Wolfgat at Taste of London: Chef Kobus van der Merwe on foraging and adapting to British produce

This year’s Taste of London hosted some truly world-class culinary talent, with the residency run by Kobus van der Merwe, the chef behind 2019’s World Restaurant of the Year. Wolfgat, which also gained the accolade of Off-Map destination in February at the World Restaurant Awards, is a quirky 20-seater situated in Paternoster in a 130-year-old fisherman’s beach cottage. The restaurant focuses on sourcing local ingredients, and as such, on coming to the UK van de Merwe has had the added challenge of finding English equivalents to match his more familiar native produce. It’s been an adventure for the chef, whose foraging in Kent has led him to some interesting discoveries such as fresh fragrant herbs from the woods and a slightly more peculiar species of sea cabbage, which grows out of the stones on the beach.

Van de Merwe prides himself on his team, who run both the dining and serving experience, and he was happy to be able to bring them to the UK for the first time. After experiencing his cuisine first-hand, we caught up with the chef at the residence, where he spoke to us about how he has been both surprised and delighted by his trip to the UK.

Filippo L’Astorina, the Editor
Video/photos: Filippo L’Astorina

For further information about Taste of London 2019 read our feature here.