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PODCAST

A Table in the Corner

Russel Wasserfall Media

A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He"s run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers,

arts food

All Episodes

34:11

112. Matthew Gordon - French Connection

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/03/24

Matthew Gordon has been there since the beginning. He is one of the architects of the explosion of restaurants in the previously sleepy Western Cape village of Franschhoek. Haute Cabriere put him firmly on the map, but the little restaurant he operated out of his family guesthouse, Balon Rouge is where it all began. Today he is the chef/operator of French Connection which has been a popular eatery in the village for the past 23 years. We spoke about the growth of Franschhoek's dining scene, t...

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40:52

111. Chef Peter Ayub - The Intern Chat

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/03/19

Chef Peter Ayub runs the excellent Sense of Taste Cooking school with his wife Deb, teaching young hopefuls the trade of being a chef. He reached out, concerned about how some of his students are treated when they go out into the industry to do their pracs and learn about how kitchens work. We share the view that these young chefs are there to absorb new skills and be taught by the chefs under whom they work. The reality in some frantically busy, sometimes under-staffed businesses is that the...

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47:09

110. Reuben Riffel - Reuben's & Let's Frite

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/03/17

It's taken a while to get the timing and travel right to sit down with South African culinary icon, Chef Reuben Riffel, to explore his incredible journey from a simple start in Franschhoek kitchens, to becoming a household name. In this episode we dive into his early mentorship under Chef Christophe Dehosse, his pivotal partnership with Chef Richard Carstens, and his evolution through fine dining to casual ventures like Let’s Frite. Reuben's, Franschhoek Let's Frite, Franschhoek Send us...

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32:26

109. Hilde-Lee Olivier - Cooking on Yachts

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/03/10

Hilde-Lee Olivier left cooking school and quickly climbed the ranks in local kitchens. By the time she was 26 Hilde-Lee was running the Kitchen at Terroir and went on to be head chef for George Jardine at Jardine Restaurant in Stellenbosch. After a brief stint and a huge learning curve running her own place - Toebroodjie, she pitched it all in and went sailing. We spoke about her journey and about the life she's chosen running a kitchen on a private yacht - it's quite a trip. Send us a text ...

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52:45

108. Jo Smith - Pillar9 Reputation Strategists

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/03/03

For some time now I've been wanting to talk to someone on the show who manages the marketing - and the profiles - of restaurants. I'm interested in how eateries, especially the top shops, market themselves. This is particularly tricky in a world where everyone seems to be a critic and even the very best operators can find themselves at the mercy of 'keyboard warriors'. While people have a legitimate right to tackle venues on poor service or experiences - balance, good judgement and manners ar...

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30:31

107. Carlotta Sabbalini - Italy at Your Door

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/24

Carlotta Sabbalini is fantastic - she's a real entrepreneur who's built a food business on the back of a lasagne recipe she learned from her grandmother, Nonna Santina. Along the way she's tried new things, added elements to the business and learned a whole lot of skills that are really vital for a small business operator. I've been wanting to talk to someone whose built a cottage industry based on family recipes and Carlotta just happened to message me and ask if she could join me on the sho...

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41:12

106. Mario Gaito - Pizza Proper

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/20

It started with a dream and a little Piaggio three-wheeled scooter with a pizza oven in the back, but Mario Gaito has built a business that delivers delicious Napoli-style pizza to selected deli and supermarket chillers around Cape Town. It's a great story that features one of my favourite things - wood-fired pizza ovens. We could have gone on and on chatting - this was one of my favourite episodes so far. However we were recording in a very loud place and had to call it a day eventually. I r...

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43:06

105. Amori Burger - Upper Union

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/17

This was a conversation full of laughs with Chef Amori Burger of Upper Union restaurant. Her warm, engaging, fun personality permeates a restaurant which have quickly become an institution in Cape Town and a firm favourite among a legion of very happy customers. We sat down for a chat against the backdrop of their beautiful upstairs cocktail bar and spoke of Sunday lunches, bold flavours, the perfect bite and testing all the wines and cocktails to make sure they're up to scratch for guests. I...

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65:27

104. Loubie Rusch - Local Wild Food Hub

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/12

Loubie Rusch knows a hell of a lot about local plants. How to grow them. What you can and can't eat. How to cook or prepare them for consumption. She also knows a lot about local food systems and how connection to the land preserves indigenous food plants and the environment at large. We got into a whole bunch of converging topics in the food security space and yet, after over an hour there was so much we left untouched. It's not the usual food fare for this show, but we started to unpack som...

