Some days, we really love our job. Case in point, we spent the afternoon cooking (and eating) with the formidable Dion Vengatass, who is one of Africa’s most talked about up-and-coming chefs for the cuisine he creates at Planet Restaurant at the Belmond Mount Nelson.
While he was trained formally in hotel management, his passion for cooking brought him to work his way up in the culinary world, where he now for all intensive purposes helms the kitchen at Planet in the most iconic of Cape Town hotels.
What distinguishes Dion is that his food has soul; yes, it’s fine cuisine and we learned more than a few presentation techniques in our time with him. However, the root of his cooking is highly influenced by his mother and aunties when he was as young boy in India, elevated with an intellectually philosophical and almost spiritual take on the highly intricate dishes he prepares.
Check out our short film with Dion when we called the Mount Nelson home for a few days in Cape Town, and gorged ourselves on his coconut rice with super model Ubah Hassan every chance we got.
Recipes from Dion Vengatass are below, but know they require some serious skills. We have confidence you are up for the challenge, but otherwise, Cape Town is a flight away.
