South Africa, Stellenbosch, 30 October 2024: Mill St Bistro brings beautiful, uncomplicated food to the heart of South Africa’s historic winelands.

In the shadow of the iconic Mill Street Monument sits a fairly unassuming-looking bistro. Newly opened this past winter, this ode to French bistronomy is, for now, an undiscovered diamond in South Africa’s dining scene. The brainchild of accomplished Welsh Chef Phil Carmichael, “Mill St Bistro” is the culmination of a lifelong dream.

The love affair began fifteen years ago, during a short stint at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze Cape Town, where he gave his heart not once, but twice—first to South Africa’s verdant and beautiful landscape, and then to his future wife. As he left, he says, “I made a promise to myself to one day return and make a life.”

HISTORY

Carmichael’s journey started in the kitchen of his local village pub in Wales, but his career truly began under the tutelage of Michel Roux Jr., at London’s infamous gastronomical bootcamp Le Gavroche. Here, postulants devote themselves to the mastery of French fine dining in unyieldingly strict conditions, a formative experience which eventually led to him earning his own Michelin star at Maze Prague.

It was at Le Gavroche that the young chef’s work ethic and self-discipline gained the attention of a trio of high-profile mentors: initially Michel Roux Jr, and subsequently Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton, all of whom later entrusted him with the running of several of their own ventures.

After building up a solid reputation as a “Chef’s Chef,” Carmichael spent a decade turning Berner’s Tavern at the London Edition hotel into one of the city’s hottest tables. Atherton says of him “I chose Phil to open Berners because my belief in him is total. His passion for food, and his pursuit of becoming a great chef were clear from day one. His ability to take so much on his young shoulders makes him a true leader.”

MILL ST BISTRO

At the peak of his career when the pandemic hit, and with three kids under five at home, Carmichael strapped on his knapsack, and together with his wife and young family, flew off to South Africa to follow his dream of making incredible food that is healthier and more sustainable.

Reconnecting with old friend and Spier resident organic regenerative farmer Angus McIntosh, where he spent a year running the vineyard’s food offerings. Finally, after over a year of searching, he found the perfect location and Mill St Bistro was born.

SIMPLE PLEASURES

Carmichael’s approach to dining, like the man himself, is entirely fuss-free. “We won’t be spending hours tweezing ornate garnishes onto food,” says Carmichael. Instead, dishes are simple—deceptively so—with hidden layers of depth and an underlying wholesomeness that somehow only adds to the experience.

This is where Carmichael’s intellectual curiosity and drive to learn and grow come to the fore. While you won’t often hear him mention words like microbiome or sustainability, he has quietly been pursuing regenerative farming practices, sustainable provenance, and home pickling methods for years.

The names of his suppliers come up constantly, like an excitable child on his heroes. From Farmer Angus to the Community Gardens, to Abalobi, the South African boat-to-table digital marketplace and non-profit, where he gets all his fish from.

This is what Mill St Bistro is really all about for Carmichael: taking classical French bistronomy, and marrying it with his passions, leaving the diner with a renewed sense of comfort, soulfulness, and wholesomeness.

THE FOOD

Still, don’t let this distract from the star of the show: the menu. True to his Welsh country roots, there is a lack of pretension that is essential to the brilliance of his dishes, and dishes take on the best of both worlds. Traditional in their formality and grace, each plate is entirely created around South African seasonality. Nothing is “freshly flown in,” instead “we use what’s available, what’s closest, what’s best,” says Carmichael.

Sourcing is focused sharply on regenerative practices and farm-to-table fare wherever possible.

While flavour profiles are familiar for gastronomy, the journey is new: the richness of a pork belly is cut through with a delicate sauerkraut, fermented on-site. Notably, the many featured ferments all come of age in-house in full view of diners.

Standouts from the current menu include Mushroom Parfait with marinated mushroom salad, pickled mustard seeds and shallots, and Day Boat Market Fish—direct from the fisherman—complete with sweetcorn, mussel and ginger succotash, baby marrow and nasturtium pesto.

“Everything we put in the succotash is from Somerset West Community Garden, which is two minutes from my house. I go down there, select what I want, they pick it, and it’s in the restaurant the next day.”

