FROM OCEAN TO TABLE

On South Africa’s western coast, one chef looks to his surroundings—and local culinary lore—to inspire a singular new genre of regional cuisine.

- ​​​​​​​RICHARD HOLMES

THERE’S SOMETHING about the quality of light on the western coast of South Africa. It’s harsh and pure, with a brightness that makes you narrow your eyes as you gaze down the miles of empty beach. It’s this raw beauty that attracts travellers, many of them Capetonians like myself, to the windswept stretch of shoreline about a two-hour drive north of Cape Town. With its whitewashed houses and cerulean seas, it easily evokes comparisons to the Greek islands, and the village of Paternoster has long been a popular spot for weekend escapes and second homes. But a gastronomic destination with global cachet? Not so much.

At least, not until Kobus van der Merwe left his big-city media job to help his parents run their quaint country store in Paternoster, where they’d finally settled after years of visiting the village on holiday. His first small restaurant, Oep ve Koep, opened in 2010. It was there that he developed his notion of Strandveld cuisine, named after the local vegetation, hardy shrubs and succulents that flourish in the rocky hills and coastal flats. Van der Merwe’s cooking celebrates the wild ingredients of this stark landscape, often referencing the culinary heritage—both ancient and modern—of the region.

As I walked along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean on a recent visit, I saw salt-crusted boulders and the occasional spray of beach grass or nest of seaweed, but nothing that immediately presented itself as worthy of a taste test. But therein lies van der Merwe’s artistry.