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35:46

103. Sebastian Nico - Seb Steelworks

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/10

In this episode, I chat to Durban chef, photographer and knife-maker Sebastian Amadeo Nico. He's deeply connected to the food world through his father, Marco Nico of Ciao Italia fame, but his path has been somewhat winding - from working in his dad's kitchen at La Storia in the Westville Hotel, to mastering food photography which started out as a bit of a hobby inspired by his mom Kerryne. Along the way he's built motorcycles and taught himself the art of crafting knives - a combination...

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38:52

102. Strone Henry - Kos Gangsta & Side Wing

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/02/03

Send us a text On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

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36:47

101. Turning the Tables on Russel Wasserfall

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/29

With 100 episodes of A Table in the Corner in the bag, I felt it might be time to do a biographical insert for episode 101. Some of my guests have asked when the spotlight would fall on me. A few of our regular listeners have also asked via Instagram DMs when I'm going to be interviewed. Jonathan Warncke recently invited me onto his industry-focused podcast 'How to Start a Podcast in South Africa', and I cajoled him into being the guest host on my show - to turn the tables on A Table in...

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47:52

100. George Jardine - Fireman

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/27

George Jardine needs very little introduction if you've followed the Western Cape Restaurant scene for any length of time. There was a stretch when he was repeatedly named the best chef in South Africa and his restaurants have been in the local honour rolls regularly over the past two decades. I consider him a friend - even though it took ages for him to agree to appear on the show. Our chat ranged from his early career and getting going in cooking to his current role as the Culinary Director...

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29:27

99. Keanon Michaels - Keanon's Kitchen

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/22

Send us a text On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

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28:57

98. Ayesha Bibi - The Charming Chef

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/20

Ayesha Bibi (Juwaley) runs a superb little patisserie business out of Makers Landing at the Ocean Cruise Terminal in the V&A Waterfront. We sat down for a chat about her journey from studying film and environmental science at University to being an accomplished pastry chef. After studying at Capsicum Culinary Studio in Cape Town, she joined the kitchen at The One & Only Hotel, where she worked for six years before lighting out on her own. I was keen to understand how one runs an onlin...

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30:27

97. David Higgs - Marble and Pantry

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/15

David Higgs made his bones in the local dining scene in the mid- to late-‘naughties’ when he helmed the multi-award winning Rust en Vrede restaurant in the Western Cape Winelands. Then he packed up and went to Jo'burg and chatter around this lively, entertaining and gifted chef got a bit quiet for a while. Then the buzz started about The Saxon's kitchen and he was in the awards lists again. In 2016, along with partner Gary Kyriacou, David opened Marble restaurant in Rosebank with its impressi...

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26:30

96. William Jardine - The Kitchin, Edinburgh

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/13

William Jardine is a young chef who, at 22, is a line chef (or chef de partie) in a prestigious Edinburgh restaurant. The Kitchin was the first establishment in Scotland to receive a Michelin Star and focuses on working with the very best in Scottish produce. It is one of Scotland’s most celebrated eateries. As the son of George and Louise Jardine, William is no stranger to award-winning restaurants though. We sat down for a chat about how it’s going, how he got there, and what he’s planning ...

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46:04

95. Andrew Nel - Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/06

In this episode, I chat to Andrew Nel of Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, an ethical butchery with branches in the Woodstock, Gardens and Claremont suburbs of Cape Town. FFMM was founded by Andy Fenner and his wife Nicole to honour the practice of nose-to-tail eating, in which they emphasised sustainable practices by sourcing whole animals and using every part with respect. Andrew joined the business in 2017 and continues the journey, having added long table events to the FFMM calendar to foste...

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43:55

94. Johke Steenkamp - Grumpy & Runt

A Table in the Corner ·

2025/01/01

In this week's episode of A Table in the Corner, the first for 2025, we explore the delightful world of Grumpy & Runt, a vegan donut shop co-owned by Johke Steenkamp and Carla Gontier. This little beaut shares premises with Ditto, the oat milk ice cream spot on Kloof Street. I chat to Johke about how G&R started out, some of the challenges along the way and mostly about how they have intentionally built a business that celebrates inclusivity and sustainability through their arti...

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58:28

93. Abigail Donnelly - Taste Magazine & Eat Out

A Table in the Corner ·

2024/12/18

I've been wanting to chat to Abigail Donnelly on the show for absolute ages. Her recipes and food styling for local magazines have delivered global cuisines and flavours to South African homes for almost two decades. From the pages of Taste magazine - mouthpiece of Woolworths Food - to the tables of the country's top eateries, hers is a powerful voice in driving how we cook, and how we understand the restaurant industry. On the first day of Abigail's well-deserved year-end leave, we sat down ...

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152 results

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