Following his recent residency at Mount Nelson in Cape Town, Alain Roux sat down with YourLuxury Africa to reflect on the collaboration, working with South African produce, and bringing a fresh perspective to the classics of The Waterside Inn, his three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England.
YLA: This is a historic moment for the African continent. How did this collaboration come about, and what excites you most about sharing the kitchen?
Alain: We are delighted to have partnered with the Belmond group, particularly here at the iconic Mount Nelson. It is such a beautiful and historic hotel, full of character and life, and there is something special about the place. You quickly feel at home, although it is certainly a rather luxurious home.
It is always exciting to work alongside another professional chef because, although we all have our own identity, we share so many similarities. Ángel León has such a distinctive understanding of the sea and its produce, and I have enormous respect for what he has achieved.
The finished dishes from our two kitchens are very different, but they share a connection through palate, taste, technique, philosophy, and respect for ingredients. Chefs, countries, and continents differ, but there is also a deep connection. Cooking gives us a common language, and sharing that language in Cape Town was something special.
YLA: Mount Nelson is an iconic Cape Town landmark with a rich history. How does the setting of a place like this influence your creative process when designing a menu for a specific location?
Alain: When I bring the cooking of The Waterside Inn to another country, I do not want to change its identity simply because we are somewhere different. Guests come because they want to experience the dishes, flavours, and style that are part of our history and my family’s cooking. It is important to respect that.
At the same time, cooking in another country inevitably brings new influences. You have different ingredients, different seasons, and different ways of working with produce. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, I see it as an opportunity.
For this residency, we were able to preserve the essence of our dishes while working with some wonderful South African ingredients. The Mount Nelson also has its own personality. It is a historic hotel with a strong sense of place, so the experience should reflect where you are. The dish remains recognisably ours, but the ingredients and surroundings give it a Cape Town character.
YLA: Looking back on the recent collaboration, was there a particular moment when you felt the significance of what you and Ángel León were creating together in Cape Town?
Alain: I think it was the whole experience of seeing the two kitchens come together. You have two chefs from very different backgrounds and two different culinary traditions, yet when the dishes arrive at the table, there is a natural connection between them.
Ángel has such an extraordinary understanding of the sea. His cooking is imaginative and highly technical, but he always respects the ingredients. That is something I recognise in my own approach to cooking.
For me, the most satisfying part was seeing the guests enjoying the food and experiencing both styles within the same meal. A four-hands dinner should have a sense of discovery. You should be able to taste where each chef is coming from, while also seeing how the two approaches complement each other.
Above all, I hope the guests went home happy. Good food is important, but so are the atmosphere, the wines, the service, and the people around the table. When all those elements come together, you have a memorable evening.
YLA: A pop-up residency is intense. You’re working in a foreign kitchen, with unfamiliar equipment and a local team you’ve only just met. What proved to be the biggest challenge, and how quickly were you able to make the kitchen feel like your own?
Alain: The biggest thing is to immerse yourself in the environment while remembering that you are a visitor. You bring your own experience and your own way of working, but you also have to respect the kitchen, the team, and the place where you are working.
I was impressed by the team at Mount Nelson. They are excellent professionals, and they adapted quickly to our requirements. Once you have established communication and everyone understands what you are trying to achieve, the kitchen starts to feel familiar.
I enjoy teaching, but I also enjoy learning from other people. Every kitchen has something to teach you. A residency like this is not about arriving and trying to change everything. It is about bringing your own experience, working with the team, and finding the best way to achieve the result together.
YLA: This was your first time cooking with South African produce. Was there a particular ingredient you discovered here that surprised or inspired you, either for this menu or beyond?
Alain: I was impressed by the quality and variety of the produce in South Africa. There is a strong connection with local ingredients, and you really notice the freshness and flavour of the produce.
For one of our classic dishes, the tronçonette de homard with white Port sauce, we used langouste here instead of lobster. It is a terrific ingredient and worked beautifully with the dish. It was a good example of how you can respect the identity of a classic recipe while allowing the local produce to become part of its character.
I was also particularly impressed by the vegetables. They have so much flavour and freshness. When produce has not travelled long distances or spent days in cold storage, you notice the difference immediately.
For a chef, working with ingredients at their best is one of the great pleasures of cooking. South Africa has given me a positive impression of the quality and diversity of its produce, and I would certainly like to continue exploring it.
YLA: Signature dishes are loved precisely because people want to experience them as you intended, but that can also mean cooking them repeatedly. How do you keep your own sense of curiosity and excitement alive when returning to dishes you know so well?
Alain: For me, a signature dish is never something that should become automatic. If you have been cooking a dish for many years, you understand it more deeply, but you still have to give it the same attention every time it leaves the kitchen.
Our dishes are part of the history of The Waterside Inn and of my family, so I feel a responsibility to preserve what makes them special. At the same time, cooking them abroad, with new ingredients and a different team, gives you a fresh perspective.
This trip has been a good example of that. We took dishes that are familiar to us and worked with South African produce. The dish remained true to its origins, but the local ingredient gave it a different character and a fresh twist.
I also think that curiosity comes from continuing to learn. Working with Ángel, the Mount Nelson team, and South African produce all give me new ideas. You never stop learning as a chef. Even when you return to a dish you know extremely well, there is always something you can observe, refine, or appreciate differently.
Image Credits: Chef Alain Roux x Chef Ángel León Four Hands Dinner Photographed by Danielle Pepler
