Babylonstoren’s Babel Restaurant has been named Africa's Best Farm-to-Table Restaurant at the 2024 World Culinary Awards. The award was presented during the 5th annual awards ceremony on 2 October at the luxurious Summersalt Beach Club in Dubai.
Since opening in 2010, Babel has adhered to a simple yet profound principle: celebrating the freshest, seasonal fare from the farm, reflecting its “pick, clean and serve” approach. Produce is freshly harvested daily, and the chefs only work with what is in season, allowing nature to write the menu.
Babel executive chef, Schalk Vlok, explains: “You learn to think differently about dishes when following a farm-to-fork philosophy. Our point of departure isn’t a list of set recipes. When Alta Eybers the cheesemaker delivers fresh burrata in the morning, Didi Brink picks aromatic basil in the garden, Jaco Koeglenberg the butcher keeps a beautifully aged cut aside, and Elzé Bresler our tunnel farmer informs me that her Oxheart tomatoes are at their most delicious this week, then most of the thinking has been done for me.”
With innovation chef Ailene de Villiers contributing to the kitchen dynamic, Babel’s culinary team ensures that each dish reflects the essence of South African farm life and flavours. Ingredients are often served in their most natural state, with roots and leaves still attached, preserving a direct link between the farm and the table.
“I believe in a richer experience, a rediscovery of the essence of different types of food,” explains Schalk. “We don’t try to be clever by meddling with ingredients. Guests must know what they’re eating, and where it comes from.”
Seasonal winter favourites include blood oranges, guavas from the Fan Retief Lane, and a limited harvest of Japanese yuzu, used to create delicacies like kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste), vinegar and yuzu salt. Each autumn, the farm’s rice paddy fields produces Carnaroli rice, the star ingredient of risotto, finished with the finest olive oil from the farm’s groves. Spring brings the much-anticipated waterblommetjie harvest, with chefs wading into ponds to prepare this heritage delicacy over an open flame, celebrating South Africa’s rich culinary traditions.
World Culinary Awards director, Rina van Staden, says, “Our winners are the visionaries whose creativity and craftsmanship bring joy to millions of people every day. Their hard work, commitment and unwavering passion for the culinary arts inspire us all.”
This award follows another recent achievement for Babylonstoren. The Babylonstoren Farm Hotel was named South Africa’s top hotel in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2024 (US) and ranked second in the Southern and Eastern Africa category of the Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2024 (UK).