{"id":33109,"date":"2016-11-03T14:16:40","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T14:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=33109"},"modified":"2017-07-19T13:28:52","modified_gmt":"2017-07-19T13:28:52","slug":"the-test-kitchen-welcomes-the-dark-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/the-test-kitchen-welcomes-the-dark-room\/","title":{"rendered":"The Test Kitchen Welcomes You to the Dark Room"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke Dale-Roberts\u00a0The Test Kitchen<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0has been reinvented. The new design consists of a Dark Room and a Light Room. It is open only for dinners with a maximum of forty (40) guests per evening. It\u2019s more impressive and magical than anyone could have imagined.<\/span><\/p>\n

L<\/span><\/strong>uke Dale-Roberts<\/strong> is not one to rest on his laurels. He is not lulled into complacency by the prestigious awards, both local and international, which are bestowed on him annually. Since The Test Kitchen opened in 2010 it has appeared on the Eat Out Top 10 every year (Restaurant of the Year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). In 2012 The Test Kitchen started making its way up the rankings of the San Pellegrino The World\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants list, culminating in a very respectable 22nd position earlier this year. Luke Dale-Roberts is a perfectionist who primarily competes against himself, and if he is not entirely happy with something, he has the courage to change it.<\/span><\/p>\n

S<\/span>o what was it that made him decide to change the format of The Test Kitchen?<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A<\/span>ccording to Luke Dale Roberts they had come to a junction. “<\/span>It had been 6 years since we opened The Test Kitchen. The restaurant originally opened as a project to see how far I could take my food and it became a very busy restaurant serving 60-65 guests lunch and dinner 5 days a week. I wanted to bring it back to what it was originally meant to be. I wanted to refocus and reset the parameters of what we are doing<\/i><\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/div>
\"The<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n

L<\/span>uke comments further; “<\/span>My team and I can spend the whole day creating. I told them that we can only be the best that we can be if we analyse everything that we do. If your job is to peel onions or sweet potatoes then think about how you can peel them differently. And if everyone does that, if everyone takes responsibility for their own creativity, then we can grow<\/i><\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

D<\/span>espite its reinvention The Test Kitchen is still recognisable. The main difference now, is that the restaurant is now divided into two parts, the Dark Room and the Light Room. The vision was Luke\u2019s who worked very closely with architect and designer Maurice Paliaga, and his wife Sandalene who designed and made all the furniture and curated all the soft furnishings, tableware, linen and carpets. Hannelie Coetzee\u2019s striking <\/span>Sibling Portrait 2016<\/i><\/span> , a burnt wood gravure dominates the wooden wall in the dark room while Egon Tania, working with Peter Forbes, created the jurassic metal pull down platforms that throw sinister shadows on the wood clad walls.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

T<\/span>he Dark Room at The Test Kitchen<\/span><\/h4>\n

T<\/span>he Dark Room is a luxuriously dark space. This is where guests huddle together, engage with one another and share plates of beautiful finger food. It is here where diners indulge in cocktails and the first 7 courses of the tasting menu. A\u00a0mysteriously atmospheric place designed in such a way that guests feel the distinct change of pace from the outside world. It is here that you want to lower your voice, breathe deeply and focus on food and conversation. It is this darkened space at The Test Kitchen that creates a soft landing for the diner in preparation for the transition into the Light Room.<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he Light\u00a0Room at The Test Kitchen<\/span><\/h4>\n

T<\/span>he Light Room is airier and poised and more formal. For the first time there are tablecloths on the tables that create a sense of occasion. Rose Geranium infused water is served with rose petal ice cubes upon entering to create a division between the edgier Dark Room and the light floral freshness of the Light Room.\u00a0 It is here where guests will enjoy the remainder of the beautifully plated tasting menu in a more formal setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Test<\/div>
\"Test<\/div>
\"Test<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n

L<\/span>uke jokes that they have all become \u2018<\/span>Tweezer Chefs<\/i><\/span>\u2019 because of the detail and dedication required of each dish. Each plate needs to have its own style; needs to stand alone; needs to visually reflect the flavours on the plate.\u00a0 The robustness of sweet bread, pine smokes pancetta, pine nut milk and ox heart stuffing needs to contrast visually with the lightness of the next dish of chamomile ice cream, cardamom and brown butter sponge with toasted sunflower seeds.\u00a0<\/span>E<\/span>ach of the 21 courses of the tasting menu are plated perfection, each a taste sensation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chef Luke Dale Roberts<\/span>\u00a0has said that the revised Test Kitchen makes him happy.\u00a0 And he has every reason to be. “<\/span>I\u2019m cooking more than I\u2019ve ever cooked before and I feel like I\u2019m indulging my first love again<\/i><\/span>.” And it shows. On every plate in every dark corner and in every ray of light. It shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>asting Menu R1600 which includes cocktails, a glass of MCC, coffee and after dinner brandy.
\n<\/span>T<\/span>asting Menu with Wine Paring R2250 which includes cocktails, a glass of MCC, coffee and after dinner brandy.
\n<\/span>T<\/span>asting Menu with Iconic Wine Paring R2650 which includes cocktails, a glass of MCC, coffee and after dinner brandy.<\/span><\/p>\n

thetestkitchen.co.za<\/a><\/strong> | Facebook<\/strong><\/a> | Twitter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luke Dale-Roberts\u00a0The Test Kitchen\u00a0has been reinvented. The new design consists of a Dark Room and a Light Room. It is open only for dinners with a maximum of forty (40) guests per evening. It\u2019s more impressive and magical than anyone could have imagined. Luke Dale-Roberts is not one to rest on his laurels. He is not lulled into complacency by the prestigious awards, both local and international, which are bestowed on him annually. Since The Test Kitchen opened in 2010 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}