Lamb rack, mint jelly, horseradish
Do you enjoy good food? Eating out? But have no-one to go with? Then sign up for a dining experience with DINE4SIX. I attended a DINE4SIX event recently and cannot recommend it highly enough. DINE4SIX is a platform through which people (six at a time) wanting to eat out can sign up for a restaurant dinner, together with people they haven’t necessarily met before.
The DINE4SIX event I attended was at an Umhlanga
A view of the ceiling in the private dining room at The Chefs Table, Umhlanga
restaurant called The Chefs Table. Now, a ‘chef’s table’ (notice the apostrophe) is a special dining experience that takes place in the kitchen of a restaurant. The chef serves a tasting menu to a small group of people explaining each course as it is served. So, a chef’s table is about fine dining. DINE4SIX combines these two concepts – meeting new people and fine dining – into one
Chicken thigh press, miso, shimeji, shiitake custard by Kayla-Ann Osborn
unique occasion. And the one I attended happened to be at the restaurant The Chefs Table.
Every one of the six people at my table agreed that getting to know the other diners really made the occasion.
‘I love meeting interesting people and learning about other points of view,’ said Barbie, a principal at a local school, at the end of the meal.
And Prabashni, another diner and architect at a local firm, said ‘We are all very different, but the common experience of appreciating food together made those differences acceptable.’ And that really is the key. Signing up for the experience (which you can do through the website https://dine4six.com) ‘takes the apprehension and difficulty out of meeting new people by hosting events that allow you to meet new and interesting people over a casual dinner at some of your city’s finest restaurants.’ (https://dine4six.com).
And a fine restaurant The Chefs Table certainly is. Our tasting menu – created by executive chef Kayla-Ann Osborn – consisted of six courses of beautifully presented food that included squid, pork, beef, chicken, lamb, and salted caramel dessert. My brief description really doesn’t do the dishes justice. I tasted things that included ‘murdered leek’, edible gold, pea brûlée (my favourite) and shiitake custard. I particularly enjoyed the Crispy squid with green curry, and the lamb rack, while my neighbour, Pat, said one of his favourites was the Angus beef Carpaccio and white anchovy.
I was the only teetotaler amongst us while all the others were served a different wine with each
P.S. I love you, salted caramel, biscuit tuile, blond chocolate, vanilla ice cream (notice the gold leaf) by Kayla-Ann Osborn
course by Mundy, a wine steward who is working up to be a sommelier. There is an option when booking to choose the meal with or without wine pairing.
Our party finally left The Chefs Table when the restaurant was closing and not another soul was in sight. Our late departure was probably because we had been talking so much. At this stage the handshakes that had opened our evening were dispensed with; everyone hugged their goodbyes and made their tired ways home. I hope I meet my fellow diners again some day. Bon appetit!
Dine4Six diners
a feast of tales 