A Table in the Corner

Russel Wasserfall Media
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A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He's run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, writers, photographers, bloggers... you name it. If they’re involved in the food industry, you will meet them with Russel at A Table in the Corner. 

  1. S2-27. Seebamboes - Adél Hughes & Liebet Jooste

    -3 J

    S2-27. Seebamboes - Adél Hughes & Liebet Jooste

    In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel Wasserfall sits down with chef Adél Hughes and artist-host Liebet Jooste, the couple behind Seebamboes. Their restaurant, tucked above Galjoen on Harrington Street, forms part of the same restaurant family as Belly of the Beast. The conversation explores how Seebamboes operates as a collaboration between kitchen and dining room. Adél cooks with ingredients that arrive from small producers, fishermen and foragers, often shaping dishes around what turns up that day. Liebet, drawing on her background as a visual artist, guides guests through the meal, helping frame the experience and the stories behind the ingredients. Russel traces how the project began with a small takeaway operation in Betty’s Bay before finding a home in Cape Town. Along the way the discussion touches on West Coast foodways, the use of seaweeds and coastal plants, and the realities of cooking with ingredients that are seasonal, unpredictable and deeply tied to place. It’s a conversation about storytelling through food: how a menu becomes a narrative, how chefs and front of house work together to shape the experience, and how a meal can reconnect diners with the landscapes and ingredients that surround the Western Cape coast. Seebamboes will also feature in an upcoming Table for Two episode on the A Table in the Corner YouTube channel. Launching in early May, the new video series sees Russel and co-host Jonathan Warnke visiting some of their favourite Cape Town restaurants, sharing the experience of the meal from two perspectives: one from inside the hospitality industry, and one from the curious diner at the table. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    34 min
  2. S2-26. Belly of the Beast - Odette Olivier

    20 AVR.

    S2-26. Belly of the Beast - Odette Olivier

    On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Odette Olivier, head chef of the Harrington Street tasting-menu restaurant Belly of the Beast. Odette talks about how she found her way into professional kitchens, from an early instinct to cook through culinary school and the formative years that followed in hotels and lodge kitchens. She also reflects on the influence of the late chef Ian Bergh of De Grendel Restaurant, whose mentorship helped shape her approach to cooking and to running a kitchen. The conversation then turns to life inside Belly of the Beast, where a frequently changing set menu and an open kitchen create a particular rhythm to service. Odette describes the challenge of cooking a tightly choreographed tasting menu night after night, and how the small team keeps the kitchen calm and focused while working through multiple courses for every table. Russel and Odette also discuss the realities of running a small restaurant in Cape Town today, including the growing problem of no-shows and how they affect independent restaurants operating with limited seats. Finally, Odette shares a glimpse of what’s coming next for the Harrington Street group, which currently includes Belly of the Beast, Galjoen and Seebamboes. Two new restaurants, No Show and Quagga, are set to open in the next season, expanding the group’s presence in the East City Precinct. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    36 min
  3. S2-25. Ëlgr - Jesper Nilsson

    13 AVR.

    S2-25. Ëlgr - Jesper Nilsson

    On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Jesper Nilsson, the Swedish-born chef behind Ëlgr, his popular restaurant on Kloof Street. Jesper’s cooking carries the clarity and discipline often associated with Scandinavian kitchens, but it’s firmly rooted in the produce and rhythm of Cape Town. The result is a restaurant that isn’t Nordic transplanted into South Africa, but something shaped by both places: restrained, ingredient-led cooking in a relaxed dining room where regulars gather as easily for a pizza and beer as they do for a date night meal. In the conversation, Jesper traces his journey from chef school in Sweden to training locally at the International Culinary Academy, cooking in Franschhoek and eventually returning from Sweden to open Ëlgr at just 28 years old. He reflects on how his time at Malmö restaurant ‘Bastard’ reshaped his thinking about kitchen culture, leadership and the collaborative structure that now defines his team.  Russel and Jesper also talk about the craft behind the menu – from house-made charcuterie and fermentation projects to the unexpectedly beloved pizzas – and about the discipline required to maintain consistency after four consecutive Eat Out Restaurant Awards one-star ratings. It’s a conversation about how a chef’s identity forms: what you carry with you from where you grew up, what you learn along the way, and how those influences settle into a restaurant that reflects both the cook and the city around it. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    31 min
  4. S2-24. Rykaarts - Ella Rykaart

    6 AVR.

    S2-24. Rykaarts - Ella Rykaart

    On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Ella Rykaart, the front-of-house force behind Rykaarts, the small, atmospheric restaurant she runs with her husband, chef Alex Rykaart, on Longridge Wine Estate. While chefs often take the spotlight, this conversation turns the focus toward the other half of the restaurant equation: hospitality. Ella reflects on her path from studying winemaking to discovering the pull of restaurant life, working under respected restaurateur Neil Grant, learning the realities of kitchens with George Jardine, and later refining her understanding of service and restaurant logistics alongside Christophe and Susan Dehosse. The conversation explores what front-of-house leadership really means: building teams, managing expectations, creating a relaxed dining environment, and balancing the fine line between attentive service and simply allowing guests to enjoy themselves. Ella also speaks candidly about changing perspectives on hospitality, authenticity in restaurant culture, and why not every dining experience needs a carefully narrated story. Set against the sweeping vineyard views of Longridge, this episode looks at the quieter craft of running service, and the role hospitality and setting play in shaping the experience of a restaurant. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    34 min
  5. S2-23. Le Bistrot de JAN - Giles Edwards

