Started by four guys obsessed with burgers and fries, Le Pickle is the latest restaurant to join Cape Town’s smash burger revolution. What makes them stand out from the crowd? Simplicity. They believe that burgers shouldn’t be overcomplicated. Instead, they focus on perfecting the basics through high-quality ingredients, original recipes and trusted techniques.
Besides making almost everything from scratch – including the pickles, sauce, seasoning and custom buns, which they spent two years developing – the team has exceeded expectations since their launch three weeks ago. To top it off, they make a mean chicken smash burger! We chat with Le Pickle founders and friends, Pieter Aucamp, Vincent Viviers, Trenton Devine and Enrico Ferigolli, about smashing burgers and building a business with ‘buds’.
How did Le Pickle come to life?
Vincent Viviers: Le Pickle started with four friends, one mission and a lot of late-night burger experiments. We were passionate about making smash burgers at home and had always joked about opening our own shop one day. Last year, we all got together for a braai and a couple of beers; we stopped joking about it and Le Pickle was born.
Piet has always dreamt of running his own restaurant. He’s passionate about food, and we believe that we have a team powerful enough to do something cool.
Smash burgers are all the rage in Cape Town right now. What sets Le Pickle apart from similar establishments?
Trenton Devine: Not all smash burgers are made equal. We put a lot of time and effort into sourcing our ingredients from suppliers we have built [great] relationships with. There are specific components to our meat that deliver on the Maillard reaction, creating that wonderful crisp on the beef patties, while keeping the centre of the patties juicy.
We are obsessed with owning every part of this product, from start to finish. For a sandwich restaurant, which is what a burger restaurant really is, creating your own bread product is uniquely important. We’ve set up an in-house bakery to perfect a demi brioche milk-style bun – we are very proud of that. Our sauces are perfectly balanced. We created specific sauces with unique products. We make our own pickles, which are fundamental to a good burger. We are obsessed!
How do you successfully run a business with four friends?
Enrico Ferigolli: Good question! People often warn you not to go into business with friends. I beg to differ. I’ve been in business with friends before and it’s worked out well.
It should start with a [good] foundation; you need to have complementary skills, and amongst the four of us, we have a [great] balance. Trenton is a qualified chef; he’s been in the food and catering industry for over 20 years, so he brings that element. Piet has run one of the most successful eateries in Cape Town for more than 10 years, and this is his chance to live his dream of having his own shop.
Besides that, Vince and I bring the branding, the marketing and a bit of the business/financial element to help us run a successful and profitable business.
Why ‘Le Pickle’?
Vincent Viviers: That is the million-dollar question! Why not? It’s bold, weird and makes people ask questions. (There was probably a little bit of Pickle Rick influence, which we’re fans of.) We are obsessed with pickles, but the word ‘Pickle’ isn’t enough on its own. You put a ‘Le’ in front of it, and suddenly it’s k*k fancy and it makes people go, ‘What the hell?’
How has the feedback been since the launch?
Pieter Aucamp: Amazing! The best feedback hasn’t even been the verbal kind. In this industry, the best feedback you can get is the response on opening day. We opened on a Friday and saw repeat customers on Saturday. For us, that is the best compliment a [new] establishment could receive. I heard one customer say that they don’t like pickles, but after [trying] our burger, they’ve changed their mind.
Vincent Viviers: A friend of mine said his Pilates instructor asked, ‘Have you heard of this new burger shop called ‘Le Pickle?’ And he said, ‘I know the guys!’ You start realising, this is bigger than us and our friends. When you are in the mix of things, you don’t always see it, but moments like those make it quite a humbling and cool experience.
The menu is classic and simple. Tell us about the flavours.
Vincent Viviers: We only do smash burgers; we believe that is the ultimate way to make a burger. We have two beef options: the Le Classic – your standard double beef smash burger – and Le Onion. We smash onion into the patty and pair it with aioli. It’s renowned as the favourite burger among the founders; except for me… my favourite is the Le Chicken.
Multiple people have told me that our vegetarian burger is the best they’ve had thus far. The option of being able to slot it into any single one of our burger structures gives vegetarians more options than they would be able to get elsewhere.
We wanted to go for simplicity. Our philosophy is that burgers shouldn’t be overcomplicated. So many burger shops and restaurants have long menus; you can’t do every item well. To perfect fewer [quality] ingredients is better than overcompensating with many poor ingredients. We thought about every element and wanted to make them individually good.
Not many restaurants have a chicken smash burger on their menu. Why did the team decide to go against the grain?
Vincent Viviers: No restaurant (that we know of) in South Africa is doing a smashed chicken burger. The ability to get a crispy-edged smashed chicken burger blew my mind. It’s a unique recipe we do to get that. We pair it with what we call the ‘Le Spicy Sauce’. It has got a little bit of spice (but not too much), Emmental cheese and slaw.
We love the fun and playful vibe. What inspired the interiors?
Enrico Ferigolli: Most burger shops look the same – it’s red and white; it’s a retro diner. We wanted to bring the fun back into food. We believe burgers should be enjoyed in a setting that makes you want to have a good time. We created a bold and fun brand and wanted to bring life into our shop.
Rumour has it that there is a burger bandit on the loose… Who is Sneaky Pete?
Vincent Viviers: The man, the myth, the legend! Some say he steals your fries when you least expect it. Some say that he is the ultimate burger bandit, but no one really knows who Sneaky Pete is. Keep watching – you might find him soon.
What do you hope people will experience at Le Pickle?
Pieter Aucamp: Messy Fingers. A full stomach. Big smiles on their faces and the feeling of wanting to come back. We have seen it over the course of the last few weeks and it’s been phenomenal. The feeling of community and a space where people can come, share tables and enjoy time with others – and not just their friends. It’s like our tagline: ‘Come for the burgers, stay for the vibe.’ That’s what we want people to experience here.
Smash your cravings and visit Le Pickle at Quarter Lifestyle Village, 8 Jarvis Street, De Waterkant.
