New Hot Spot: Ash Restaurant

INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr IMAGES Matthew Ibbotson

When we heard great things about a new restaurant opening just off Cape Town’s trendy Bree Street, we had to find out more. After experiencing the delicious food, we caught up with Ash Heeger, the talented chef behind Ash, to find out more about her love for charcoal cooking and what her new venture is all about.

What gave you the concept for Ash restaurant?

The idea has been at the back of my mind for the last three years or so. I knew I wanted to concentrate on charcoal cooking and also steer away from “fine dining” and create something a bit different. Luckily, Andy from Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants (FFMM) approached me to develop the concept into something more ethical and organic.

Who planned your interiors and decor?

Our design element was done by Marco Simal of Studio Simal and executed by Carlos La, and Lloyd Stocks of Stocks Projects. I designed the kitchen with Mac Brothers.

You have an open-plan kitchen. How does this add to the ambience?

An open kitchen is definitely a catch 22. There is nowhere to hide, so to speak. Special care needs to be taken witch regards to appearance and also the way we present ourselves as chefs. On the flip side, it does provide an insight into what we do and it’s entertaining for guests to see. We chose to go with an open kitchen mostly because of the charcoal oven we bought – we wanted to showcase cooking with charcoal.

What sort of mood are you trying to evoke with the decor?

We wanted to create a space that encompassed our ethos and feel between the three brands that inhabit the space (FFMM, Ash and Publik), which I believe we have done. Something slightly different to the average restaurant: matte, dark colours with accents of glass and wood.

What sort of flavours does your menu focus on?

We obviously place a lot of focus on charcoal cooking. Pretty much everything either passes through the Josper at some point, or is cooked start to finish in there, including desserts like the bourbon apple crumble. 

Our main focus is more on produce and seasonality, than flavour. You won’t find a tomato on the menu for 10 months of the year (unless it’s been preserved or fermented). All of our meat is 100% ethically sourced and free range. We work hand in hand with the butchery on utilising entire beasts, so we do a lot of lesser known cuts and offal.

ASH is open Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 10pm and is situated at 81 Church Street, Cape Town. Email reservations@ashrestaurant.co.za to book your spot or like their Facebook page to keep up to date.