Fyn Dining

The décor will transport you to New York and the wine will take you all over the world – but the food will change your life. Here, Chef Peter Tempelhoff gives us a behind the scenes look at Cape Town’s hottest new restaurant.

GQ: When did you first conceptualise FYN?

Peter Templehoff: I suppose I’ve wanted to open this restaurant since I started cooking – 22 years ago. My original idea as a young line chef at Grande Roche Hotel in 1996 was going to be a restaurant called Assiette and the idea was that the menu would incorporate many tastes and variations of the same ingredient on one plate. It is quite amazing to see that the FYN menu has not strayed too far from this concept all these years later.

GQ: What is the inspiration behind the name FYN?

PT: FYN is the Afrikaans word for fine, but I like to think it as the better half of the word Fynbos. My business partner, Ashley Moss and I were at the end of a long namegeneration process which saw us go through 300+ names, without anything sticking. Suddenly Ashley just kind of blurted out, ‘What about FYN?,’ almost as a passing remark. The moment we heard it, the penny dropped and we knew it was right; complementing what we wanted to create in the space. I would also like to think that it’s gonna be a fine place to dine. I am very proud of my Afrikaans heritage and the name we have chosen.

GQ: How would you describe FYN’s style of cuisine?