Every fortnight, an empty room just off a side street in Cape Town's Bo-Kaap becomes transformed into a restaurant - replete with a long table, candelabras and shimmering glassware.
A bow-tied waiter wafts in and out, pouring wine and carrying simple white plates laden with exquisite concoctions from the small kitchen next door.
Welcome to La Petite Mort. The French name means "the little death" - a euphemism for an orgasm, whichchef AndreSales (a book-seller at Clarke's by day) believes also "describes a moment of unconsciousness after an intense experience".
"One of my favourite experiences when cooking for people is the moment of silence when everyone at the table takes their first bite and closes their eyes and really enjoys the sensory experience of taste. I've tried to evoke that idea through the name," he says.
Only 16 guests get coveted spots at Sales's dinners. In this notoriously cliquey city, having a communal table is important.
"I want to bring together people who don't necessarily know each other to meet and talk and perhaps find a connection," he says.
Sales has long been crazy about food, and his dinners are a way of learning more about its preparation.
"I really have no training at all," he admits. "Everything I do is an experiment - most of the time I have never before cooked what I am preparing for the dinners."
This makes what ends up on your plate all the more astonishing. Sales combines daring with extraordinary talent.
At a recent spring-themed dinner pairing, there was marvellously tender lamb loin and mushroom duxelles; a salad with herbs picked from the Oranjezicht City Farm; and the simple yet ridiculously wonderful whipped brie with a crouton (made from home-made baguettes) and port glaze.
Every dinner is different. Next month Sales is putting on a four-course Cap Classique pairing with bubbly from Ambeloui, a tiny wine farm in Hout Bay, and will team up with fashion designer David West for a scent-inspired dinner.
Sales's greatest inspiration is US chef Alice Waters, who founded Chez Panisse in California after visiting France, where she was impressed by the culture of slow and careful cooking with seasonal, high quality ingredients.
Chez Panisse, with its frequently changing set menu, "was always about creating the most delicious food from the best ingredients, and about creating an experience for those who went there" - which is exactly what Sales hopes to achieve.
"Waters has always had a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve, and paid a lot of attention to all the small details.
"I think this is something I try to do," he says.
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