The giant bafana chip developed by executive chef Shaun Munro of The Grill Jichana in the newly revamped Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani hotel complex is fast becoming a talking point and tasting highlight on Durban’s beachfront.
Munro, who is a restaurant concept guru, a proficient menu designer, and a highly innovative chef, wanted some special touches to the restaurant to ensure that it stands out as a distinctive place to go. With a separate entrance to the restaurant, great-tasting Karan beef from Heidelberg, fresh fish daily, and the extra-large and ultra-delicious potato chip that’s offered with most of the meals on the menu, The Grill Jichana is becoming the talk of the town.
Munro developed the bafana chip himself, he searched the country for the perfect potato, which he eventually tracked down on a farm in the Free State. The potatoes are hand cut, steamed for 15 minutes, blanch chilled, simmered at a low temperature in oil for five minutes, blanch chilled again, and then fried. It’s a long and multilevel process – and the result is a chip to be remembered. “Perfectly crispy crunchy on the outside, with a soft and almost mashed potato texture on the inside,” is how Munro describes his creation. He says that more than half a ton of bafana chips have been served at The Grill Jichana in the three months since it opened.
It’s a chip that is making its mark on the Durban dining scene and is representative of the degree that Munro and his team at The Jichana Grill will go to get things – from the simplest to the most intricate – absolutely right.