Roland Trettl meets top chef Margot Janse

Roland Trettl meets Margot Janse

At the “Cape of Good Will”

Warm-heartedness and cooking skills are not always to be found in the same person. Margot Janse offers both. Which is why the Dutchwoman from South Africa has to be among the guest chefs to appear at the “Ikarus”

When the fourth southern right whale neared our boat, it became clear to all that Margot Janse and I make a good team. It happens only too often, as I was assured by people from the South African whale watchers’ paradise Hermanus Bay, that whale watchers return to land without a single sighting. To have four on one trip before the bow is really something. Our guide thought it must have something to do with the “good vibrations” on board.

In fact right from the start I was surrounded by an incredible warm-heartedness. I felt extremely welcome when I checked in to the “Relais&Châteaux” hotel “Le Quartier Français” in Franschhoek. And another thing struck me: hardly had I arrived when I was surrounded by a small army of staff. 120 employees for guests occupying just 20 rooms and the restaurants – these are staffing levels that we are now only very rarely able to offer in Europe.

There are three restaurants at “Le Quartier Français”: the hotel itself houses the much lauded “ICI”, and a little further away at the nearby vineyard is “Bread & Wine”, where the British-born Neil Jewell serves by far the best home made sausages, hams and charcuterie products of all kinds that I have ever eaten. That alone would have been worth the 20 hour trip to South Africa.

But the reason why I came was not the fine air dried ham, but a pan fried salmon with pepper crust and a ragout of oxtail and sea snails, or sear-grilled scallops on corail-royal and pumpkin velouté. Or warthog marinated for twelve hours in salt, sugar, coriander, garlic, mustard seed and tea. All served to perfection in “The Tasting Room” by Margot Janse, one of the most important female chefs in Africa.

Margot Janse entered the world of cooking by an oblique route. Born in Holland, she had decided to make a career in the theatre. Life and love dictated otherwise, bringing her first of all to Johannesburg and work as a photographer. But eating and cooking had always been important to Janse, at that time in her early twenties, and so the blonde Dutchwoman quickly changed tack, first working as a waitress, and then becoming assistant chef to Ciro Molinaro. In 1995, Margot was working in a top restaurant in Capetown when she was invited to join “Le Quartier Français” as sous chef. Shortly afterwards she became chef in the famous restaurant in the little village of Franschhoek.

I am not too keen on provincial backwaters. And Franschhoek certainly is a backwater, with a laughable 3400 inhabitants. Nevertheless, even if the place only consists of one street, it is a remarkable street, with one restaurant after another. In the evenings it is utterly dead outside, but the restaurants are full to bursting. Eight of South Africa’s top 100 restaurants are located in and around Franschhoek.

Margot is relaxed about her position within this environment. It would be wrong to speak of a “style”. Margot is one of those chefs who breathes in new ideas, quoting and adapting them. If she likes something – and she is quick to show her enthusiasm – she includes it in her programme. It might be an idea from David Bouley in New York, perhaps a dish invented by Thomas Keller from Napa Valley. Whatever pleases this typically free-spirited Dutchwoman is allowed. And whatever works as marvellously as Alex Atala’s sautéed goose liver with crispy wild rice and hazelnuts in Bonito stock. With Margot’s special interpretation – she replaces the Bonito bouillon with a fruit salad stock.

The wonderfully warm Margot Janse, mother of a three-year-old boy, is what I call a real cook: friendly in her dealings with people, an craftswoman rather than a capricious “artiste”, and a force to be reckoned with who can direct the 30 or so cooks responsible for “The Tasting Room” and “ICI”. The fact that she can find time for her son while holding down this job is something that commands the highest respect from a self-confessed bachelor like me. This wonderful chef understands how to ensure “good vibrations” – and not only where whales are concerned.

Interview recorded by Christoph Schulte • Fotos: Red Bull Photofiles / Barry White