Jul 20 2021 54 mins
Restaurant Interlude - The Journey to A Michelin Star
Join us for the latest ‘Growing Leonardslee’ podcast as estate general manager Adam Streeter talks with South African chef Jean Delport.
They discuss with estate owner Penny Streeter OBE the amazing journey from setting up Restaurant Interlude together in the newly restored Leonardslee House in 2018, to winning a first Michelin Star in record time - and now retaining it for a second successive year.
It all started seven years ago when Adam, an aspiring chef, was living in South Africa. On a student placement at the South African Chefs Academy in Somerset West, he worked for chef Jean. Whilst Adam later decided that his future lay in management rather than cooking, a firm friendship had begun.
Both Adam and his mother were so impressed with Jean’s skills that they set up a restaurant in 2015, Benguela on Main in the Cape Town Winelands, with Jean as executive chef.
Adam knew that the dishes that Jean was creating at Benguela on Main, in his own style, were exceptional. He would frequently comment: “Jean, if only we could move you to the UK, I know you would win a Michelin Star”. It seemed an impossible flight of fancy at the time, that was to be realised in a remarkably few short years.
Hear the podcast to find out what happened next, in this amazing journey to Jean’s second successive award of a Michelin Star.