Salon: Carla Schulze on cooking with heart and sauce

Tucked beneath The Pot Luck Club in Woodstock’s Old Biscuit Mill, you’ll find Salon - a space that began as an overflow area and is now an award-winning dining destination in its own right.

There’s a considered rhythm to service here: a storytelling Explorer Menu unfolds course by course, from cheese shaved on a girolle to the theatre of a Crêpe Suzette-inspired duck plated table-side with a three-day citrus jus.

A hush falls as plates arrive - not out of stiffness, but out of anticipation.

“When Luke Dale Roberts opens a restaurant, people want to eat,” says Executive Chef Carla Schulze with a laugh.

“People were ordering the canapés twice over. So we introduced a main course. And it eventually evolved into an 11-course tasting menu.”

Carla's been there through the thick of the evolution, leading the pass to clinch Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Luxe Restaurant Awards, where she was also awarded Culinary Innovation of the Year.

In short, Salon's Explorer Menu is a globally inspired seasonal journey, visually mapping flavours across Italy, Morocco, France and the United Kingdom, while being anchored by local South African ingredients. 

Karoo saffron lifts a Sicilian-inspired broth. Simon’s Town choka (octopus) is paired with miso and chilli. The reinvention of the humble ‘slangetjie’ is a quirky surprise, as each plate nudges you towards unexpected memories of homegrown flavours in the most wonderful way.

A breakthrough in simplicity

One of the defining dishes on this menu was initially centred around turnips. 

“We were working with beautiful winter turnips,” Carla recalls. “The original dish had duck ham, salad, orange dressing, walnuts… it was a celebration of turnip. But it didn’t click.”

After several rounds of reworking, they stripped it all back.

“We pulled out a plate: a piece of duck, an orange sauce. That was it. We just knew — this is the dish.”

It was a turning point. Simplicity with intention is now the driving philosophy. The final version features dry-aged duck, velvet celeriac purée, and a Crêpe Suzette-style sauce that takes three days to make.

"Now, there are only four elements - for a main course, that’s risky. This dish taught us to pare things down and perfect them."

A legendary apprenticeship 

The refinement on each plate speaks to her mentorship under Luke Dale Roberts. Carla has spent almost a decade in the LDR group — from The Test Kitchen to the Pot Luck Club. She wrote The Test Kitchen Cookbook and has designed dishes for pop-ups and private dining experiences. 

Outside of Salon, she has also ventured into the playful pop-up space as co-founder of How Bao Now in 2020, alongside longtime friend Matt van den Berg, centred on the fluffy Asian traditions of bao buns, together with authentic Cape flavours. 

“Luke’s not just a phenomenal chef. He’s a good man,” she says. “He trusts his team and that makes you want to rise to his level.”

Trust is evident in Carla's stewardship of Salon’s evolving tasting menus.

“I really believe that when food is cooked with love, you can taste it. That energy translates directly to the plate," says Carla.

And it starts with the kitchen culture, she adds.

"The most important thing is maintaining a happy, focused team. If the kitchen environment is tense or people feel like they can’t express themselves, the food loses something."

This translates into a safe space "to mess up, ask questions, and learn without fear", according to Carla.

"We take a lot of time to teach - not just the how, but the why behind everything, whether it’s a chipotle chilli or a tamarillo. We meet weekly, we taste together, we talk through new projects and prep. And we really back each other - if someone’s finished early, they’ll walk over and ask, ‘What can I help with?’

It's this sense of community and shared respect that makes the intensity of service "worth it.”

And the same can be said for the two restaurants cocooned in the Biscuit Mill. When service hits a pressure peak, Salon and The Pot Luck Club function less like neighbours and more like an extended brigade.

“If we’re slammed and they’ve got hands to spare, they’ll jump in - and we’ll do the same,” says Carla.

Her overall sensibility seems to stem from her childhood home.

“My dad was the cook in our house,” she reflects. “He was Austrian and had this way of doing everything properly - nothing fancy, but always done right. I remember his fried kingklip, he'd make his own breadcrumbs. Food was always something special and we sat at the table, never in front of the TV." 

Art of the Sauce 

For Carla, sauces are the foundation that elevate every plate. A careful layering of flavours with exacting technique, to turn good ingredients into unforgettable dishes.

“Sauce work has always felt the most instinctive to me. It’s where I’m happiest. There’s something incredibly grounding about the layering of flavours, the stages of building and reducing, and the precision involved. 

Whether it's a complex caponata-style extraction or a three-day duck jus, it’s a process that demands care and love, according to Carla. When it’s done right, "you can taste that."

She sees the sauce as the frame of a plate. Without it, even a perfect protein can fall flat. 

"Take The Pot Luck Club’s famous beef fillet and café au lait sauce - the sauce is everything. It brings all the elements together. Of course, you put so much time and effort into the proteins, but it completes it, and it shapes the experience. Sauce has always been my favourite part of cooking."

Moving beyond the gender bias

Despite her accolades, Carla is aware of what she represents: a female chef at the top of her game, running one of Cape Town’s most technically demanding kitchens.

She is thoughtful in her approach, drawing on her own experience.

“I’ve been lucky with my mentors and my environments. But I know that’s not everyone’s story,” she says, referencing the early support she received at Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine, where she finished top of her class.

“Jackie taught us to take pride in our work and be ready for a tough industry.”

Carla's intentional about creating a fair space, where gender isn't even part of the conversation.

“If you’re good, you’re good. That’s what should matter. I don’t want to be the best female chef. I just want to be the best chef.” 

Why book a table?

Salon is a rare kind of dining experience: one that feels both elevated and personal. Every plate, every pour, every piece of handmade ceramic is part of a bigger story.

And that story is grounded in love and care.

Whether you opt for the slangetjie-inspired 'padkos' snack paired with delicious cocktails, the duck or the caponata - go hungry for a meal that could possibly stir deep memories and feelings.

As Carla puts it, “If a guest leaves and remembers just one thing, I want it to be that they felt something. That the food wasn’t just good — it had heart.”