Celebrated Cape Town restaurant takes the fear factor out of eating brains

La Tête restaurant opened its doors in Cape Town's Bree Street in November last year, and has already found itself on CNN's international list of best new eateries to try in 2017.

Run by brothers Giles and James Edwards, it follows a strict nose-to-tail philosophy, ensuring that nothing is wasted and that everything on the menu is ethically produced.

We chat to chef Giles to find out more.

For those not familiar with the nose-to-tail concept, how would you explain it?

Using the entire beast, from head to tail. For me though it's also about sustainability. Our philosophy for the restaurant is very much local, if we can't get it, then we don't have it, and if it must fly or be frozen then I am not interested.

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Sourcing ingredients must be really important for you?

Definitely. We use vegetables that are properly grown and in season, buy fish that is caught locally and on the SASSI green list. The idea of flying fish around the world horrifies me.

When it comes to meat, I try and source as much of it locally as possible, and in most cases I try and buy whole carcasses. This means I have to use the whole thing, including the liver, heart and kidneys, which is challenging, but also fun as it creates change.

The hardest sell on the menu?

Maybe brains, but whenever we have them we sell out. Every now and then I think I am crazy to have lamb brains on toast on a menu in Cape Town, and then I sit down at the end of a long day with a plate myself and a good glass of wine, and I am once again convinced that it is possibly the finest thing anyone could ever eat.

The dish people are most pleasantly surprised by?

Grilled ox heart. I don't know what people are expecting, but the heart has been thinly sliced, marinated and then grilled or braaied. It's amazing.

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An unusual cut everyone should learn to use at home?

Pork cheek, slow roasted until crispy on the outside and soft and unctuous on the inside. It's like the Rolls Royce of pork belly.

The most unusual cut you've ever tried?

I have eaten everything there is to a beast and loved it all. It comes down to the right preparation. Testicles would be an obvious one, but honestly, they are so common in the UK and Spain that they are certainly not considered unusual.

What has been the biggest reward of opening the restaurant?

I think James and I have created something quite special, La Tête is unlike anything I know of in South Africa. The biggest reward is people's expressions when they try something unusual for the first time and experience delight in a new flavour.

Visit: La Tête,17 Bree Street, Cape Town. Call 021-418-1299.