{"id":65805,"date":"2018-12-14T13:52:20","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T13:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=65805"},"modified":"2021-09-15T15:05:17","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T15:05:17","slug":"gate-restaurant-at-quoin-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/gate-restaurant-at-quoin-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"An Epic Culinary Journey at G\u00e5te Restaurant at Quoin Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve had a dining experience peppered with so many \u2018ooohs\u2019, \u2018aaahs\u2019 and \u2018wows\u2019. This is not to say I haven\u2019t eaten a lot of good food recently, I absolutely have, but I haven\u2019t had a dining experience that has pushed me quite out of my culinary comfort zone like a recent meal at G\u00e5te Restaurant at Quoin Rock Estate.<\/p>\n

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Nordic Inspired Quoin Rock Estate<\/h4>\n

Quoin Rock has undergone a major revamp and G\u00e5te Restaurant is nothing short of spectacular.<\/p>\n

A modern glass structure where every detail has been beautifully rendered \u2013 from the impressive entranceway, which is designed to mimic the entrance to Valhalla, to the statement vertical water feature.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tree and foliage inspired elements, perhaps an ode to Glasir and L\u00e6ra\u00f0r (trees in Norse lore), tie the theme together.\u00a0The design is structurally and aesthetically jaw-dropping and sets the tone for an incredible dining experience.<\/p>\n

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The Concept<\/h4>\n

The name G\u00e5te (pronounced gah-tay) is the Norwegian word for \u2018riddle\u2019 and it\u2019s the ideal concept from which the menu has been built. You are going to be surprised, you are going to be amazed and you are going to be challenged.<\/p>\n

It’s Fine to Dine<\/h4>\n

Fine dining has earned itself somewhat of a bad reputation. It\u2019s been rapped over the knuckles for being fussy, stuffy and elitist. \u00a0A lot of the time the people saying these things are chefs who\u2019s own personal food philosophy differs, critics who have seen it all, and sometimes just trolls who, well, like to troll.<\/p>\n

The fact is that fine dining has its place in the culinary world. It pushes boundaries and it showcases the talent and creativity of chefs who express themselves as artists through food.<\/p>\n

Splitting Atoms<\/h4>\n

Molecular gastronomy takes that to the nth degree and whether you like the idea or not, the whole point is to experience something new. It challenges you with flavour and texture combinations and pushes expectations of ingredients.<\/p>\n

Traditional dishes that you know and love can be transformed into a truly compelling experience with a little creative thinking and innovative cooking techniques.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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As a person who loves a bowl of ramen but wouldn\u2019t ever think of creating the noodles out of a green-liquid filled syringe, I can appreciate the mind that can. I want my palate to be challenged every now and again, I want to think \u2018how did they come up with that\u2019 and I want to wonder \u2018what next?\u2019.<\/p>\n

A fine dining meal isn\u2019t meant to be an everyday experience. It is a unique journey that should be memorable, fun and conversation-worthy and our experience at G\u00e5te Restaurant certainly was.<\/p>\n

The Menu<\/h4>\n

Placed at the centre of the table is a golden hexagonal metal ornament with phrases such as The Black Pearl<\/i> and The Birth of Liver <\/i>inscribed on the sides. You\u2019ll soon learn that this is the menu and those phrases are cryptic clues as to what you\u2019ll be eating.<\/p>\n

Rest assured they\u2019ll give you no real clue as to what to expect but the slick team of servers have got you covered with a well-practised breakdown of each dish.<\/p>\n

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The menu at G\u00e5te Restaurant is a 16-course gastronomic journey of discovery, a \u2018train of tasters\u2019 as someone at our table put it. The analogy is quite accurate. While 16 courses sounds excessive, they have been planned with obvious thought. Rather than meals, they are elegant bite-sized dishes that, once served with different wines, are delivered as a really sophisticated and thought-out pairing experience.<\/p>\n

Spoiler Alert<\/h4>\n

The real essence of the G\u00e5te experience is the element of surprise and giving a rundown of each dish would simply spoil that. Even though social media is sure to be awash with Instagram worthy snaps of dishes, if you can help it, avoid reading too much before you go. \u00a0You\u2019ll really benefit from having the experience as it is intended, with wow factor and a bit of mystery.<\/p>\n

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In saying that, there were obvious favourites around the table and, while everyone had their own top dish, probably the most popular contender was \u2018Not an Ashtray\u2019, which was simply rammed with flavour. Word to the wise, portion that cigar \u2013 what\u2019s in the ashtray is so tasty you\u2019ll want to scoop up every last morsel.<\/p>\n

Another winner was the simply titled \u2018Caprese\u2019; sure, there\u2019ll be tomato, cheese and basil but they won\u2019t look like anything in your shopping basket that\u2019s for sure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don’t be scared of a little peacock, some curry with your candyfloss and black cod in a coconut.\u00a0Sound like a bit of a gastronomic\u00a0rollercoaster? It is and that’s the intention. Be open-minded, get involved and enjoy the journey\u00a0around the globe.<\/p>\n

The G\u00e5te Restaurant Experience<\/h4>\n

As mentioned this isn\u2019t an everyday experience and nor should it be. This is a culinary occasion, a celebration of creativity and the perfect excuse to take your palate into unknown territory.<\/p>\n

Chef Rikku \u00d2\u2019Donnch\u00fc and his team have turned the G\u00e5te kitchen into a laboratory. A state of the art space where they can create a dining experience that is out of the ordinary and they have succeeded at this.<\/p>\n

The obvious technique, painstaking plating and fastidious attention to the minute details makes each plate a work of art.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Those who don\u2019t like this style of cuisine will probably criticise but this is an exciting move for the culinary scene in South Africa. Diners can look forward to an experience that will no doubt be a seed for conversation\u00a0with lots of opinions and commentary.<\/p>\n

The fact is that you may not think that liver, cocoa nibs and banana bread will work but once you\u2019ve tasted it you may just be swayed.<\/p>\n

Quoin Rock Wine Estate
\nKnorhoek Road Knorhoek Valley Stellenbosch 7607 | Tel: 021 888 4740<\/em><\/p>\n

gaterestaurant.co.za<\/a>\u00a0| Instagram<\/a>\u00a0| quoinrock.co.za<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve had a dining experience peppered with so many \u2018ooohs\u2019, \u2018aaahs\u2019 and \u2018wows\u2019. This is not to say I haven\u2019t eaten a lot of good food recently, I absolutely have, but I haven\u2019t had a dining experience that has pushed me quite out of my culinary comfort zone like a recent meal at G\u00e5te Restaurant at Quoin Rock Estate. Nordic Inspired Quoin Rock Estate Quoin Rock has undergone a major revamp and G\u00e5te Restaurant is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":923,"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-65805","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\/65805","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\/923"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86485,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65805\/revisions\/86485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}