Being responsible for 50 MILLION litres a year, the CEO of Robertson Co-Op winery, Rianco van Rooyen and I chatted about wine, and how everyone in the value cycle has to adapt to survive. Wine, like classical music, needs a conductor - someone who is as good as reading the soil as he is at reading the crowd!

On Culinary Dodo, I explore Food & Beverage through the lens of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection.

External forces shape evolution — whether you’re a species… or a restaurant. In hospitality, natural selection isn’t poetic — it’s real:

Diners change, trends fade, sustainability demands action.

Adapt or die. Simple. Cruel. True. Most of us in F&B have been there.

But some evolutions aren’t forced — they’re chosen.

Not because the outside world demands it, but because an inside voice refuses to stay the same.

The story of @Richard Ekkebus and the evolution of Amber has fascinated me for years.

It wasn’t just a monumental shift in what he cooked — it was a transformation in why he cooked.

An adaptation driven by a desire to better align what he felt with what the restaurant served.

I believe Amber’s direction is far more than the often-quoted “plant-forward” or “sustainable.”

It’s a philosophy - one that has become the DNA of the restaurant, the team, and @Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group itself.

I call Amber’s approach La Cuisine Claire — a cuisine where nothing hides.
Not ethics.

Not intention.

Not flavour.

A cuisine that evolves not out of fear of losing relevance, but from a refusal to compromise on values.

This evolution is led by conviction — not convenience.

Discover the human decisions behind Amber’s leap forward to three Michelin stars — and what it takes to evolve a restaurant already at the very top.

Listen to the new episode of Culinary Dodo:

La Cuisine Claire with @Richard Ekkebus

If we're masters - bending food to our biology, and bending our biology to the food we are able to adapt - what happens to US as a species when we meet a foe - a system that has taken OUR spot at the top of the food chain? In a world where the industry of food is literally KILLING us - diabetes, heart disease, obesity - can we adapt...certainly BIG PHARMA is in an evil relationship with BIG FOOD. It's a cure to the cause - and you can see it in a carousel of adverts - burgers / sodas / diabetes medicine ads / weight reduction surgery / back to fast food / throw in a few ads for weight loss injections.....In the West, we have an ABUNDANCE of food, but we are starving for nourishment...today, I swear a lot. But it was worth it.