South Africa’s first Michelin-starred chef, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, has established Restaurant Klein JAN in Tswalu Kalahari, the home of the indigenous peoples of the Kalahari Desert.
The chef views Klein JAN as a chance to do some of the tales of the Northern Cape on every plate—a location of contrasts and tremendous vistas, which he discovered on his trip home. The quality of life depends on whether or not it rains and where resources are stored for times of relative abundance when crops fail.
Klein Jan in the Kalahari
When Jan first set foot in the Kalahari, he felt the same sense of connection to the vastness of the desert as he did when he was hiking in the Scottish Highlands. He knew it was time to open his first restaurant in his home country, where he wanted to elevate the underappreciated talents of the Northern Cape and showcase their superior ingredients and products.
Why the Northern Cape?
What was exciting about launching Klein JAN in Tswalu, as opposed to Cape Town, was that the location provided additional authenticity and sustainability legitimacy, as well as paying homage to the goals Jan and his team have worked toward at Restaurant JAN in Nice, France, which first opened in 2013.
As part of his research on ingredients and regional cuisines, Jan went on a trip across the semiarid Kalahari Desert and researched ingredients and food produced by independent producers, fourth-generation farmers, and artisan experts. He searched for tried-and-true recipes, many of which had been handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. It’s the ingenuity that comes from living and working in the isolated Northern Cape region, similar to all these small-scale farmers and providers. In addition, the vast array of unique wineries in the area provides unlimited culinary inspiration for the kitchen at Klein JAN.
Tswalu Kalahari’s vast open expanses have long been popular destinations for those looking for a fully rich, authentic and immersive safari. Tswalu is a prominent, wondrous place, a country with expansive views and a feeling of unlimited freedom. An experience of heartfelt, boisterous beauty may be found in the verdant Kalahari Desert. It has been a magnificent landscape for thousands of years, and Tswalu is now taking steps to save it for future generations. Klein JAN finds a new home in Tswalu Reserve because of their intense dedication to honouring local origin, tradition, and culture.
Inspired by its location
As part of his team of chefs, led by Executive Chef for Tswalu, Marnus Scholly, Jan is creating several Kalahari dishes that use fresh ingredients and innovative cooking techniques. Every detail has been well thought out and calculated in the construction of Klein JAN, even the seats that are fashioned out of recycled French oak wine barrels.
With excellent weather, a glass wall opens out on the undulating plains of the Kalahari, providing a truly immersive dining experience. Other highlights include the 13-foot-deep root cellar situated below the Kalahari ochre sands. To get to the basement, tourists enter the 100-year-old Boscia House, where they first travel back in time to experience the unique smell of petrichor before entering an original plaas dam (farm dam) and following a spiral staircase laced with the distinct aroma of petrichor. Before modern refrigeration, a 65-foot root cellar with temperature and humidity control, such as the one used at Klein JAN, is utilized to preserve all ingredients and vegetables.