Anyone who knows South Africa in summer knows nasturtiums are everywhere, and they’re an ingredient championed by Mill St’s kitchen. “The flowers in the Nasturtium Pasta are actually from my garden,” says Carmichael, “We also use them to make a beautiful crazy bright orange vinegar, Nasturtium Flower Kombucha, pesto with the green leaves, and nasturtium capers with the seed pods, which we’ll use throughout the winter as garnishes on fish dishes and whatnot.”

INTERIORS

This isn’t just a restaurant for Carmichael; it’s a whole way of being, of living. It’s about family, being wholesome, being healthy. The interior reflects this. It’s pared-back bistro, synonymous with a pleasant relaxed, informal dining. The two key areas are the main dining space, where floor-to-ceiling bi-folds bring in the warm evening light, and the wine deck, perfect for pre-dinner drinks with smaller dishes. Both are perfectly poised for watching the hustle and bustle of Stellenbosch go by.

Most significantly, woven throughout is Carmichael’s colourful apothecary of pickling jars, with garlic, carrots, mustard seeds, vibrant Nasturtiums, sauerkrauts, kombuchas et cetera, all hanging out in the restaurant as they mature before finding their way into the dishes. Chefs work ‘mise en place,’ the sensory experience augmented by an open fire, where charring, barbecuing, and baking are constantly underway.

All dishes are served on hand-crafted ceramics from award-winning ceramicist Mervin Gers. The classic French bistro angle comes in the form of oak tables, and No.14 Vienna chairs by Thonet, but there’s not a checked tablecloth to be found, as the kitchen ethos of “nothing is hidden” makes its way into the interior.

THE WINE DECK

He says, “The best South African wines never even make it overseas. I want people, whether they’re local or from out of town, to know they don’t have to come for the full dining experience—they can drop by the wine deck for a glass of the finest South African Pinotage and a perfectly paired snack.” His excitement when he talks about these wines is palpable.

“We wanted to offer something different, and seek out the crazies, the people doing weird and wonderful stuff that gives real results.” Crucial to Carmichael’s bistronomic approach is the restaurant’s state of the art Coravin wine system, which gives guests a chance to enjoy top end wines by the glass,

The overarching ambition has been to offer an unusual and unrivalled selection that offers something a bit different. “Stellenbosch has some of the best wines in the world, but you see a lot of the same names cropping up on wine lists. Specifically, we want to give people a choice to enjoy the big, expensive wines by the glass, and sometimes even offer them as specials, thanks to our state-of-the-art Coravin wine preservation system.”

WHAT IS BISTRONOMY

Mill St Bistro is a textbook interpretation of “bistronomy,” says Carmichael. Bistronomy takes readily available seasonal ingredients, and pairs them with the elevated technical theory and training of French gastronomy, all in a relaxed, bistro-style of environment. Mill St Bistro’s point of difference lies in the addition of a refreshing accent of fermentation complementing the gastronomical richness. Where you might once have found apple cutting through a perfectly executed crispy pork belly, you would now have a delicate sauerkraut.

He isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel—it is such a natural progression, simply weaving his worldview and surroundings into the cuisine he has mastered and loves. Carmichael is a chef’s chef. Ultimately, he is all about flavour, technique, and ultimately, giving pleasure.

WRAP UP

In a world of social media noise where fusion, individuality and uniqueness reign, it’s Carmichael’s quiet diligence and adherence to classical mores that truly mark him out. He is a stalwart of the old school yet maintains a flexibility and excitement when it comes to learning.

His approach is unfussy and comforting, with a commitment to heritage and a steadfast reluctance to reinvent the wheel for its own sake. In person, he is the antithesis of the celebrity chef, describing himself simply as a “vocational cook.” When asked about his ambitions for himself, he typically deflects outwards: “I just want to make amazing food that makes people happy.”

For more information and online bookings, go to www.millstbistro.co.za or email bookings@millstbistro.co.za.

ABOUT PHIL CARMICHAEL

Chef Phil Carmichael has spent most of his life in kitchens. He started out in his early teens as a pot-washer at the local village pub in Wales, later completing his culinary training in London under the tutelage of Michel Roux Jnr at critically acclaimed gastronomical behemoth Le Gavroche. “Those were formative years; it was a tough kitchen environment.” Rising through the ranks from commis chef, he learnt a lot about “working efficiently and quickly, about classic techniques and flavours, and showing rigorous attention to detail”.

