Dale-Roberts is ecstatic about the award: “My team and I have taken some risks over the last year and worked extremely hard to evolve The Test Kitchen to what it is today. It’s thrilling that it has paid off. I am so proud of what we have achieved with The Test Kitchen and that is has a well-deserved spot on the world food stage.”
Academy Chair for the region Africa & Indian Ocean Islands for The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna is Capetonian Tamsin Snyman.
She comments: “Crashing back onto the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards is exactly what The Test Kitchen needs to be doing. This is by no means an easy achievement, given that, along with India, we are the two geographical regions in the world that receive the least amount of travelling voters. This indicates that possibly every voter that experienced The Test Kitchen loved and voted for it! Well done to Luke and his team.”
Previously, The Test Kitchen was placed at 22 and named the Best Restaurant in Africa in the World’s Best Restaurants Awards in 2016. In 2017, Dale-Roberts took a gamble to completely reimagine the restaurant, resulting in the dramatic Dark Room and Light Room concept which has been applauded both locally and internationally. Guests start the evening in the moody, lounge-style Dark Room for exquisite tapas and cocktails, before moving to the Light Room which exudes a more formal and airy atmosphere for the remainder of the 21-course tasting menu. Both spaces are finely in tune with the industrial aesthetic of The Test Kitchen’s location, The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock in Cape Town, a repurposed factory setting in a gritty yet hip area of the city.
“I am thrilled to see our region back on the global culinary map, right where we belong. This is a direct result of Luke and his team’s total and consistent commitment and dedication to produce the finest food in our country,” Snyman adds.
The Test Kitchen is located at Shop 105a, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town. It is open for dinner only from Tuesdays to Saturdays between 6.30pm – 11.30pm.
