A touch of class with Chef Flody at Classique 27

In addition to the Mustard Seed restaurant, and Pamugoti, a favourite venue to celebrate roora day and other family events with delicious traditional specialities, is Classique 27, a fine dining restaurant overseen by Executive Chef Flody Ndlovu. Booked out on most nights, Classique 27 is a tucked-away intimate space, ideal for a date night to impress, or an opportunity for epicureans to savour a four course meal, and many fine wines.

At a recent screening of King Charles’ coronation followed by a post-coronation lunch at The Mustard Seed, organised by publicist Stan Higgins, it became clear that something very special was cooking in the Mustard Seed kitchen.

The Coronation Chicken and Coronation Quiche made by Chef Flody Ndlovu for the occasion could have rivalled whatever the Buckingham Palace chefs were able to prepare for the royal family’s lunch on that day. And for good measure Chef Flody served up Beef Wellington, a dish created to celebrate the Duke of Wellington’s victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This steak dish, made out of beef fillet coated with Parma ham and mushrooms, wrapped in puff pastry and baked, is notoriously difficult to make, and often served up with a soggy bottom. The fillet in Chef Floyd’s version, however, was succulent and juicy, and the pastry well-cooked, crisp and satisfying.

Invited last week by the food hounds to have lunch at Classique 27, where the newly-acquired flambe trolley would be in action, I was looking forward to sampling more of Chef Flody’s cuisine.

Inside Classique 27, a Persian carpet, an upright antique piano and soft lighting created a beautiful ambience, while silver charger plates, gleaming flatware and elegantly-folded linen table napkins brought a touch of class to the table settings.

Taking orders for drinks, Sunboy, our waiter, offered an impressive range of red and white wines, but most of the guests opted for passion fruit mojitos. My choice, a Malawi Shandy, came with an unexpected heavy dash of blue curaçao.

While munching on freshly baked bread rolls with butter, we all decided to choose the four course meal ($40), although the dishes on the three course menu ($30) looked equally enticing.

Prawn and avocado tian with coconut shellfish broth and crispy noodles, served on a beautiful azure blue dish, tasted rich and exotic. The crispy noodles provided a welcome contrast to the creamy broth.

Well-flavoured cream of cauliflower soup followed, with a small side of smoked salmon and a micro parmesan tuile. For the main course, a choice had to be made between grilled salmon, beef, chicken or gnocchi, the vegetarian option. I expected to suffer from order envy when looking across the table at plates of grilled salmon, but butter fried potato gnocchi with butternut cubes and cherry tomatoes proved to be delicious, and the standout dish of my meal.

The flambe trolley came into play as Sunboy prepared the sauce for  poached pears and ginger pudding, skilfully leading us through the mixing of sugar, butter, orange juice and liqueur, up to the dramatic moment when the flames leapt up and subsided.

Chef Flody is adjusting to city life in Harare, after spending several years at Matetsi River Lodge Victoria Falls. As Sous Chef, he worked with Matetsi’s Executive Chef Shane Ellis, who received his classical culinary training at Meikles Hotel.

Although Chef Flody was busy in the kitchen from a young age, helping his father cut up carrots and onions to prepare oxtail stew, the family’s favourite dish, he started his working life as a mechanic. After leaving Pumula High School in Bulawayo with six ‘O’ levels, he graduated from Speciss College with a diploma in motor mechanics.

Opportunities for employment at home being few and far between, Flody made his way to South Africa. After a stint as a garagiste he started off as a kitchen porter at Wall Street Restaurant in Sandton. Before long he was promoted to Commis Chef, and when the restaurant closed Chef Flody transferred to the exciting and fashionable fine dining Signature Restaurant in Morningside. As Chef de Partie he worked within the speciality section, preparing high quality dishes, and honing his skills in creating meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes.

In 2016 it was time to come home and pursue his career at Matetsi River Lodge, where he was soon promoted to Sous Chef. Promotion beckoned and Chef Flody is now Executive Chef at Classique 27 in Harare.

Whether you yearn for a traditional snack such as mutakura (slow cooked porridge made from maize, peanuts, nyimo beans, nyemba and sugar beans), served with a cup of tea, or for beef fillet with fondant potatoes and a red wine jus, you can find it at The Mustard Seed on Ridgeway North in Highlands.    A Matter of Taste with By Charlotte Malakoff