    30 MARS

    S2-23. Le Bistrot de JAN - Giles Edwards

    On this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Giles Edwards, a chef returning to the pass after time away, now working in collaboration with Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen at Le Bistrot de JAN. It’s a conversation about coming back to the kitchen on different terms, with more clarity about what matters and what doesn’t.  Giles first came onto the city’s radar with La Tête, a restaurant that built a loyal following through a deeply considered approach to sourcing, sustainability and unfussy, exacting cooking. Before that came a formative decade in London, including time at St. John under Fergus Henderson, where ideas around whole-animal cooking and restraint took root. The conversation traces that arc. The early pull of St. John, the grind and discipline of London, the creation and eventual closure of La Tête, and the decision to step away from kitchens altogether. It also explores what it means to return, this time with boundaries, working within someone else’s space while holding onto a clear sense of self. This is a conversation about simplicity, sustainability and the long view. About learning, stepping back, and choosing how to come back. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    44 min
  6. S2-22. Mozambik - Brett Michielin

    23 MARS

    S2-22. Mozambik - Brett Michielin

    In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Brett Michielin, the operator behind Mozambik, one of Southern Africa’s most recognisable casual dining brands. What began as a forty-seat restaurant in Ballito, KZN has grown into more than forty five outlets across the SADEC region. But the conversation starts with something far smaller: a twist of newspaper filled with pan-roasted peanuts placed on the table when guests arrive. Brett traces the origins of Mozambik back to the tavernas and beach bars of coastal Mozambique and the Portuguese-influenced restaurant culture of Durban. From the beginning, he explains, the idea was simple: food would take the brand part of the way, but atmosphere, generosity and service would carry it the rest. The discussion moves through the early years of the Ballito restaurant, the unlikely partnership that launched the brand, and the mechanics of turning a loose beachside concept into a scalable franchise operation. Brett speaks candidly about the realities of growth, from training staff and building supply chains to maintaining consistency across multiple countries. Along the way we talk about the role hospitality plays in social mobility, illustrated through the story of a bartender who rose through the company to run operations in Zimbabwe, and the broader challenges facing independent restaurants in a market increasingly shaped by larger groups. This is a practical, wide ranging conversation about scale, culture and the long game of building restaurants, told by an operator who still chases the rush that comes when the doors open and service begins. www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    38 min
  7. S2-21. In the Meantime - Sepial Shim

    16 MARS

    S2-21. In the Meantime - Sepial Shim

    In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Korean-born chef Sepial Shim, whose quiet, wandering path through Cape Town’s food world has taken her from cooking school to markets, pop ups and now a tiny sixteen seat restaurant in Woodstock called 'In the Meantime'. She reflects on arriving in South Africa more than two decades ago and training as an urban designer, only to discover that cooking offered a different way of expressing meaning without words. What followed was an unconventional journey: studying at Silwood alongside her son, opening a small restaurant in Salt River, building a cult following for Korean fried chicken at the Oranjezicht market, and experimenting with fermentation as both craft and philosophy. The conversation moves between those phases and the thinking behind Sepial’s latest project: a deliberately small restaurant where she cooks each dish herself and serves guests directly. We talk about the tension between creativity and business, the financial cost of pursuing fermentation as a passion project, and the decision to trade scale for focus in the limited years she still plans to cook professionally. Along the way Shim reflects on Korean food traditions, Cape Town’s evolving dining culture and the quiet satisfaction of watching diners recognise the care behind something as subtle as a clear beef short-rib broth. This is a thoughtful, candid conversation about wandering, learning and choosing to cook in a way that makes sense for one’s life, told by a chef who understands that sometimes the most meaningful work happens in small rooms.  www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    32 min
  8. S2-20. Ouzeri - Aidan Zieff

    9 MARS

    S2-20. Ouzeri - Aidan Zieff

    In this episode of A Table in the Corner, Russel sits down with Aidan Zieff, head chef of Ouzeri, one of Cape Town’s most quietly influential restaurants. Aidan reflects on a fast-moving early career that took him from local fine dining kitchens through Copenhagen stages at 108 and Noma, before returning home with a sharpened sense of discipline, flavour and restraint. The conversation traces his path from formal, highly structured kitchens into a looser, more generous style of cooking that still demands precision. We talk about what Aidan carried back from Scandinavia, how that experience recalibrated his approach to simplicity, and why Ouzeri’s food works not because it is casual, but because it is exact where it matters. He explains the balance between tradition and instinct, how flavours are tested and rejected without sentiment, and why some dishes only work when they look imperfect. We also discuss creative freedom, the pressure of cooking for chefs, and the challenge of running a small brigade while maintaining consistency in a room that never really empties. This is a candid conversation about taste, confidence and letting go of formality without losing standards, told by a chef who understands that generosity on the plate is usually the result of serious discipline behind the scenes. Learn more about Ouzeri here Every booking is a first impression. Make a good one with Novel Message me here with comments or guest suggestions. Treat yourself - order direct from Zuney Wagyu www.rwm2012.comOn Instagram @a_table_inthecornerCover image sketched by Courtney Cara LawsonAll profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise creditedTitle music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

    32 min
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À propos

A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He's run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, writers, photographers, bloggers... you name it. If they’re involved in the food industry, you will meet them with Russel at A Table in the Corner. 

Informations

  • Création
    Russel Wasserfall Media
  • Années d’activité
    2023 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    179
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Russel Wasserfall Media
  • Site web de l’émission
    A Table in the Corner

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