WeeklySA_AdminOASIS: Beneath a century-old farmhouse at Tswalu, Luke Dale Roberts’ new restaurant brings desert ingredients, preservation, art and South African wine together in a dining experience shaped by the surrounding wilderness…
By WSAM Correspondent
In the Kalahari, a restaurant’s most revealing room may be its larder. At Boscia, shelves of fermented, pickled and preserved ingredients introduce a kitchen responding to the demands and possibilities of a semi-arid landscape.
Before guests reach the dining room, they encounter this store of ingredients: produce gathered, transformed and held for use in meals still to come. The cellar makes visible a process that diners seldom see, although much of what eventually arrives on their plates begins here.
Opened in August 2026 at Tswalu under the creative direction of Luke Dale Roberts, Boscia places that relationship between landscape and cooking at the centre of its identity. Venison, tsamma melons, Kalahari salt, local dates and wild rosemary provide a regional vocabulary for a five-course menu led by head chef Dillan Kannemeyer and his team.
Dale Roberts brings classical European training and Asian influences to the project. His reputation was established through The Test Kitchen, which earned international recognition during its celebrated run. At Boscia, that experience meets a setting whose character extends well beyond the dining room.
“Tswalu got under my skin very quickly. There is enormous respect for the landscape, for conservation, for creating something meaningful rather than simply impressive. At this stage of my career, that matters to me,” he says.
Rooted in the desert
The restaurant takes its name from the shepherd’s tree, Boscia albitrunca, a species closely associated with Tswalu’s semi-arid environment. Its ability to survive difficult conditions, sending roots deep underground in search of water, provides the inspiration for a restaurant built into the earth beneath a century-old farmhouse.
The connection between what is visible above ground and what sustains life below it runs through the design. Guests begin at Boscia House, where snacks and cocktails introduce the evening, before descending into the root cellar.
Part working larder, part library and gallery, the cellar gives preservation a prominent place in the experience. Rows of ingredients suggest a kitchen whose work continues long before service begins and after the last guests leave.
“The root cellar is a living, breathing beast. We hope only to keep feeding it with newness,” says creative director Alwijn Burger.
Preservation offers a particularly fitting starting point for cooking in a demanding environment. Fermenting, pickling and storing ingredients allow a kitchen to work with produce over time, developing flavour while extending its usefulness. At Boscia, these processes also help tell the story of how the menu takes shape.
A gallery beyond the cellar deepens the connection to the reserve. Its central work is a life-size bronze sculpture of a shepherd’s tree by Nic Bladen, who lived at Tswalu during an artist residency in 2015. The tree thus appears in several forms throughout the evening: as the restaurant’s name, as an artistic interpretation and, ultimately, as a living presence outside.
A sense of place
In the dining room, the kitchen is visible through an open pass and glass frames the Kalahari beyond. The setting keeps the surrounding landscape within sight as the meal unfolds.
The menu’s regional ingredients provide a starting point for exploring that landscape through food. Venison brings the reserve’s wider wilderness context into the culinary conversation, while tsamma melons, dates, wild rosemary and Kalahari salt offer different possibilities for flavour and texture.
The release describes preservation as central to the kitchen’s philosophy, with meat predominantly sourced from a butcher based in the Kalahari — accounting for as much as 90 percent of its meat supply. Such sourcing gives substance to the restaurant’s emphasis on place. It also directs attention towards the producers and suppliers whose work supports a dining experience often associated primarily with the chef.
For wine enthusiasts, South African pairings accompany the menu. Their inclusion creates an opportunity to consider how the country’s wines interact with ingredients drawn from a markedly different environment.
Non-alcoholic herbal infusion pairings are also available throughout. These offer another route through the meal, allowing guests to explore flavour combinations beyond wine.
The care extends to the objects placed on the table. Each was commissioned for a specific dish through conversations between the chefs and South African artists and craftspeople, including Conrad Hicks, Roché Muller, Wim Botha, Anton Kock and Hadley Craig.
This collaboration gives the presentation of food a connection to local creative practice. The plate or serving vessel becomes part of the thinking behind the dish, with its form developed alongside the food it will hold.
Safari experience
Boscia has been conceived as an extension of the safari experience at Tswalu. Guests move from exploring the reserve into a restaurant that draws on the same surroundings for ingredients, design and artistic expression.
That approach sits within Tswalu’s wider conservation focus on restoring habitat and protecting biodiversity in the southern Kalahari.
The evening closes beneath a large shepherd’s tree, where guests await collection. Behind them, the restaurant recedes to a narrow strip of light.
