In the heart of Cape Town’s design-driven Old Biscuit Mill Precinct, in the space once home to Africa’s foremost fine-dining restaurant, The Test Kitchen Fledgelings offers a contemporary culinary destination where globally-inspired cuisine is served up with a simple goal: transform lives and shape brighter futures.

Fine-dining aficionados will fondly remember The Test Kitchen by chef Luke Dale Roberts as the flagbearer for Cape Town’s ascendant restaurant scene. But when Covid-era shutdowns led to the doors closing for the final time in September 2021, Dale Roberts saw not an ending, but a new opportunity, transforming his flagship restaurant into a reinvented version of its former self.  

Out went the multi-course degustation experience that had made The Test Kitchen famous worldwide, and in came a fresh look, revamped menu and a bold new mission. Like a phoenix, from the ashes flew up The Test Kitchen Fledgelings.

“At the heart of it, The Test Kitchen Fledgelings is both an upliftment project and restaurant that focuses on the mentorship of young individuals – our Fledgelings – who often come to us with absolutely no experience in a kitchen, restaurant or bar environment,” explains Dale Roberts.

From the start, the philosophy at The Test Kitchen Fledgelings has been to offer people with passion and perseverance an opportunity to train for a career in the restaurant trade, either in the kitchen or out on the floor. While trained chefs are encouraged to strike out into new roles in the restaurant industry, many choose to stay at The Test Kitchen Fledgelings or move to other kitchens in Luke Dale Roberts’ portfolio of restaurants.

“With any new Fledgelings we’re not looking for experience, we’re looking for attitude,” says Dale Roberts. “We look for those people who are hungry to learn, hungry to grow. And then we give them the space and the mentorship to do that.”

Today, three years after opening, that mentorship now comes not only from Dale Roberts but from Fledgelings who have worked their way up through the kitchen to become accomplished professional chefs in their own right.

“It’s been so rewarding to see some of the people who started with us knowing very little about a restaurant kitchen, learn new skills and hone their craft to the point where they can now teach others starting in much the same position,” says Dale Roberts. “It’s a cycle that works. We take people from all walks of life and give them skills, a trade and a sense of dignity.”

From pots and pans to running the pass

And Head Chef Nathan Clarke is the perfect example of someone seizing the opportunities on offer at The Test Kitchen Fledgelings.

Raised in a challenging home environment, in an impoverished corner of Cape Town, Clarke first joined The Test Kitchen in 2014 as a sculler; a humble beginning to what would become a stellar career in the kitchen. With enormous dedication and hard work, Clarke worked his up way the ranks from sculler to finish as demi chef of The Test Kitchen.

And when Covid closed the doors of The Test Kitchen, Clarke was the perfect choice to lead The Test Kitchen Fledgelings.

“It’s been such a pleasure to work with Nathan over the last decade,” says Dale Roberts. “He comes across as quiet and understated, but underneath he’s just buzzing with energy and ideas. He brings his own style and palate to the kitchen, which is just brilliant when we’re knocking ideas around for new dishes. And because he’s worked his way up through the ranks, he’s really earned the respect of all the other cooks in his kitchen.”