Chef Raymond Rundle is a bit of a traditionalist. Then again, he’s also a modernist. This gives him the the audacity to whip up a strawberry tart ice-cream dessert — adding black pepper to give it that extra zing.
His culinary philosophy displays parallels with the world of music. ‘It’s like playing old classics and adding your own flair to them,” he explains.
Rundle’s respect for food and penchant for inventiveness have helped cement the reputation of The Dining Room restaurant at The Grace hotel in Rosebank — an elegant five-star establishment where he has been executive chef for almost seven years. He will be among the hotel chefs taking part in the Good Food and Wine Show.
Described as the country’s premier food, wine and lifestyle show, the Gauteng version of the Gourmet Festival features international celebrity chefs such as Ed Baines, Ross Burden, Brian Turner, Mike Robinson, James Tanner and Steven Walpole alongside local luminaries such as Jenny Morris and Jamie Oliver protégé Mzamo Zimasile.
During the show, Rundle will be among the gastronomic wizards whipping up decadent delights in demonstrations at the Best Restaurant Chefs Theatre.
‘It’s difficult cooking in front of 50 people with a tight time frame, making the food taste good and look good while trying to be a bit flamboyant,” he confesses. ‘It’s crazy, but it’s fun! It’s entertaining for the public to watch, and it gets us out of our everyday routine.”
Having studied his craft at the Swiss hotel school in Mmabatho, Rundle worked at Sun City as well as in Plettenberg Bay, Cape Town and various lodges before moving to The Grace.
He says that being a chef at a hotel restaurant serves up its own set of challenges, compared to working at a stand-alone speciality restaurant. In addition to attending to aspects such as banqueting, room service, platters, breakfasts, lunches and special requests, the clientele is varied.
‘Here, we cater for continental tastes,” he explains. ‘Guests come from different walks of life and have different tastes, so we have to satisfy a bit of everybody’s tastes.”
His establishment caters mainly for the business traveller, both local and foreign, who are mainly using Jo’burg as a stop-over and not necessarily a leisure destination.
Although The Grace offers contemporary cuisine without too many fusion, nouveau or French classical elements thrown in, it doesn’t mean that Rundle and his team can’t spice up their dishes with a soupçon of innovation.
‘We like taking old dishes and giving them a modern twist,” he reveals. ‘Cooking is a sensual experience — it should involve all the senses, even hearing. There’s nothing like hearing that burner melt sugar —
‘For me, cooking needs to be fun. In the kitchen, the radio is going and there’s a relaxed atmosphere. Even our uniforms don’t have a ‘hierarchy’ look to them — the scullers look the same as I do.”
At the Good Food and Wine Show, he’s aiming to provide festinos with ‘a taste of The Grace”. ‘They can see what we produce — it’s not funny stuff, and it’s affordable. There’s a misconception that hotel restaurants are not affordable, or that they’re not for your average man in the street.
‘They need to be made aware that hotel restaurants are not necessarily only there just for occasions when they’re a guest at the hotel, but that they can come and have a plate dinner. And they don’t need to pitch up in a five-thousand-dollar suit, either.”
‘The price difference between here and a steakhouse might be slightly more, but you can expect a lot of difference,” Rundle says. ‘And I don’t believe in small portions! South Africans expect good, hearty but healthy food. It needs to make you feel good, as well as taste and look good. You could say it’s a holistic dining experience.”
He is pleased that South Africans are becoming more opinionated about food and are increasingly adventurous and discerning in their approach. ‘But people see Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver on TV, and then everybody thinks they can cook. Being a cook and being a chef are two quite different things. Having knowledge and knowing how to apply that knowledge are poles apart.
‘But I do think that the BBC superchefs on the whole, as well as festivals such as this one, are good for raising our status, because our chefs are every bit as talented as theirs.”
The Good Food and Wine Show takes place at Gallagher Estate in Gauteng from November 2 to 5. Book in advance at Computicket (083 915 8000) to get R10 off your entrance ticket plus a free seat in the Chefs in Action Theatre. Your ticket includes free food and wine sampling