The surfer chef behind South Africa’s first fine dining halal restaurant
Al Jazeera
Anwar Abdullatief creates stunning halal food with the Cape Malay flavours of his childhood
Cape Town, South Africa – The first sign that Anwar Abdullatief is not an average chef is his choice of headwear. Despite the whimsical and sophisticated nature of his cooking, he and his team do not wear puffy white chef hats. Granted, many modern chefs favour grittier skull caps or bandanas. But Abdullatief does it his own way: Everyone in his kitchen wears a demure tartan flat cap and a stonewashed blue apron.
Neatly stacked stainless-steel shelves reach almost to the ceiling of the renovated warehouse space. Extra chairs are stacked in the parking garage which is visible through the open back door. The team of 11 works silently, methodically, as they assemble the artful creations that are the product of Abdullatief’s imagination. On one counter, an assistant arranges leaves and flowers on the elaborate labyrinthine platter in which mature cheddar cookies with smoked hake and prawn brandade are nestled.
At the stove, Abdullatief is deep-frying the battered dune spinach – an ingredient he first encountered on surfing trips up South Africa’s desolate west coast – that will adorn “The Bass”, this week’s fish course.
If there’s one thing Abdullatief has gleaned from two decades working in some of South Africa’s finest kitchens, it is this: “Chefs love alcohol, bacon and Parma ham.” It is normal for chefs to try each other’s sauces but, as a Muslim who abstains from all three, Abdullatief soon realised it was safer to just say no.
That changed when he was made head chef: “Whenever I was put in charge of things, I would surreptitiously make the menu halal. No pork in the stock, no alcohol in the jus,” he says with a laugh. “My bosses never complained and neither did the diners. The food tasted good – why would they?”