A Table in the Corner
A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He's run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, writers, photographers, bloggers... you name it. If they’re involved in the food industry, you will meet them with Russel at A Table in the Corner.
Episodes
148 episodes
148. Dale Herbst - That Food Guy
In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I chat to Dale Herbst — the creative force behind That Food Guy. A content creator and brand marketer with a deep love for food culture, Dale recently traded Johannesburg for Cape T...
•
32:12
147. Yoraya Nydoo - Not Sad Food Co.
Fresh from a month's residency at Clarke's in Bree Street, Yoraya Nydoo of Not Sad Food Co. sat down with me to talk about the experience. We chatted about whether she and partner Claudia Alberti are ready for a bricks-and-mortar restaurant hav...
•
33:04
146. Justin Bonello - Ultimate Content Creator
Justin Bonello was creating great food shows for TV back when Jamie Oliver was just starting to come to our attention. Some of my favourite local cookbooks are the product of his creative vision, and he is almost single-handedly responsible for...
•
34:10
145. Charné van Heerden - HIBALL Cocktail Bar
Charné van Heerden was the life and soul of House of Machines, and there was probably a collective "Booooo!" when people heard she was moving on after six years behind the bar. Lucky for the crew, she only moved across the road, and opened her ...
•
30:40
144. Luke Dale-Roberts & Jason Kosmas - PLC
Luke Dale-Roberts and Jason Kosmas got back from setting up their London pop-up of Pot Luck Club in mid-August. It's running at the iconic Waldorf Hilton Hotel until the end of November 2025, with an option to extend if chefs and hotel agree. I...
•
33:33
143. Ashley Moss - Fyn & Ramenhead
Ashley Moss has worked with chef Peter Tempelhoff since he started his cooking journey at The Greenhouse. They’ve since partnered in opening a number of shops including FYN and Ramenhead. I spoke to him about the journey, his inspiration ...
•
36:35
142. Kurt Ackermann - SA Urban Food and Farming Trust
Kurt Ackermann is the CEO of the Urban Food and Farming Trust which, among many other things, organises the annual Food Indaba in Cape Town. I sat down with him in the courtyard at Honest Chocolate in Wale Street to talk about the outcomes of F...
•
44:03
141. Justine Drake - Food Media Legend
In this episode, I sat down with Justine Drake to explore her impressive career and dive into the evolving landscape of food media. From storytelling to trends and being a judge on SA Masterchef, we discuss how the industry is shifting and what...
•
47:53
140. Dustin Botha - Luks Brands
Gozney Ovens are things of rare and wondrous beauty. I love retained-heat ovens. In fact I'm a little obsessed, having built two brick arch ovens and installed a prefabricated dome at my Karoo pizza spot. I've got notebooks full of doodles with...
•
47:13
139. Shaun Scrooby - Vuur
Shaun Scrooby is a fantastic oke. I enjoyed an exceptional lunch at his restaurant, Vuur, on Remhoogte Wine Estate and saw a truly innovative and engaged chef at work. Then we sat down for a chat wh...
•
51:38
138. Sue Baker - Wild Peacock Products
Sue Baker is the eternal 'smous'. Starting out by sourcing and selling exceptional oysters to the top local restaurants back in 1992, Sue built Wild Peacock. Today it is a huge provisioner to the restaurant trade, with seafood, cheese and speci...
•
33:01
137. Sven Tietz - HeadsUp Systems
HeadsUp Systems has created a powerful resource for restaurants. Specifically aimed at owner-run operations, it can also benefit groups of restaurants. Their main product is essentially a massive AI-managed spreadsheet that assembles and compar...
•
39:24
136. Patricia Blacc - Restaurant Influencer
At a recent media event to promote the Seven Colours Sunday lunches at Marble, Cape Town, I was seated opposite the vivacious and interesting influencer, Patricia Blacc. As a member of a team that was around for the first lunar landing, and onc...
•
31:54
135. Rudi Liebenberg - Executive Chef Between Hotels
I got to know Rudi Liebenberg when I worked as a photographer and spent many hours shooting in his kitchen at the Mount Nelson. His approach to cooking and mentoring the chefs on his brigade, constantly pushing them to do better and learn new t...
•
42:59
134. Devin Wells - Zuney Wagyu
There's a trigger warning on this one for vegetarians or vegans. We do discuss the processing of livestock into meat products. I wanted to delve deeper into the family farming operations that produced the Zuney Wagyu brand, so I spo...
•
39:56
133. Melinda Wiggins - Infinity Culinary Training
Chef Melinda Wiggins is the Director of Operations & Culinary Arts at Infinity Culinary Training a training facility that takes unskilled people - literally off the streets - and gives them basic kitc...
•
32:38
132. Dion Vengatass - Violet by Vengatass
I first met Dion Vengatass in Chef Rudi Liebenberg's kitchen at the Mount Nelson Hotel. He barely looked up from his prep, just kept chopping and sorting at pace. He was the solid, do-it-all chef running all the sections that needed to operate ...
•
36:24
131. Lance Littlefield - Motherdough
This is the second time I've had Lance Littlefield on the show. Back on Episode 77 he was an absolute mine of information on the craft of baking sourdough bread. We were introduced to 'Alfonsina' his starter, and the wonders of Motherdough Bake...
•
30:14
130. Christophe Dehosse - Klein Joostenberg & Vine Bistro
I've known Christophe Dehosse for over a decade. The incredible bistro, deli and butchery he runs with his wife Susan is just round the corner from the site of my first Winelands restaurant. He was always good for a loooooong natter about the i...
•
54:51
129. Melanie Stewart - Oranjezicht City Farm
In this episode I speak to Melanie Stewart who is the farm manager of Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF). The farm and her Tea With A Farmer farm tours are part of the two week programme for the Food Indaba happening in Cape Town from 7th to 20th of ...
•
28:16
128. Bertus Basson - Ongetem
Bertus Basson is an absolute biscuit. He has an uncanny instinct for opening places you love to visit and feeding you things you love to eat. He's also been a tremendous source of advice and support since we first met in 2008. Ongetem is his ne...
•
40:09
127. Will Hobson - Arthur's Mini Super
With a vague idea of generating a passive income using a bunch of catering stuff he had in storage, Will Hobson has built an iconic hangout in Sea Point with business partner Stephanie Anastasopoulos. ' Arthur's Mini Super' is many things to ma...
•
52:39
126. Robyn Mechanicos - Labour of Love Bakery
Well curated markets are fantastic places to discover new products. I found the most delicious roast pork belly croissant at the Candor market a while back. It was delicious and unexpected and the story behind the baker so interesting that I im...
•
35:52
125. Geoffrey Abrahams & Teenola Govender (G&T) - Coy
Geoffrey Abrahams and Teenola Govender are joint-head chefs at Coy Restaurant in the V&A Waterfront. They are affectionately known as G&T in the kitchens were they've worked, and these include Chefs Warehouse and Mazza. Having first met...
•
51:07
124. Brett Nortjé - Rosemead Bakery, Yzerfontein
A while back, when we lived in the Swartland town of Darling, one of our regular delights was the drive to Yzerfontein to collect bread. Against a pretty large proportion of 'the odds', Yzerfontein is home to one of the best bakeries in the Wes...
•
35:08
