Heleen Meyer is a Cape Town-based food consultant who works across a wide range of disciplines to service companies in the broader food sphere. From recipe development to writing, styling and photography to video content production, she tells stories about food across a range of platforms. The former Sarie Magazine staffer has built a career advising and creating for corporates mainly in the fresh ingredient sector and has become a noted and respected voice in the arena of healthy eating. Chatting to Helen was fascinating and refreshing.

Heleen Meyer Food
Heleen Meyer on Instagram - @heleenmeyerfood

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

Clarke's Bar & Dining Room is an enduring favourite daytime spot for me. It's a cool, easy spot for a coffee, breakfast or a solo lunch. If I lived in the city, I'd probably prop up their counter on many nights too. Their burgers haunt my dreams, although anything you care to order at that counter is likely to be perfectly executed and delicious. On this episode, I chatted to Lyndall Maunder - creator and owner of the Bree Street stalwart, fashioned in the style of an American diner.
Look out for the new 'Takeaways' segment at the start of the show which is a 5 minute sprinkling of things we like featuring lifestyle writer Kimberley Schoeman. The segment is sponsored by Yardstick Wines who've come on board to help me continue the work of documenting the craft and thoughts of our chefs and food entrepreneurs.

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

At the water's edge, amid the bustle of a working harbour, Chef Ryan Cole has opened a gorgeous little restaurant simply called COY. While the location is in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, midway between Time Out Market and The Cape Grace, it is also aloof. Isolated from the foot traffic and bustle of the precinct, unassuming but beautiful, COY sits at the entrance to Robinson Dry Dock, the oldest operating dry dock in the world.
Well known for his innovative menus centring African ingredients and techniques, Chef Cole is exploring the coastline of Africa - through his cooking - from its southernmost port where diners have a view of both Table Mountain and the comings and goings of commercial fishing boats and luxury yachts alike.
I don't mind suggesting COY (like Salsify) is set to be one of the great restaurant experiences of Cape Town, if not the world. Meeting with him for the second time on the show produced an absolutely fascinating conversation with a chef I greatly admire.

COY Restaurant, V&A Waterfront
Book at COY with Dineplan

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

Lindile Ndzaba is a young man I admire tremendously. He has built a wine brand with nothing but an idea and his drive to do something extraordinary in his community. Khayelitsha's Finest Wines started as a project to bring decent wine to his neighbours 'elokshini', in the sprawling township of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town. Working in the city, exposed to fine wines in his role as a front-of-house staff member, he was frustrated by the shoddy wines on offer in the taverns and eateries around his home.
Working in his spare time he learned about wine and started seeking out unique and interesting wines he could bottle under the KFW label. It's been a long and hard journey, juggling his dream with a full time hospitality position in Cape Town, but it really took off when he was able to resign and focus full time on KFW in 2021.
He's just returned from a trip to the USA where he was promoting KFW and I managed to sit him down for a chat about the road he's walked.

Khayelitsha's Finest Wines
Thumbnail portrait by Brandon de Kock

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

I initially reached out to Tania Olivier of ATE Eatery when she posted online about working on a cookbook. I've been wanting to talk about cookbooks on the show for a while. Turns out her publishing project is another thing entirely, but we started talking about South African food and how she cooks her experiences of being South African for guests in her home. Tania is fascinating and such an enthusiastic and patriotic cook that this episode could have gone on for hours. Some interesting perspectives on welcoming people into your home and serving them food derived from your own life experiences.
Follow Tania on Instagram here.

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

There are such wildly conflicting views about salt, and the seasoning of food. Depending on where you look or who you ask, salt is either beneficial for your health or an ogre to banish from the table. Years ago I read a fascinating book on salt, and it's role in human history, by Mark Kurlansky, so I'm a bit of a salt geek. I found another one, Samantha Skyring, who owns Oryx Salt and we sat down for a natter about this seasoning element and what it brings to the table.

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

I read a fantastic article in Daily Maverick by Kit Heathcock about Zuney Burgers in Kloof Street. It also touched on the wagyu industry and an interesting trend in farm-to-consumer eateries that are popping up. I have an abiding love for burgers, have written about them and eaten probably more than my fair share. I reached out to Kit to strike up a conversation about her story and burgers in general. It sort of differs from the more biographical content on food producers and chefs that appears here, but I thought it would be a great chat. I was right.
Because Kit live a fair way from the city, we recorded this show remotely on a mobile connection, so there are a couple of wrinkles later on in the audio. Hopefully that won't detract from your enjoyment of a very informative natter about wagyu beef and tasty burgers.
You can find Kit Heathcock's Daily Maverick piece here.
Image supplied

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited

Chef Liam Tomlin is about to open a revamped Chefs Warehouse & Canteen at 91 Bree Street in the CBD along with Chef David Schneider. Also in that gorgeous old building, they're opening Merchant - a restaurant dedicated to the suppliers and producers of fine local ingredients. I've been waiting for a chance and a reason to sit down with Liam Tomlin for a chat. And while we did discuss replacing The Bailey with an 'old school' Chefs Warehouse, of course we ranged over other topics like his erstwhile Sydney restaurant Banc. with questions I couldn't resist asking. Sitting down with a chef whose work I deeply admire is definitely cause for excitement. The fact that he is returning the space to the original CW concept - even going to his stunning book 'Tapas' for the recipes - helped ramp up the joy, and I can't wait to eat in the new space.
Thumbnail image by Claire Gunn supplied.

• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited