. Whether it's a complex caponata-style extraction or a three-day duck jus, it's a process that demands care and love, according to Carla. When it's done right, "you can taste that." She sees the sauce as the frame of a plate. Without it, even a perfect protein can fall flat. "Take The Pot Luck Club's famous beef fillet and café au lait sauce - the sauce is everything. It brings all the elements together. Of course, you put so much time and effort into the proteins, but it completes it, and it shapes the experience. Sauce has always been my favourite part of cooking." Moving beyond the gender bias Despite her accolades, Carla is aware of what she represents: a female chef at the top of her game, running one of Cape Town's most technically demanding kitchens. She is thoughtful in her approach, drawing on her own experience. 'I've been lucky with my mentors and my environments. But I know that's not everyone's story,' she says, referencing the early support she received at Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine, where she finished top of her class. 'Jackie taught us to take pride in our work and be ready for a tough industry.' Carla's intentional about creating a fair space, where gender isn't even part of the conversation. 'If you're good, you're good. That's what should matter. I don't want to be the best female chef. I just want to be the best chef.' Why book a table? Salon is a rare kind of dining experience: one that feels both elevated and personal. Every plate, every pour, every piece of handmade ceramic is part of a bigger story. And that story is grounded in love and care. Whether you opt for the slangetjie-inspired 'padkos' snack paired with delicious cocktails, the duck or the caponata - go hungry for a meal that could possibly stir deep memories and feelings. As Carla puts it, 'If a guest leaves and remembers just one thing, I want it to be that they felt something. That the food wasn't just good — it had heart.'
Time Out
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Pot Luck Club's Prix Fixe is a winter treat without the wallet freeze
Cape Town is awash with swanky restaurants and fine dining options. This winter, however, The Pot Luck Club Cape Town - the one with the panoramic views and cult-like fan base, is serving up generous prix fixe menus, showing that fine food doesn't have to mean out of reach. With two options to choose from, either the Prix Fixe Lite (six plates) or the Prix Fixe Loaded (eight plates), it serves up beautifully bold small plates designed to be shared- or not, we're not judging. The flavour intensity and flair are also exactly what you'd expect from a Luke Dale Roberts kitchen. Pot Luck Club's winter prix fixe lineup makes room for all the firm favourites - from those plump fish sliders that come with that miso mayo–mojo dressing combo through to the rich, fall-apart situation of the pork Penang belly. And don't sleep on the chickpea, goat's cheese, and parmesan fries, basically a cheesy, crunchy miracle with truffle aioli on the side. But the real headline? That Café au Lait sauce that haunts our food dreams. Honestly, it's the whole deal, whether over mushrooms or a beef fillet. Cape Town's lunch-only Lite' version is R550pp; the 'Loaded' experience - eight decadent plates of culinary magic—is R795pp. This is bite-sized luxury worth braving the cold for. Savour it with someone who deserves a proper treat, like dad, this coming Father's Day. 📍The Pot Luck Club 📅 Prix fixe menus available from until 30 Sept 2025 📲 Booking essential: The Pot Luck Club And if you're in the mood to go full maximalist? Their Sunday Brunch is also back with ten courses, bottomless bubbly, and a DIY Bloody Mary bar. It's adding more bang to Cape Town's brunch scene in a deliciously, unhinged way (@ R1250pp, brunch never looked so boujee).
