Ryan Cole

The Climb

Formal training, London service, and a return to Cape Town define the route through the kitchen. At South African Chefs Academy, Ryan Cole picked up the base skills that later carried into The Square in London (2010) and La Trompette in London (2010), where exacting standards shaped a precise, ingredient-led way of working. The next step was head chef at The Test Kitchen, a role that put those foundations into practice before Salsify at the Roundhouse became the long-term brief.

Today

Seasonality and place sit at the centre of the cooking at Salsify at the Roundhouse, which Ryan Cole opened in 2018 in the Cape Town Roundhouse in Camps Bay. As Executive Chef and co-owner, he has kept the focus on local produce, clarity, and balance rather than decoration. The kitchen’s point of view is direct: let the setting inform the menu, and keep the plate working hard on its own terms.

In Their Words “I’ve been lucky to work for a few great chefs in my career, who albeit were different in style, but all shared the same philosophy: that food should be delicious above all else.” The standard here is plain and useful: style can differ, but the dish still has to land. Ryan Cole’s line puts flavour ahead of mannerism, which is often the difference between a kitchen that performs and one that feeds well. “And what grows together goes together, and being in a national park, the seasons and the changes stare us in the face every day, making our jobs really easy.” This is seasonal cooking stripped down to practice. Growth, timing, and proximity to the landscape shape the menu, with the work organized around what is present rather than what is forced.

Recognition

The key marker in Ryan Cole’s career is the combination of opening the restaurant in 2018 and holding the Executive Chef and co-owner role there from the start. That sits on top of a clear progression: training at South African Chefs Academy, time in London kitchens, then head chef at The Test Kitchen before settling into the roundhouse setting in Cape Town. Read as a trade credential, the title does the work on its own. Executive Chef and co-owner at Salsify at the Roundhouse signals both responsibility and consistency, with the cooking framed by season, local produce, and a restrained ingredient-first approach.