Last month Chefs Zunia Boucher-Myers and Melanie Paltoglou of Avontuur Restaurant were named as 2022 Top 10 Women Chefs in the Cape.
It was a lucky month for the two chef owners, whose Avontuur Restaurant was also named as Best Date Night Restaurant in the KFm 30 Best in the Cape.
The Top 10 Women Chefs in Cape Town and the Winelands were announced on Women’s Day. Each winner receives a 1 litre tube of Rio Large Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Continue reading →
Two weeks ago I attended a pop-up dining event at RED! The Gallery on Wale Street, hosted by Chef Ridian Kabeya, who had invited me and 19 others to attend his dinner. We were a mix of Influencers from the modelling world, a lawyer, an artist, two restaurateurs-to-be, and I the only food writer.
I knew only one person, Vee Roux of MoreVino, who supplied and introduced each of the three wines which were paired with each dish. Continue reading →
It is unbelievable that the Government is keeping Restaurants, Bars, Shebeens, and Taverns in the dark as to the reopening date, as well as the regulations which will determine under which conditions Restaurants may welcome back diners for Sit-Down Service, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa over a week ago. If restaurants are to reopen on 1 July, as is assumed, it gives them less than a week to set up after a three-month closure due to Lockdown Levels 5 and 4. Continue reading →
Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek has announced a new Sunday Feast treat, a new winter Menu, and pop-up dinners in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban in July. Continue reading →
An American survey conducted amongst 1000 diners has revealed that dirty cutlery and table tops (76%) is the most off-putting aspect of eating out in a restaurant.
Complaints relating to food are too much nutritional information provided (16%) or too little (14%), water not being brought to the table spontaneously (27%), the food not look or taste as described in the menu (54%), the food or beverages served at the wrong temperature (66%), and not being served what one ordered (62%).
Gripes abound about waiters: the wrong dish being given to the wrong person at the table (17%), service being slow (51%), feeling rushed to eat (61%), errors on the bill (48%), a tip of 18%+ added automatically (50%), called ‘dear’ or ‘honey‘ (24%), sloppy dress and poor hygiene (67%), impolite or condescending waiters (72%), and removing the plate or glass before one has finished eating or drinking (59%).
The restaurant design and facilities can also annoy diners: tables too close together (39%), being too close to the door or kitchen (38%), and poor cloakrooms (73%).
Two further annoying aspects about restaurants is other customers sending text messages or talking on their phones (38%), and tables not being available within 15 minutes of the reservation time (50%).
While the survey was conducted in America, it is likely that similar results would be generated were the survey to have been conducted in South Africa. Continue reading →
The Toffie Food Festival and Conference, to be held at the City Hall on 3 and 4 September, attracted my attention due to its low-key marketing, odd as it is run by an (unknown) communication agency The President, and as its organisers have had no prior visibility as bloggers or ‘foodies’. Information about the event has been scant, yet I booked immediately when I saw that Julie Powell, of the movie ‘Julie and Julia’ , is the key speaker. 
The movie ‘Julie and Julia’ ran in Cape Town in my early days of blogging, and I loved it, for its humour in presenting the trials and tribulations of blogging. Julie Powell’s blog ‘Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen’ was published as a book in 2005, and that led to the movie being made, and released in 2009. Ms Powell has written a second book ‘Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat and Obsession’, which was published two years ago.
I asked Hannerie Visser of The President why they were organising the Toffie Festival, with no credentials in the food industry. This was her reply: “Toffie is a series of conference festivals and because food is so linked to cultural heritage it allowed for an interesting conference that everyone can relate to”. Other speakers are:
* Kobus van der Merwe, chef/owner of Oep ve Eet in Paternoster, and previous web editor of Food24 and Eat Out.
* Eloise Alemany, ex-editor of ID magazine and now cookbook specialist, from Argentina (leading a Toffie food tour of Buenos Aires in October).
* Dr Anna Trapido, editor of ‘Hunger for Freedom’, the book that documented Nelson Mandela’s food likes and dislikes in the different phases of his life, is organising a lunch inspired by the book, in association with Woolworths’ TASTE magazine.
* Lin Tung-Yuan of Café GABEE, ‘multi-award winner of the Taiwan Barista Championship, who is renowned for the delicacy and finesse of his coffee and coffee-inspired dishes’
* Renata Coetzee, winner of a 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for her book ‘Koekemakranka: Khoi-Khoin Kultuurgoed en Kom-kuier-Kos’
* Tammy Frazer, a perfumist (an odd link to a food conference!)