After the cellar, the art, the wine and the final course, the Kalahari supplies the closing scene: a tree rooted in the earth and an expansive night sky overhead.
EVENTS
CAPE’S FINEST IN A GLASS
Sixty producers will each pour one selected wine at Caroline’s White Wine & Cap Classique Review in Cape Town this October. This year’s edition takes place on October 29, at the DHL Stadium’s Members’ Lounge in Green Point, Cape Town, from 17h00 to 20h30.
The appeal of Caroline’s annual event lies in its focused format: each invited producer presents just one wine, giving visitors a chance to explore a carefully selected line-up and meet the people behind the labels.
Hosted by Caroline Rillema of Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar, the walk-around tasting will bring together 60 South African winemakers presenting their selected white wines and Cap Classiques. The fourth-floor Members’ Lounge provides a spacious, glass-fronted setting, with a veranda overlooking the stadium and surrounding area.
Guests will receive a crystal tasting glass and a detailed tasting list on arrival. They will also be able to order wines from the selection at a 15% discount on usual retail prices.
Tickets cost R400 per person and are available through Quicket. Secure undercover parking costs R70 per car. The venue is at DHL Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, Green Point, Cape Town
WineX returns to Sandton
Standard Bank Private WineX returns to Johannesburg from October 28 to 30, bringing more than 700 wines and brandies from over 120 exhibitors to the Sandton Convention Centre. Now in its 25th year at the venue, the festival is expected to attract about 9,000 wine lovers for three evenings of tastings, art, music and entertainment. Visitors will meet winemakers and explore offerings from established award-winning cellars and emerging boutique producers.
Designed for newcomers and seasoned collectors alike, WineX offers opportunities to discover rare wines, limited releases and exclusive tastings while learning directly from producers. The festival runs from 5pm to 9pm, with no first entry after 8.30pm.
Wednesday, October 28, is reserved for invited Standard Bank clients and guests, while public access is available on Thursday and Friday. Early-bird tickets, available until October 18, cost R275 for Thursday and R325 for Friday. Thereafter, tickets rise to R325 and R395 respectively. Admission includes a tasting glass.
Standard Bank credit and Evolve cardholders qualify for a 30% discount, while debit and cheque cardholders receive 10% off, subject to conditions. Tickets are available through Webtickets. Entry is restricted to guests aged 18 and older.
Franschhoek gets festive
The Franschhoek Cap Classique & Champagne Festival returns to the Huguenot Monument on December 5 and 6, promising a stylish weekend of sparkling wine, food, fashion and music. Presented by Capitec and Franschhoek Wine Valley under the theme “Step Into The Light”, the festival will showcase leading South African Cap Classique producers alongside selected imported Champagnes.
A curated range of non-alcoholic alternatives will also make its debut.
Each ticket includes a commemorative wine flute and 10 tasting tokens. Guests may sample wines, buy them by the glass or bottle and enjoy dishes from gourmet food vendors.
Entertainment will include performances by Coda SA, Amy Jones and ShenFM, supported by DJs playing Deep House, Amapiano and Afro-electronic music.
This year also introduces the Crystal Lounge, an exclusive retreat offering a welcome cocktail, private lounge access and dedicated luxury restrooms.
Fashion lovers can enter the popular Best Dressed Competition, themed “Colours in Motion”. Entrants are encouraged to experiment with flowing fabrics, movement and reflective details, with prizes awaiting the most stylish guests.
The festival is open only to guests aged 18 and older. Tickets will be sold through Webtickets, with early booking strongly recommended.
Lesotho Wine Fest Returns
Wine enthusiasts from across Southern Africa will gather in Maseru on October 10, for the 13th edition of the Lesotho Wine Festival, one of the kingdom’s premier wine and lifestyle events. Hosted at the Maseru Club, the festival promises a day of tasting, entertainment and socialising, featuring more than 240 wines from over 45 producers. Since its launch in 2012, the event has grown into a celebrated showcase of wine culture, attracting both seasoned connoisseurs and curious newcomers.
Organised by Station Off-Sales (Liquor City Group), the festival operates on a non-profit basis and is dedicated to promoting a refined wine experience while supporting local talent and celebrating an elevated Lesotho lifestyle.
Running from 11am, the event offers an ideal opportunity to discover new favourites, meet producers and enjoy a memorable day in the Mountain Kingdom.
Tickets are available online via lesothowine.co.ls.– Compiled by Len Maseko: lenmaseko@weeklysamirror.news
