The Test Kitchen

TIME magazine pinpointed 24 November 2010 as the day ‘Woodstock officially became Cape Town’s hottest district… when Luke Dale-Roberts opened The Test Kitchen there.’ Opening a fine-dining restaurant in a warehouse space in the Old Biscuit Mill was a gamble, but after a four-year tenure as executive chef of LaColombe, which culminated in an amazing 12th place on the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Luke was up to the challenge.

The Test Kitchen, as the name implies, afforded the dynamic chef the opportunity to innovate, and the resultant dishes were a reflection of his creativity with flavours and ingredients. His vision eventually expanded beyond the food to encompass the whole dining experience – and the world loved it.

Heralded as a founding pillar of the vibrant South African fine-dining landscape, The Test Kitchen operated for eleven years, won numerous local and international awards, and moulded the careers of many talented chefs, leaving an incredible and lasting legacy.

In The Test Kitchen, Luke celebrates this legacy and shares his story, as well as some of the restaurant’s most beloved and iconic recipes. With a foreword by Heston Blumenthal and incredible colour photographs throughout, The Test Kitchen is a stunning visual keepsake as flavourful as Luke’s spectacular dishes.