Couverture Operation

Gregory Czarnecki not only heads up the kitchen at SA’s best restaurant, he also makes the country’s best bonbons. Book the dégustation menu at The Restaurant at Waterkloof and await the final thrill of five exquisite chocolates unlike any you’ve ever tasted before

“Coming soon,” read the caption on Gregory Czarnecki’s Instagram feed almost four years ago. “What’s that? It looks incredible!” someone commented. There was no further explanation, just a series of grinning face and heart-eyes emojis by other followers. The award-winning, French-born chef likes to keep people guessing, you see, and the photo he posted of those intriguing orange droplet-shaped objects was the first clue to his new obsession – handmade bonbons designed to be served at the end of the 15-course dégustation menu at The Restaurant at Waterkloof.

Gregory’s chocolate collections, the result of countless hours of experimentation in colour and flavour, have since become a fixture on the menu, and he’s always changing them. One, called Marble, was an artful plate of five chocolates in shades of grey, charcoal and white, which had the appearance of natural stone sculpted and polished by a master craftsman. He has created gleaming pyramids; pop art swirls of yellow, turquoise and purple; sparkling black gemstones. And beneath its glossy surface, each bonbon conceals a creamy ganache in a highly original flavour combination.

He and his team have insider’s nicknames for some of their favourites. You might end up biting into the Chip Foose, named after the US designer who turns ordinary cars into gleaming showpieces in the reality show Overhaulin’; or the red-bottomed Louboutin, named after the French designer and his signature red-soled shoes.

Whatever you get, rest assured that it will be unique, and possibly strange, but you’ll relish the experience of trying to decipher what’s happening in your mouth.