Chef Marcus Gericke’s 11-course tasting menu celebrating the Western Cape’s flavours and heritage has been named Africa’s Best Fine Dining Experience and South Africa’s Best Culinary Experience.
Cape Town’s culinary scene has a new reason to celebrate. Journey, the signature 11-course tasting menu at Urchin Restaurant, housed within Hyatt Regency Cape Town, has claimed two major honours at the 2026 World Culinary Awards — earning the titles of Africa’s Best Fine Dining Experience 2026 and South Africa’s Best Culinary Experience 2026.
Not yet two years old, the dining concept has already reached the pinnacle of continental fine dining, cementing its place among Africa’s standout culinary experiences. The double victory also marks another milestone for Executive Chef Marcus Gericke, the 2024 South African Chef of the Year, whose distinctive approach combines South African heritage, local sourcing and contemporary culinary techniques.
Now in its seventh year, the World Culinary Awards celebrates excellence across the global food and hospitality industries, with winners determined through public and industry voting.
Eleven Courses, One Taste of the Cape
At the heart of Journey is a simple yet ambitious idea: tell the story of the Western Cape through food.
Designed as a road trip on a plate, the 11-course tasting menu takes diners across the region’s landscapes, traditions and flavours. From the vineyards of the Cape Winelands to George and the Garden Route, the journey continues to the fishing village of Paternoster before returning to Cape Town’s colourful Bo-Kaap.
Each destination inspires a course, drawing on the ingredients, memories and cultural influences that give the region its culinary identity.
Kingklip, springbok, peppadews, Karoo lamb and rare indigenous produce feature throughout the menu, reimagined through contemporary fine-dining techniques. Familiar South African flavours become refined, inventive dishes, with each course carrying a story rooted in place and personal memory.
The result is more than a tasting menu. It is a celebration of the people, landscapes and traditions that shape the Cape’s food culture.
A Chef’s Story, Served Course by Course
For Gericke, Journey is deeply personal — an expression of the places and flavours that have shaped his understanding of South African cuisine.
“Journey is the Western Cape as I remember it: Sunday lunch in the winelands, fish on the coals in Paternoster, the smell of spice walking through the Bo-Kaap. To have that story recognised as the best fine dining experience in Africa, before the restaurant has even turned two, belongs to every person in this kitchen and every farmer, fisher and producer who supplies us,” says Gericke.
His philosophy centres on heritage, sustainability and hyper-local sourcing, transforming familiar ingredients into sophisticated dining experiences without losing their cultural significance.
With experience in acclaimed kitchens locally and internationally, Gericke brings a global perspective to a distinctly South African culinary identity. His accolades include the 2024 South African Chef of the Year title, Global Chef Africa & Middle East recognition in 2022 and 2023, and the Fine Dining Lovers “Food for Thought” Award at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in 2020–2021 for his signature dish, Remembrance, a quail consommé.
Urchin Restaurant has also earned recognition at the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) Awards, including placements among the country’s Top 10 Restaurants Overall and Top 3 Fine Dining Restaurants.
Putting South African Cuisine on the World Stage
Journey’s double win underscores the growing potential of South African gastronomy to compete internationally while remaining rooted in local identity.
By bringing together regional ingredients, cultural heritage and personal storytelling, Gericke and his team have created an experience that reflects the Western Cape’s diversity while celebrating the farmers, fishers and producers behind every plate.
For a restaurant concept not yet two years old, the recognition is a remarkable achievement — and a powerful statement about the future of South African fine dining.
With Journey, Marcus Gericke is doing more than serving 11 courses. He is telling the story of the Western Cape, one plate at a time — and Africa is taking notice.