Eating family style: Cape Town’s La Tête to close its doors
Katy Rose
One of Cape Town’s most iconic restaurants, and multi Eat Out award-winner, La Tête has announced that it will be closing with its last service on the 6th of February 2021.
The bistro-style restaurant shook up the Cape Town food scene with a fearless dedication to locally sourced ingredients and nose-to-tail eating. Owner and chef, Giles Edwards assisted by his always-beaming Head Chef Siviwe Jaxa turned out some impressively simple food that won them many accolades both in South Africa and abroad.
Famed for its freshly baked madeleines (served with a rich vanilla Crème Anglaise dipping sauce and best paired with a double espresso), La Tête brought French-style food to Capetonians and their Instagram feeds.
anthony: oh man. look at that. oh yeah. a slow cooked stew of beans and pig parts. kurt: i grew up eating like every piece of the animal there is because if you re starving you will eat whatever there is on the table right? anthony: plus grilled chicken hearts, tri-tip, and sausages. gotta have sausages. kurt: do you like it like that? rouge? anthony: i love it. kurt: me too. i don t like overcooked meat. anthony: no we can t have that. that s just, just wrong. kurt: the food is ready. anthony: yeah. kurt: here you go bro. anthony: oh wow. kurt: want to open that macallan? anthony: oh hell no. i m going to class tomorrow. are you kidding me? kurt: i ll drink that whole bottle, and i ll train with everybody. anthony: i know, but that s you. you re the guy who trains
kurt: this has been a very crazy week dad. last night they took me to this crazy restaurant where they give you really small food. it was good. lothar: that s good. kurt: but then as soon as i got home i made a sandwich because i was so hungry. anthony: kurt s having a barbecue. kurt: yes! chicken hearts on. and this is why i end up on monday smelling like barbecue in my gi and they re like, why do you smell like barbecue? because i was hanging over the fire all day. as long as my hair doesn t light on fire, i don t give a . anthony: and as he spent a fair amount of training in brazil, he s making a big pot of feijoada, the country s national dish. kurt: dude. anthony: oh man. look at that. oh yeah. a slow cooked stew of beans and pig parts. kurt: i grew up eating like every piece of the animal there is because if you re starving you will eat whatever there is on the table right? anthony: plus grilled chicken
crazy week dad. last night they took me to this crazy restaurant where they give you really small food. it was good. lothar: that s good. kurt: but then as soon as i got home i made a sandwich because i was so hungry. anthony: kurt s having a barbecue. kurt: yes! chicken hearts on. and this is why i end up on monday smelling like barbecue in my gi and they re like, why do you smell like barbecue? because i was hanging over the fire all day. as long as my hair doesn t light on fire, i don t give a . anthony: and as he spent a fair amount of training in brazil, he s making a big pot of feijoada, the country s national dish. kurt: dude. anthony: oh man. look at that. oh yeah. a slow cooked stew of beans and pig parts. kurt: i grew up eating like every piece of the animal there is because if you re starving you will eat whatever there is on the table right? anthony: plus grilled chicken
why? coque: because, you know, the neighbors, they anthony: oh, the neighbors complain? coque: complain. anthony: our friend coque brought us to this place. [ coque speaking spanish ] anthony: to dona pochita, a street stall named for the lady who runs the joint. [ coque speaking spanish ] [ anthony laughs ] anthony: they specialize in one thing. coque: beef heart, anticuchos. anthony: anticuchos is quechan for skewered meat. this stuff, they say, goes back all the way to the incas and wa as immediately popular with the spanish conquistadors as it is today. ooh, that looks good. which is to say, i must have some. damn. traditionally, a mix of beef obñ hearts and other animal parts.&ñ coque: chicken hearts. anthony: yes. coque: you have a gizzards and there s tripe. anthony: right. marinated in garlic, cumin, and onion, maybe a little vinegar. oh yeah. grill that up and pile it high. these are not small portions. these people are giving you mountains of food