For celebrity chef Peter Goffe-Wood, this year has been fraught with highs and lows. He spoke to Michael Brown on how the pandemic strangled his restaurant, but also on aspirations for a host of new television programmes.
Peter Goffe-Wood, celebrity chef, has ploughed his trade in London, Paris, and Istanbul just to name a few destinations. However, he maintains that he learned the art of making simple food when he was in Bangkok, Thailand. “It showed me the essence of simplicity. Singular fresh ingredients can be turned into something fantastic with a bit of skill. You don’t need to have the most expensive ingredients in the world to have a good dish, you just need to have fresh and good quality,” he says. PHOTO: Michael Brown.
Ready. Steady. Cook!
It was just after lunch time, and some chefs would normally take a break. But “food alchemist” and celebrity chef Peter Goffe-Wood was still hard at work. Like a scientist working on a secret potion, he was hunched over the kitchen counter carefully blending a variety of spices and sauces together. When asked what he busy making so meticulously, he answered “nothing much”.
As he lowered his mask to reveal his white beard, he would have become recognisable for many South Africans who may have had lingering doubts on his identity. Goffe-Wood is a television personality in addition to his title as chef and food alchemist. Through his career he has hosted Masterchef South Africa, Ultimate Braai Master and appeared regularly on many SABC programmes.
“I never had an intention to cook, well certainly not professionally,” Goffe-Wood admits.
It was only after leaving university that his appetite for the kitchen became clear. After working in a variety of restaurants he fell in love with how a well organised kitchen ran.
“It looked like absolute chaos but the more you looked at it, it was like this choreographed ballet with people swishing past each other and it was really cool. I was hooked.”
Despite his love for the kitchen, this year saw him visit his workshop (which is aptly located in Salt River, Cape Town) more frequently. And it shouldn’t be this way. Last year, Goffe-Wood committed to a new project, he was going to redefine the Grand Roche hotel’s restaurant only for the Covid-19 pandemic to put his success in jeopardy.
Cooking, kitchens, and Covid-19
“We had a great summer, and come January and February it was looking positive. Who knew what we had in store,” Goffe-Wood remembers.
Exactly six months prior to the start of this year, he had been approached by the new owners of Paarl’s Grand Roche hotel to spearhead their new restaurant. Originally, he admits this was a job he had no intention of undertaking.
“It was totally unexpected, I had no real plans of opening a restaurant. But it can’t hurt to go and listen,” he says.
“The problem with the previous owner [of the Grand Roche hotel] is that it was very Germanic in how it was run and how it was staffed,” believes celebrity chef Peter Goffe-Wood. He continues to state that it was difficult to enter the premises without a booking or making a reservation which made it appeal mainly to foreigners and guests than locals. PHOTO: Michael Brown.
However, once he arrived at the hotel, he was impressed with the vision the new owners, Theresa and Hansie Britz had for the historical building. This led him to give the owners a list of “ten outrageous demands” which needed to be met if he was to accept this challenge.
“It was quite an onerous list, and they quite happily acquiesced to all of it,” Goffe-Wood declares.
Thus, the new restaurant Viande was born. A restaurant with a keen emphasis on meat and which catered not only to tourists but the local Paarl community going into the summer period.
“We had a good summer, but it wasn’t what you would call a bumper summer. It was our first summer and we were finding our feet,” says Goffe-Wood.
Weddings, conferences, and other bookings started bundling in at the start of the new year. The hotel’s diary was filled right until July, which exceeded Goffe-Wood’s expectations.
However, most of these events would never take place. Due to the nationwide lockdown, the Grand Roche hotel and Viande had to close their doors.
Peter Goffe-Wood, celebrity chef, was one proponent who joined the #jobssavelives campaign. In response, he joined a protest close to his workshop in Salt River.
“I figured that by the end of April, at best, we’d be back in business. And it just got worse and worse and worse,” says Goffe-Wood.
Throughout lockdown, Grand Roche and Viande remained closed. According to Goffe-Wood, the option to become a home delivery service was never viable for the business.
“We lost less money by being closed than if we tried to open,” he explains.
Eventually, on the 8 October, Goffe-Wood made the announcement on Facebook that Viande would shut its doors for good. Just over a year and a half since it opened, the Grand Roche hotel would need to find a new restaurant to accompany itself when it opened again.
On 8 October Peter Goffe-Wood, celebrity chef, announced his decision to close the restaurant Viande on Facebook. Due to the restaurant’s recent rebirth, he believes there was not enough time to give it a financial cushion to survive the nationwide lockdown.
“It’s a gem of a hotel, it is in the most beautiful surrounds amongst the vineyards,” believes Goffe-Wood. “It will always be there, and it will always do well. It’s just unfortunate that we won’t be part of that journey.”
Ready, set… action!
Despite Viande’s closure, Goffe-Wood does not dwell too much on the past. He is already working on several television programmes, including a new show with comedian Chris Forrest called Tastebuds.
“It’s aimed primarily at men, to give them confidence in the kitchen. The whole idea is that we do gadget reviews, wine pairing and cocktail making,” says Goffe-Wood.
The show was originally set to be filmed in October, however Goffe-Wood notes that it had to be postponed.
“We had a spot on M-net and everything. But the sponsor pulled out two weeks before we started shooting. Hopefully something will happen in the new year,” he says.
Peter Goffe-Wood, celebrity chef, was critical of the government’s alcohol ban which ensued during previous lockdown levels. He attempts to justify his position in the following voice clip.
This will not be the first time Goffe-Wood and Forrest will team up. The pair have performed numerous versions of the show Don’t burn your sausage together, a show which combines cooking, comedy, and sex according to Goffe-Wood.
“We thought let’s build a show around the perfect spadework meal. So, we would have three courses which are foreplay, intercourse, and afterglow. And the show is me and Chris cooking a three-course meal live on show with lots of smutty innuendos,” he explains.
According to Goffe-Wood, the thinking behind the title Don’t burn your sausage was inspired by real events.
“I was cooking naked for a girlfriend of the time,” starts Goffe-Wood. “I stepped forward to pull something out the oven and I burnt myself… I burnt my sausage on the oven door.”
The show has since gone on to be performed live at Emperor’s Palace and was even hosted virtually this year.
“When you’re doing it in front of a live audience and they’re laughing it is the most unbelievable feeling,’ says Goffe-Wood. “That’s an incredibly powerful drug. But this, combining the food and comedy is something no one had done before and it worked.”
According to Peter Goffe-Wood, celebrity chef, he first met comedian Chris Forrest while he was hosting Celebrity Masterchef South Africa. Throughout the show, Goffe-Wood found Forrest’s dry sense of humour amusing and after Forrest won the series the two decided to start Don’t burn your sausage. PHOTO: Michael Brown.
In addition to Tastebuds and Don’t burn your sausage, he also reveals that he is working on another television programme called Death Row Dinners.
“That’s about exploring what famous serial killers had for their last meal. We’ve shot a pilot for that and we’re hoping we’ll get some traction before the end of the year so we can start shooting in the new year.”
For Goffe-Wood, this year has brought about a period of change. Although his restaurant had to close down, he believes he has found success in virtual events and television productions.
“A lot of people said that [virtual] events don’t work; they’re too impersonal. And I think if lockdown has taught us anything it is that that we’ve crossed those borders months ago.”