WINE, FOOD, AND EVERYTHING THAT'S GOOD!

I recently met up with Head Chef, Drikus Brink (friend and ex-colleague), at Toevlug on a quiet afternoon while lunch service moved steadily in the background. I’ve always enjoyed his no-fluff approach. He’s honest and upfront about what it means to be a chef. Zero sugarcoating the role. Cooking, for him, is practical work. You show up, you stay organised, and you do it properly!

Drikus was born in Pretoria. When he was four, his family moved to Croatia for his father’s work with the United Nations. Two years later they returned to South Africa after his grandfather passed away, moving onto a farm outside Sasolburg so his grandmother wouldn’t be alone. He grew up there until his early teens.

As with many chefs, good food was always present. His mother, grandmother, and aunt were strong home cooks, and family life revolved around meals, and sharing. Sunday lunches, Christmas, and Easter were constants. His grandparents also ran butcheries in Sasolburg, which meant early exposure to ingredients, flavours and South African tradition.

He started cooking young because someone had to. His father worked overseas often, his mother worked long hours, and his younger brother needed feeding. Drikus cooked simple food that made sense at the time. Chicken strips were a staple. Fried properly, seasoned properly, served with different dips. Properly!

When I ask about the first dish that made him realise he could cook, he didn’t hesitate. “Chicken strips”, he said. He used to make them in big batches with his best friend Tienie Gouws. “I knew I could make them better than the frozen ones or what you’d get at a restaurant”.

Tienie unfortunately passed away a few years ago, and the dish still carries that memory. It matters not because of technique, but because of who it fed.

His first paid work wasn’t in restaurants. He sold boerewors rolls outside the butchery on weekends, sold wood with his brother, and later delivered pizzas once he had a scooter. Deliveries taught him early that hospitality is about people. “You learn very quickly that this industry is the people business”, he pointed out.

He later enrolled at Prue Leith Culinary Institute in Pretoria. The structure appealed to him. Theory in the mornings, practical work later. Students had to experience rotations through all sections, including time in the scullery. Personally, I’m a big fan of this system. How can you understand a job fully if you haven’t experienced every aspect of it? Apparently, washing dishes was hard, especially cleaning up after inexperienced cooks! “That’s where you learn discipline”, he confessed with a nervous sigh of relief! “You eventually start thinking about all the different processes, and that’s when things start to make sense”.

At the end of his studies, he chose the Western Cape for his practical training. A school trip introduced him to restaurants and wine farms, but only one restaurant stood out to him. Overture (a restaurant earning multiple listings in the Eat Out Top 10 South African Restaurants and three stars in Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide for years under Chef Bertus Basson). At the time, he didn’t know working there was even an option. Not long after, the opportunity arose for him to work with internationally acclaimed chef, restaurateur, and television personality Bertus Basson.

He moved to the Cape on 22 December 2014 and started immediately. Over the next twelve years, he worked his way from student to permanent staff, then up through the kitchen to chef and eventually business partner. Drikus told me that the early years were the toughest. Long days, high pressure, constant learning. “I told myself I’d leave when I stopped learning”, he admitted. “And look, I’m still here, and I’m still learning every day”!

Throughout our conversation, Drikus shows the utmost respect for Bertus and how he’s helped shape Drikus’s culinary journey. There’s no doubt he’s had a big impact on how Drikus cooks, mainly because he spent more than a decade working alongside him. He knows Bertus’s food inside out, the recipes, the level of salt, the way dishes should look, even what would never make it onto a plate! That time taught him how to cook professionally, how to cook South African, and how to think clearly in a kitchen. It’s less about copying a style and more about understanding how and why things are done.

From my side, working for Bertus is no easy task. I’ve done it. He’s hard, detailed, and demands excellence. That said, Drikus’s hard work, determination, and commitment to cooking have clearly paid off. He ought to be proud.

When asked what still makes him uneasy in the kitchen, he doesn’t mention difficult dishes or busy service. It’s disorganisation. “If we’re not organised, I can’t focus”, he explained. “If I know prep is off or the back area is a mess, it sits in the back of my head all service”. In addition, he recalls a past dish that tested his old team repeatedly (back in his Overture days). A dish known for breaking spirits, and even forcing tears! It was a lemon tart. On paper it was simple, but in practice it was unforgiving. He told me that it would bake perfectly, wobble as it should, then crack hours later. Portions were lost, and for young chefs, it knocked their confidence badly. “You think you’re fine”,  he said, “and then suddenly you’re in the shit”!

I asked if he’s ever had to unlearn bad habits in the kitchen. Double-dipping tasting spoons was one. Don’t worry Drikus, we’re all guilty, especially my fiancé! Smoking was another habit he managed to scratch. He quit smoking during COVID, cold turkey (the only way). “It makes a massive difference”, he said. “Smoking dulls your palate, and then you end up over-seasoning”! So, next time you dine out and your food seems too salty, ask the waiter if the chef smokes – just for “research purposes”.

Running Toevlug has changed how he eats at home. He eats better produce and thinks more carefully about food, though he’s honest about still enjoying cheap comfort food (such as those nasty, yet super tasty, garage pies). What he doesn’t do is cook complicated meals at home. “At home, I never cook anything complicated”, he said. “Just straightforward food that tastes good”.

When asked what he would cook for someone he loves, with no expectations attached, his answer is immediate. Oxtail with peas, mashed potatoes, rice, and Worcestershire Sauce (God, there’s that word again)! It’s what his grandmother cooked on Sundays, often without knowing who would arrive. There was always way more than enough. Drikus and I actually laughed about how some dishes manage to leave such a lasting impression that you can smell and taste them just by talking about them. It’s super special if you think about it.

“She has dementia now,” he confessed. “I’d still cook it for her, even though she wouldn’t understand why”. Heart of gold. Truly.

On days when inspiration is low, his team keeps him grounded. “You show up for your team”, he said. “Discipline matters”. Staying curious helps too, especially when testing simple ideas that excite the people around him. For example, Pampoenkoekies.

Before I left, a tomato dish arrived at the table that summed up Toevlug just right. Unpretentiously nutritious! Oxheart tomatoes served with cold seasonal watermelon, basil grown on the farm, South African feta, old bread so nothing is wasted, salt, olive oil, and carefully measured balsamic. It was delicious and perfectly suited to a warm Stellenbosch afternoon.

Drikus concluded, “Garrith, at Toevlug, there’s no reinvention. Just real, wholesome food, cooked with care, and guided by fresh, organic produce at its best”.

If you haven’t yet been, it’s well worth booking for breakfast or lunch. Go for the sense of calm as much as for the food. Set on Annandale Wine Estate, a historic farm in Stellenbosch, it’s a place where you can relax, eat well, and take your time. The food is honest and prepared with care, built around fresh, seasonal ingredients and executed with respect and understanding. Portions are generous without being excessive, and the atmosphere is welcoming, with the focus firmly on people rather than performance.

To me, Toevlug is a restaurant that feels settled. It’s a happy place.

Make a booking here. Alternatively email them at info@toevlug.co.za or call 021 007 5779.