Two of South Africa’s Top Chefs to Cook at International Culinary Festival

by Kyla Van Heerden

Chef Johannes Richter and Chef Kobus van der Merwe will be cooking alongside the world’s best chefs at the 25th edition of Italy’s renowned Ein Prosit food festival.

This October, two highly acclaimed of South African chefs will be heading to Italy to cook at in a series of unique collaborative dinners at the multi-day food celebration, Ein Prosit, in Udine, Italy.

For the first time, the festival will feature two South African chefs – Chef Johannes Richter from The LivingRoom at Summerhill Guest Estate in Durban, and Chef Kobus van der Merwe from Wolfgat in Paternoster. The chefs will cook alongside each other and collaborate with other notable culinary names during Ein Prosit.

The two local chefs will also bring a South African flavour to the festival and take international diners on a journey from one side of South Africa to the other. Chef Johannes will serve his unique style of cooking, which champions the rich diversity of KwaZulu-Natal using hyper-endemic ingredients, ancient processes, modern thinking, and classic techniques. While Chef Kobus will showcase his renowned strandveld cooking, which delves into the bounty of the West Coast and its coastline to magnificent effect. Johanna Richter, front-of-house manager and sommelier at The LivingRoom, will oversee the service for the evening.

For his international collaboration, Chef Johannes will be joining Italy’s sustainability trailblazers, Chefs Chiara Paven and Francesco Brutto from Venissa. The LivingRoom is the current recipient of the EatOut Woolworths Sustainability Award, while Venissa boasts both a Michelin star and a Michelin green star – the latter highlighting restaurants at the forefront of sustainable practices within the industry.

Meanwhile, Chef Kobus will join Chef Rodolfo Guzman of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ No. 29 restaurant, Borago in Santiago, Chile, for a dinner that will celebrate the distinct, diverse, and generous western coastlines of their respective countries, and the chefs’ shared dedication to exploring and showcasing the beauty of their regions.

Other notable chefs cooking at the festival include some of the most renowned names in the culinary world, such as Chef Massimo Bottura, Chef Virgilio Martinez, Chef Bruno Verjus, Chef Ana Roš, and many more.

Chef Johannes will cook alongside Chefs Chiara and Francesco on 18 October at La Di Moret Hotel. Bookings can be made here.

Chef Kobus and Chef Rodolfo will cook on 18 October at Le Fucine Gourmet Restaurant. Bookings can be made here.

Chef Johannes and Chef Kobus’s dinner takes place on 19 October at Aquila Nera Restaurant. Bookings can be made here.

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