A week in The Kitchen

The Kitchen in Woodstock is one of my favourite eateries in Cape Town.  I often go with friends, but I love going on my own and finding a spot by the counter to dream.  I feel at home amongst the bric brac and all things vintage.   And the food...  It is honest and real, and just tastes delicious.  There are the love sandwiches and the salad selection, which you can top up with a  free range chicken breast or grilled pork sausages. And small selection of baked goodies.  I often have these or just a quick breakfast.   And it is all served on the prettiest array of vintage crockery.

Karen  Dudley is passionate about what she does, and she does it with such grace.  And when she pops out the kitchen to cook something up in the front of house, which is an extension of the kitchen itself, she is always smiling, and greeting her customers.  Oh, and go to the bathroom when you visit: you have to stroll through the kitchen... I love visiting the heart of a restaurant, with the chopping, and the chatting and the dish clothes hanging out the window to dry.

I am over the moon to find out that she has recently released her cook book, 'A week in The Kitchen,' published by Jacana Median.  I can now have a little bit of The Kitchen in my own kitchen... I love cook books.  I have too many.  I can have more.  And this one is on the top of my wish list.

Karen Dudley:
"The Kitchen is driven by these instincts:
Life is too short for the arbitrary, the mediocre, the “nice”. If you are going to eat something, however simple, it must be all that it is meant to be. It must be essentially good.
Contrast, colour, a riot of flavour – this is the stuff we live by, this is the stuff we celebrate!
Food made with generosity and attention has the power to grow a community and to  make people happy. There is reciprocity here. As we spend our love, so it comes back  to us threefold."


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