.....over Richard Carstens
| Richard Carstens Richard Carstens trained with his mentor Ralph van Pletzen at his eponymous restaurant Ralph’s in Stellenbosch from 1992 - 93 From1993 – 2002 Richard worked as executive chef at esteemed restaurants such as Chamonix, Monneaux, Le Provencal and at Bijoux in Franschhoek. Le Provencal and Bijoux were both rated Top 10 in South Africa. It was here he discovered the deconstruction cuisine of Ferran Adria of Spain and started his own development in this style of cuisine. Richard had a break overseas between 1997 to 1998 to work a chef de partie ,in Melbourne at Le Japon and Stella’s.Returning inspired and full of ideas. In 2002 he moved to Lynton Hall, KZN, which was voted Top 10 in SA for four consecutive years. Richard was voted chef of the year in 2005. He says ‘ Lynton Hall was where the experimentation truly gave rise to his developments in avant garde cuisine. I still pursue to develop a cuisine based on the isolation and intensification of flavour and presenting food in different textures and harmonious flavour combinations.” Richard returned to Cape Town in 2007 and in 2009 partnered up with Richard Walsh to reinvent the ground floor of the Relish building in New Church Street and create an elegant and understated space where food will take centre stage. Nova presents global sophistication: industrial lines contrast with layers of texture in white linen covered chairs and table clothes; ivory upholstered benches; and charcoal floors. The venue is a canvas of muted tones designed to anticipate a burst of colour from the kitchen. Carstens describes the menu as an evolution of influences experienced during his career. He is attracted to the avant garde movement in modern cuisine but he is grounded in the classic French style. At Nova his cuisine is both inventive and accessible. |
