After much anticipation, Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery has opened its doors at Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch. Recently Spier has meticulously restored The Werf, its historic farmyard, where Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery is housed in the Jonkershuis building; a structure from 1778.
Head chef PJ Vadas has worked with Roger Vergé at Moulin de Mougins in France, with Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in London and for several years with Gordon Ramsay at his Michelin Star restaurants in London and New York City.
Back in South Africa, PJ established The Roundhouse restaurant in Camps Bay which he ran for four years and then went on to work as Executive Chef at Camphors, Vergelegen. Both these positions earned him Eat Out Top Ten awards and more recently he established and ran The HogHouse BBQ, which won Eat Out’s Best Eatery.
Looking back on a distinguished career working in restaurants, around the world and on home turf, PJ has spent much time dissecting the restaurant model. Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery is run by a group of long-time friends and colleagues with a shared passion for quality food and great service. The restaurant creates a place where families and friends can join together and eat food that is carefully, ethically and healthily sourced and prepared. Vadas believes in supporting local, quality-driven businesses and practices farm-to-plate dining where simple dishes embrace and showcase the quality of produce.
The restaurant serves a variety of dishes, able to be shared at the table. Although smoking meats is a large focus at Vadas – think smoked brisket, bourbon BBQ juicy smoked pork or smoked pork belly with apple ketchup – there is a considered focus on ample, delicious vegetarian dishes, something chef PJ was known for implementing at Hoghouse. While the ingredients are hyper-local, the inspiration for the dishes is worldwide. “Why should we have boundaries of what we can do?” Vadas asks, “Our menu might go from an English pork pie, to a taco, to a ramen-style broth. It is all super tasty.”
The bakery is a treasure trove of what PJ calls his ‘Sweet Surrender Pies’ – American-style sweet pies such as blueberry & nectarine pie, chocolate cream pie, pecan pie and strawberry pie. Don’t forget about PJ’s now famous Pastéis de Nata; the Portuguese custard tarts, he introduced Cape Town to whilst at The HogHouse. With a one-of-a-kind oven brought in from France, fresh Sourdough and farm-loaf breads are on offer daily at Vadas, which guests are welcome to enjoy throughout the day at the restaurant or collect and take home.
With a shared passion for ethically sourced, quality ingredients Spier and Vadas are a perfectly suited collaboration.
Kitchen hours
Monday – Saturday 12h00 – 15h00 & 18h00 – 21h00
Sundays 12h00 – 15h00
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Book online at www.vadas.co.za or contact 021 8091137 or info@vadas.co.za directly.
