Let's do lunch...

The last post gave an idea of what the restaurant looks like, so now let's give a taste of what's coming out of the kitchen... just click on the menu page above, and tuck in.

Grilled oysters with lime & sriricha butter

 We called in top chef Jacques Erasmus (currently chef patron of Hemelhuijs in Cape Town) to help us put the first of our seasonal menus together, and what a pleasure to work with such a passionate and gifted professional. Our kitchen team, headed by the charismatic Crizo Kangoroduezu, have flourished under his guidance, and are producing truly amazing meals.

The best of Namibian beef

Expect the unexpected, like oysters poached in a white chocolate and champagne sauce or grilled with a lime & Sriricha butter. 

At the same time, the menu stays true to the very best of classic local ingredients, like top-grade fillet of beef, peppered and pan-seared, then baked and served with our own Cafe d'Olive butter.

And the breakfast, the breakfast... Imagine your own exclusive 3-tiered buffet of delicacies brought right to your table, and then followed by, say, soft scrambled egg with avocado slivers, smoked salmon and toasted apple cake. Indulgent? You bet.

Consulting Chef Jacques and Head Chef Crizo

Before and After

A big part of the fun of being finished is remembering how different it all was just a short while before. Luckily we took some photo's along the way, and can compare the then to the now.

Remember the earlier post about the huge slab of granite that became a coffee table? Well this is how it turned out...

And the restaurant has come a long way since the tree was first.... planted?

 

Even the view from the beautiful corner table seems to have improved...

 

Ah, the good old days. But the new days are so much better.

Wall 'n all

You get small pictures on walls...                 ...and you get big pictures on walls.

Lounge area - The Erongo Suite                                       Dining area - The Erongo Suite

You get big wall pictures...

Bathroom - The Erongo Suite

...and you get wow!

The Himba Lounge - Reception (And in the background is the man who took all these pictures, photographer Micky Hoyle)

Suite Sanctuary

One of our suites was completed way before the rest of the Olive Exclusive was even begun, so what a treat to be able to take stock of what this project is all about, and find sanctuary (and sanity) in this stunning room.

This suite, which is currently operated as part of Olive Grove Guesthouse, will become one of The Olive Exclusive's four Premier Suites, combining with three additional Junior Suites to make a total of only seven suites.

 

Exclusivity. Luxury. Sanctuary. That's what we're talking about.

Sticks & Stones

Emboldened by the successful coffee table exercise, we next tackled another little 3 ton piece - a chunk of rough-cut white granite that moonlights as a reception counter. 

Now, if you want more of a challenge than just a coffee table, try moving something that stands upright and and has a healthy gravitational pull to either side. This is not recommended for the frail of heart, believe me.

But we got there in the end. And now the reception area is really taking shape - big, bold, striking shape


(You may have noticed that both our granite pieces weigh in at 3 tons, and this is not a coincidence. Three metric tons is the maximum load capacity of our trolley jack that does the final indoor maneuvering - which is just as well, or who knows what our design guys would have tried to bring in...)


So, when we decided that we needed a few trees in the restaurant (as one does) we made it easy on ourselves and did it in kit form...

You take three trees of the right height and shape, cut them up, and then re-assemble inside your dining (or other) room in roughly the same order. Very roughly.

Pot plants are so last season.

And, hey presto. Simple as that.

The 3-Ton Coffee Table

So, what to do if you want a coffee table that makes a statement?

Simple really. Go to Karibib and find a big chunk of the finest Namibian granite. Then slice it in half and polish it up to a dark lustrous sheen.

Next, load it up on a truck that has a heavy duty crane and drive it down to Windhoek, taking care around the corners.

Then, it's a matter of hoisting it up and over, and on to any nearby handy forklift. Slowly does it, swinging granite can be a bit scary.

Forklifts are great for this sort of thing - you just whiz around and raise and lower to your hearts content - but they don't do stairs very well. So, then it's onto the trolley jack for the final leg of the journey.

A handy hint - make sure you measure all doorways and chunks of granite before trying this at home. (I know what you're thinking, but we did measure first, and it does fit. And it makes quite a statement...)

...Of Mice And Men.

The Olive Exclusive - the architect's impression

These are some of the plans for the new Olive Exclusive Boutique Hotel. Stunning. Original. Brilliant, even. But not simple. Turning mere plans into the incredible property taking shape on this Windhoek hillside has taken almost a year so far, but we're nearly there.

The dust and drudgery of the building is subsiding, and now we're getting down to the fun stuff - painting and furnishing and putting in the pieces and the touches that are going to blow your mind and set this place apart from every other.

But doing stuff that hasn't been done before isn't always easy, and is certainly never boring, and we want to use this blog to share some of the challenges and excitement of making it all happen.


So, stick around, and follow us by blog as we wrap this project up. And then come and see for yourself...