From the sandy Karoo to the shores of Kalk Bay – travel through the Western Cape in a single sitting at Urchin Restaurant when visiting Hyatt Regency in Cape Town.
Chef Marcus Gericke travelled the Western Cape province of South Africa to get to the root of its flavour, meeting the people, seeing the terroir, and experiencing heritage firsthand.
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His 1 627-kilometre journey took him from the shores of Kalk Bay and Paternoster to the sandy Karoo and lush Garden Route. Finally, he ended back in Cape Town in the bright and bustling Bo-Kaap.
Now Chef Marcus pays homage to this journey by serving up a nine-course menu that encapsulates different parts of the province. Working closely with the farmers and butchers he met along the way has resulted in a menu shaped by the stories heard and flavours tasted along the way.
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“Urchin has always been about connection to source,” says Chef Marcus Gericke. “This season, we have evolved the menu to tell a deeper story of the Western Cape through dishes that hold a sense of place, memory and the people behind every ingredient.”
What to expect
Start off with a voorhappie of snoek, meebos (pulped apricots) and curry leaf that is inspired by his visit to Aunty Ashmita in Kalk Bay). The bread and preserves that follow take you to Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands. Then, back to shore, a Paternoster crayfish in a seemingly simple lemon-garlic sauce will remind you of the simplicity of the unspoilt West Coast.
For mains, there’s the unmistakable taste of braaied Karoo lamb chops paired with a tomato-bredie sauce (tomato stew sauce), plus the comfort of oxtail and samp being served in new, unexpected ways.
Naturally, it would be remis to not include some sort of milk tart for a sweet touch – and that’s just one of the various options. Then, as if you haven’t travelled enough already, you get sent home with some padkos to take back to your own home: a small taste of peppermint crisp tart, klapperys (coconut ice) and a Hertzoggie.
There is also the Navigator, which is a more relaxed à la carte menu for those who prefer to choose their own route.
Who’s behind the pass?
Chef Marcus Gericke heads up the team. You’ll likely recognise the name from foodie news: He won the Global Chef Africa & Middle East 2022-23 award and also won the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought award for his dish Remembrance (Quail Consommé) at the 2020-2021 S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy competition. In 2024, he also added SA Chef of the Year to his string of accolades.
Of course, there’s an entire team that also took the road trip journey with him and are hard at work to dish up nostalgia and adventure. “The spirit of the team’s Western Cape road trip lives on the walls through striking large-scale photographs of moments and landscapes captured along the journey that inspired the menu. Wines are chosen with the same consideration, deepening the expression of terroir.”
Words: Liezl Vermeulen
Photography: Dale Herbst
