Vuur x Heirloom: A Heritage Weekend Collaboration at Cape Grace
A review of the Heritage Weekend menu by Chef Shaun Scrooby and Chef Wesli Jacobs at Heirloom, Cape Grace
By Shawn Godfrey (The Roasted Dad)
A chef collaboration can go one of two ways. Either two strong styles end up competing for space on the plate, or something new comes out of the pairing that no one enjoys. Lianne and I were invited to the second night last night, when Shaun Scrooby of Vuur restaurant joined Wesli Jacobs in the Heirloom kitchen at Cape Grace for a once-off Heritage Weekend menu.
About Vuur & Heirloom
Shaun Scrooby built his name on fire. At Vuur, his restaurant on Remhoogte Wine Estate outside Stellenbosch, everything comes off open coals and wood smoke, a self-taught style that's landed the restaurant on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list several years running.
Wesli Jacobs became the head chef at Heirloom earlier this year, bringing more than fifteen years in South African kitchens with him, including a stint running the show at Flames in Johannesburg's Four Seasons Westcliff. His food leans hard into South African heritage, which made him the perfect fit for a collab with Scrooby and a Heritage Weekend menu.
The two chefs joined forces for four seatings only -lunch and dinner on 25 and 26 September- at Heirloom inside the beautiful Cape Grace Hotel at the V&A Waterfront. It was recently awarded two Michelin Keys by the Michelin Guide for an exceptional stay and top-tier hospitality.
The Heritage menu
We arrived to a glass of Alexander Vineyards Brut. It paired with the arrival course of Saldanha Bay oysters, cucumber gel and cider foam. The flavours were balanced, and the foam was delicious.
The bread course was a clear nudge to our South African Heritage. We were served up rooster broodjie with bone marrow butter, blatjang and house-made salami. This dish took the braai staple most South Africans grew up on and gave it a fine-dining lift without losing what makes it good in the first place. We were poured a second glass of the Alexander Brut for this dish, and held up just as well against the richness of the bone marrow as it had against the oysters.
For the ocean course, yellowtail was served stuck to the bottom of a sea shell with the mussels, octopus and squid served inside a curry and beurre blanc. We were served glass of Free to Be Riesling 2025 from Remhoogte Estate, Vuur's home farm. We first tried Free to Be at Seebamboes and loved it there too, so it was great to have another opportunity to drink something that’s produced in very small, micro-batch quantities. We'd finished our glasses before the course was, and the waitering staff noticed and offered a top-up. This kind of attentiveness was the standard of service on the night.
The palate cleanser is the course we're still talking about.
A citrus sorbet, served in a half orange peel and set on orange tree leaves, was smoked and served with an Avante VS cocktail. We'd just been to Donkey Longtong's five-year birthday celebration for an Avante tasting earlier that week (blog post on that coming soon), so having it again gave us a fresh appreciation for the brand. Chefs Scrooby and Jacobs had stirred a little coke syrup into the brandy — a playful nod to the brandy-and-coke that's basically a South African institution. The square ice block that came with it kept the drink cold without watering it down, and "find these ice moulds for home" is now on my list.
Mains was Scrooby’s famous South African dry-aged sirloin on the bone, with morogo, aioli and greens in a light dressing, paired with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2021 from Remhoogte Estate. Dry-aged beef isn’t for everyone, but when cooked by a Chef who knows how to it’s best cooked - on the fire. It was delicious.
Dessert was the highlight for me. Chefs Scrooby and Jacobs took milk tart, one of the most-loved South African desserts there is, and deconstructed it, finishing it with amarula bush coffee to cut the sweetness. We've been watching MasterChef Australia recently, and one of the judges made the point that a deconstructed dish should be a genuine improvement on the original, not just a rearrangement of it. I couldn't agree more, and on this dessert, that's exactly what happened.
The evening ended with a wonderful surprise. We were led downstairs, past the Cape Grace pool, through the wine cellar and into the bar for a final nightcap - a glass of brandy, which upon request could also be mixed into a cocktail. It was a proper send-off, and it's a pity this collaboration only ran for two nights.
My verdict
Vuur and Heirloom are two of the more interesting kitchens working in the Cape right now, for different reasons — one built on fire and provenance out on a wine farm, the other reworking South African heritage cooking in a five-star hotel dining room. Putting them in the same kitchen for one weekend produced a menu that added up to more than the sum of its parts, and I'd book a repeat collaboration the moment one is announced. In the meantime, both restaurants are worth the trip on their own terms.
Heirloom and Vuur
Heirloom is the signature restaurant at Cape Grace on the V&A Waterfront, under Executive Chef Wesli Jacobs. It’s open daily, book here or visit the Cape Grace website.
Vuur is Shaun Scrooby's restaurant on Remhoogte Wine Estate, R44, Stellenbosch. Lunch Tuesday to Saturday, dinner Friday and Saturday, by reservation only.
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are solely our own and based on our experience. At times we may be compensated for reviews placed on this blog, however we always maintain the rights to share our true opinion on the full experience, to maintain our integrity and the authenticity of the review posted.
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).
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