I like to share knowledge

"I like to share knowledge".

!Khwa ttu's new menu offers dishes for all tastes. Whether you love pasta, vegetables, sea food or game meat you will find them all wrapped up in scrumptious dishes, which have carefully been chosen by Khwa ttu's experienced chef Vivienne Petersen. The well thought-out composition of traditional South African and fusion cuisine makes the menu even more attractive.

To highlight the unique taste of each of these diverse dishes, fresh ingredients are essential. Therefore Vivienne and her team feel very fortunate to have their own herb garden right in front of the kitchen and a garden with organically grown vegetables just a few metres further away. Fresh ingredients and slow cooking, "the way our parents used to cook" is one of the chef's guiding principles.

Her concept of cooking has been greatly influenced by the French Michelin chef, where she trained as a pastry chef in a fine dining restaurant in Simons Town which is still voted one of the top hundred in the country. Practical training, internationally recognised diplomas and first hand experiences in her own restaurant made her the admired chef she is today.

Vivienne "likes to share knowledge" which clearly comes to the forefront when one observes her interaction with her trainees. These are: Afrida, her right hand, whose input in the kitchen is invaluable, Mukose, the San trainee cook and Susanna, who is responsible for crockery and cutlery. She regards the training as a natural process intertwined with each day's manifold chores. "I try to teach them one new thing every day, whether it's cutting a carrot in a certain way or baking brownies." If there is time to try out a new recipe Vivienne takes her colleagues step by step through the entire process and patiently answers any questions.

Particularly young Mukose receives much of her attention as she believes that "he has a lot of potential." She supports his talents and thinks it was "brilliant" when he decorated biscuits with melted chocolate and chose to ‘draw' a bow and arrow instead of the required spiral. "Actually, I liked it because it shows initiative and talent", Vivienne ends her anecdote. Proudly she states,"this kid will go far."

!Khwa ttu is blessed to have a person like Vivienne amongst the staff. She is not only a creative chef but also a sensitive and encouraging mentor to her team in the kitchen and fits in perfectly with the philosophy of !Khwa ttu.

Enthusiasm that can`t be stopped
I have learned new things that I never knew before
The young, the elderly and the visitors