Fine dining & scenic views atop Chef Peter Tempelhoff's new restaurant Fyn

You can't really call yourself a foodie if you haven't heard of chef Peter Tempelhoff. According to legend (and his website), he emerged into this world with his tiny fingers gripping a wooden spoon.

Since then he has made tsunamis in the restaurant industry. He has worked at Marco Pierre White’s Quo Vadis (with chef Curtis Stone), at the Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall (with mentor Aaron Patterson), and at Giorgio Locatell’s Zafferano. After achieving these international milestones he became head chef at Automat in Mayfair, London, and later, executive chef at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate.

That was all before he became overseer to Liz McGrath’s The Collection and its four restaurants, including Greenhouse and Seafood at the Marine, Hermanus, and partner at Greenhouse.

Now the chef is opening his own restaurant in downtown Cape Town, one that’s been “simmering on the backburner” for 22 years. It is about to change the way gourmands perceive dining in the CBD. Simply titled Fyn (Afrikaans for fine) in what he refers to as the “better half of the word fynbos, it’s the realisation of a dream”.

If his name and reputation doesn’t sell you on the experience, the location will – the new restaurant has magnificent views of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain, and a distinctive lower-Manhattan feel which Tempelhoff  loves.  

Two of the best operators in the business are his partners. Executive chef Ashley Moss, Tempelhoff's head chef at Greenhouse for the past four years, will be in charge of the kitchen. Jennifer Hugé, who was restaurant manager at La Colombe for 14 years, will be Fyn’s general manager.

It’s too soon to reveal any secrets about the menu and wine selection, but the cuisine draws inspiration from SA’s culture, lore and society as well as Tempelhoff’s many journeys around the world. In the chef’s words, all he has to do now is “keep innovating, keep coming up with new things, new dishes, new flavours, and always keep stretching the boundary”.

- Visit Fyn to secure preferential booking ahead of the launch in November.

- This article was originally published by Times Select.