When you’re presented with a bread course at an Eat Out three-star restaurant, you know you won’t be receiving anything as straightforward as simple bread and butter.  

And when you’re presented with a bread course at Eat Out three-star restaurant Pier, you know you won’t be receiving anything that doesn’t serve as an ode to the restaurant’s oceanic setting and inspiration.  

In this next instalment in our Star Flavours series, Pier head chef John Norris-Rogers walks us through the creation of this deeply comforting dish that’s made to be shared.  

 

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The dish
Guests are treated to sourdough bread with curried hake, smoked mussel and chorizo, and toasted yeast with cultured butter. 

What inspired this dish? Is there a personal story or specific influence behind it?
We wanted our bread course to be an ode to some of the produce we have along our West Coast, mainly the hake and the mussels. The toasted yeast butter is made to look like beach sand that you would find along the coast.  

We bring this together by presenting the cured hake over hot coals to represent a fish braai, also synonymous with the West Coast, paired with a Cape Malay-inspired curried butter. 

What are the key ingredients and why were they chosen?
The key ingredients we have chosen for this course are the mussels, as well as the hake. Both products of the cold waters of the West Coast, fitting for the story we want this course to tell.  

Are there any unexpected ingredients or flavour combinations that make the dish unique?
While the mussel and chorizo combination is a classic pairing, the toasted yeast and sesame is something quite unique, but it works incredibly well in my mind. It has a nutty, savoury flavour that works well paired with the home-cultured butter.  

What’s the most technically challenging part of making this dish?
I would say making the sourdough is probably the most technical part in that you need a good understanding of how bread works. Paying close attention and taking care in what you are doing yields a great result.  

Did this dish go through multiple iterations? What changed and why? How long did it take to perfect the final version?
The dish started out as three separate courses during development before we decided that we wanted to create a sharing bread course. We have also tweaked elements of the course along the way in terms of how we prepare each element during service to get the best result. 

Overall, it’s taken a very long time considering all the ideas we have pieced together. For instance, the yeast and toasted sesame butter was one of the first elements we put on the menu at La Petite Colombe in 2017, and the curried butter stemmed from an idea for a sauce we had on the menu a while ago.  

Was there a breakthrough moment in developing it?
Being able to create the curried hake butter based off an idea that was intended to be a sauce for another dish was really the point at which we were happy with the result and knew we were on the right track.   

Did you test it with your team or guests before putting it on the menu?
There was a lot of taste testing during the creation of the course, so we got it to a point that we were happy to serve it and put it on the menu and got feedback from guests. 

Is there a specific way you would like guests to eat or interact with the dish?
This dish is really based on sharing. It’s a messy course but that’s how it’s intended to be. There is a certain element of comfort associated with that, and we want guests to feel that while enjoying this course. 

Chef John Norris-Rogers

What does this dish say about your approach to cooking or your culinary philosophy?
It highlights the importance of making a delicious course that you want to keep coming back for, which has always been the point of reference for us when developing dishes and new ideas. 

What do you want guests to feel as they’re eating it?
A sense of nostalgia, a sense of the West Coast and a sense of comfort that a bread course should bring.  

Want to experience it for yourself? Book your spot at the restaurant here.