This set him in good stead for what came next: a three-year stint as Senior Sous Chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze London, followed by his first Executive Chef role at MAZE Prague, where he garnered his first Michelin Star within a year of the restaurant’s opening. He then served as the inaugural Executive Chef of Maze Cape Town at the One&Only, before going on to set up and launch Esquina tapas bar in Singapore and The Little Social restaurant in London.

From 2013, Carmichael served as Executive Chef of The London EDITION Hotel, where he headed up the heralded Berners Tavern, winning the AA’s coveted 2015 Restaurant of the Year. After almost ten years, he decided to head back to South Africa and start his own restaurant.

Twice Welsh champion of the BBC’s Great British Menu TV show in the UK, Phil believes that the secret to a great meal is simple: “Don’t over-complicate – don’t put too many things on the plate,” he says. “Perhaps most important of all is using the best ingredients you possibly can.”

This approach is central to his cooking philosophy, and everything he is doing at his first restaurant, Mill St Bistro, Stellenbosch. He says, “I believe in minimal intervention and using simple, timeless cooking techniques, allowing the ingredients to take centre stage,” adding, “I want to create a connection between what we do in the restaurant, and what the farmers do in the fields, the fishermen who catch the fish, and share their stories.”

Five Q’s with Chef Phil

What’s one thing you learned at Le Gavroche that you still do?

Try not to waste anything. Nothing in that kitchen went in the bin, it was always used for something. Put it in a stock, put it in a sauce. We never threw anything out. For me that’s one thing I think all chefs should do.”

How did you get into fermentation?

“I’m addicted to buying cookbooks. I buy cookbooks on everything, different cuisines, different techniques. And then I bought a book called the Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz, who’s the fermentation revivalist, and he just blew me away, and then once you start fermenting, it’s pretty difficult to stop.”

What’s your favourite ferment?

“Probably the simplest one, sauerkraut. It just shows what you can do with two ingredients and a bit of time—as in the span of time, not the herb.”

Who gave you your best advice?

“Nothing was verbally spoken, but watching my old man just get on with stuff and having the determination to just get on with it, just keep moving forward no matter what obstacles there are and get it done.”

How do your ferments work in classical French dishes?

Most ferments are acidic so they can replace any sort of vinegar component, but generally ferments don’t replace anything, they’re more like an addition.  They give you another flavour profile to work with and another technique to try and harness and incorporate into your food.

MILL ST SAUERKRAUT RECIPE

South African summer features an abundance of everything: ingredients, tourists, and above all, customers. As the sun heads south and hides behind the mountains for the winter, seasonality can pose a challenge, but it’s in winter that Carmichael’s penchant for pickling truly comes into its own, across all dishes. Here, he shares his favourite, sauerkraut. “It’s so easy, just two ingredients.”

You’ll need a cabbage, some salt, and a fermentation vessel—a glass jar is perfect for home use.

1. Weigh the cabbage and work out 3% of the total weight in salt
2. Finely shred with a sharp knife or a mandolin. (Watch your fingers.)
3. Add the salt to the shredded cabbage and massage mercilessly—really vigorously. After five or ten minutes, a lot of liquid will come out. Keep massaging until no more liquid comes out. That’s your brine. Don’t throw it away!
4. Put the shredded cabbage in your fermentation vessel or jar, and pack it in tightly to get rid of all the air and make sure it’s covered with the brine.
5. Place a “follower*” on the top, followed by the lid, and leave it for about a week.
6. Fermentation depends on the ambient temperature—the warmer it is, the faster it will ferment. Says Carmichael, “When it’s nice and sour and funky and pungent, it’s ready to rock and roll.”

* A follower is something you use to stop ingredients floating to the top. Chef Phil uses a cabbage leaf and the lid of the pot. You could also use a smaller jar as a weight.

For press and media inquiries, please contact Lise Manley of Manley Communications Atelier at lise@publicity.co.za or +27 (0) 82 828 5168.

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