Dusk is a thought-provoking restaurant concept conceived by chefs Darren Badenhorst and Callan Austin. The pair first met over a decade ago, when Callan walked through the doors as an intern at one of Darren’s kitchens in the Cape Winelands.

Having stayed in contact since that day, Darren extended the offer to Callan to join his team when he opened Le coin Français in 2017. As the restaurant would go on to win multiple awards, Darren's mentorship became increasingly prevalent in Callan’s career – seeing him through to the finale of the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition 2021 in Milan where Callan became the winner of the Social Responsibility Award.
Fate, it seems, would have it that they have come full circle since Callan is now assuming his first head chef role at Dusk restaurant.

The vision the two chefs share for Dusk is for the restaurant to become a space where the boundaries of the fine dining industry are challenged, and ultimately pushed aside by having a unique food and beverage offering that not only entices the palate but also conveys a story with emotion behind each dish. The chefs will also be experimenting with various in-house preparation methods such as fermentation and “whole process” cooking that will be used to drive a zero-waste policy. Diners can expect to see in-house ingredients such as miso’s, garum’s, Shoyu’s, Lacto-ferments, cured meats, cheeses, and even wine and alcohol production.

As partners, Darren and Callan are also diving deeper into restaurant psychology and mental health. Focussing on how to construct a positive work culture and environment for staff and everyone connected to the industry and thereby raising the bar for what the restaurant industry currently has to offer to employees. One of the first steps in their plan to improve mental health in the industry is the employment of an in-house councillor and practising forest therapy.