We visit the home of Michelin star Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen in Higgovale, Cape Town.
Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s home is built on success in the kitchen and he is the first South African to earn a Michelin star for his restaurant, Jan, situated in Nice on The French Riviera. With a menu inspired by the chef’s grandmother, it draws on a wealth of South African cooking.
Jan Hendrik’s partner Grant Bacon is equally talented in the design field. They had a treetop hideaway built four years ago and while Grant lives here, for Jan Hendrik it’s bliss to return home on a regular basis for inspiration.
We followed Jan Hendrik to where they grow the kind of seasonal ingredients that have seen his eatery listed as one of the 15 best restaurants in the world by Conde Nast. The magazine praised his healthy, modern cooking which includes Cape seed loaf and dishes like slow-cooked lamb shank, simmered in coffee and pinotage.
All the photography in the house is done by Grant. He and Jan Hendrik like frequent change and see interiors as constantly evolving. The rust coloured vintage chairs from Grant’s mother have been reupholstered four times, previously in bright stripes, blue velvet and bull denim.
Jan Hendrik’s famed for his line fish with curry, yoghurt, lime, fennel, mussels and white wine but braai’d is just as good. For artist Andre Carl van der Merwe who conceptualized the house, the cooking is a perk of meeting to brainstorm.
Next time you’re in the South of France and hungry for the taste of home, you know where to go!