* Wolfgang Koedel of Paulaner (a last minute addition, only announced on Twitter yesterday)
Running alongside the Conference are a number of events (oddly this programme has only just been finalised, a week before the Festival), which are free of charge, unless otherwise indicated below:
* Spier vertical tasting
* a SAB beer and food pairing led by Chef Pete Goffe-Wood of Kitchen Cowboys and Denis da Silva
* a workshop by Eloise Alemany (R250)
* a perfume workshop by Tammy Frazer (R350)
* Tung-Yuan Lin barista workshop
The Toffie Festival, with a price tag of R 1710, also includes a Braai lunch, as well as a ‘secret home dinner’, breakfast and two Woolworths coffee vouchers. The home dinners will be held on 3 September, and one will be allocated to dinner at the home of one of the following:
* Cameron Munro from Superette
* Gerhard Greyvenstein and Herman Lampen of Grey Lamp, a ‘pop-up’ supper club
* Sumien Brink, editor of Woolworths’ TASTE magazine, and Cara Brink
* Callie Maritz and Mari-Louis Guy of Cakebread boutique bakery
* Alma Viviers, managing editor of VISI magazine and Kobus van der Merwe, chef/owner of Oep ve Koep in Paternoster
* Tina Bester of Queen of Tarts
* Cleon and Kate Romano of Maria’s Greek Café/Restaurant
* Philip and Lisa Key of African Relish
* Laureen Rossouw, editor of ELLE Decoration
* Will Hobson of fieldoffice, a sandwich-maker
* Aletta Lintveld, food editor of Weg magazine
* Fabio and Luan Lauro of House of Pasta
* Brendon and Suzette Bell-Roberts of art south africa magazine.
Toffie Food Festival and Conference delegates receive a copy of Cape Town ‘MENU’, an interesting book of restaurants and recipes, and is a listing of the Toffie Festival’s ‘guide of the best meals in Cape Town’. Included, for example, is:
* Greek and African food: recommending Maria’s, and Bebe Rose
* Portuguese and Italian food: recommending The Villa Tavern, Giovanni’s, Pizzeria Napoletana, House of Pasta, Hildebrand Restaurant, Chop, Fork Tapa, Meloncino, and Il Cappero.
* Asian food: recommending Hesheng Chinese Takeaway, Chef Pon’s, Yindee’s, Mr Chan Chinese Restaurant, and Takumi
* Cakes and desserts, recommending C’est La Vie, Keenwä, Arno Arpin, Biesmiellah, Queen of Tarts, Cassis Paris, Bird’s Boutique Café (may no longer be relevant with new chef opening with new menu on 1 September), Cakebread, Giovanni’s, Willoughby’s, fieldoffice, Lindt Chocolate Studio, San Julian, and Il Cappero.
Worrying is the low key marketing of the event, which is not yet sold out, and that speakers are still being added to the programme. The printed programme delivered on Friday looks different to the one on the website, and some international speakers seem to have fallen off the programme. There appears to be no theme to the Conference, and it looks like a randomly thrown together collection of speakers. Surprising is that no local foodies are on the programme, be they food bloggers or journalists.
POSTCRIPT: The Toffie Food Festival was all about over-promise and under-delivery. Read our report.
Toffie Food Festival and Conference, City Hall, 3 – 4 September. www.toffie.co.za
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage
A quaint and very unusual new restaurant, called De Oude Bank Bakkerij, has opened in an alley off Church Street in Stellenbosch, and challenges conventional restaurant operations. It sells the most delicious artisanal breads baked on the property, by owner Fritz Schoon, who worked at Ile de Pain in Knysna for 18 months to learn from the best breadmaker, he says.
Fritz has Dutch roots stretching far back, and that is why he chose the Dutch name for his bakery and restaurant. It is an unusual space, and feels like a covered courtyard to a building which opens onto the Dorp Street Gallery and a crystal glass shop, the former on Church Street and the latter on Bird Street. The building previously was the offices of the District Bank. Individual square tables with very uncomfortable heavy metal chairs, as well as shared long wooden tables with benches, fill the space. One wall looks like a cosy lounge, with shelves filled with books.
As one enters, one sees the Lucas Jamon ham, from Prince Albert, hanging over the counter, with the freshly baked breads on display for sale behind it. It has a cosy ‘untidiness’, making it homely.
It is also a deli, selling the breads, wines, coffee, jams and tapenades. The deli counter, and place to pay, is unusual, in being a piece of wood on top of stacked logs.
Fritz is cute, with beautiful eyes, a young entrepreneur who seems to be in his baking element in the shop. He is so hands-on that his apron is full of flour dust. He is so proud of what he is doing that he has put up photographs of all his suppliers. He has taken special care to source wines and other supplies from suppliers who are small and artisanal too. His wines come from mainly unfamiliar wine estates such as Berry Box, Noble Savage, Rainbow’s End, Bartinney, Marklew, Topaz, and Clouds, all from Stellenbosch, and his coffee comes from the Conti micro-roastery in Kuilsriver. Beer on tap comes from Birkenhead in Stanford, at R20 for 330ml and R55 for 900ml. The wine-by-the-glass cost ranges from R20 – R40, and R60 – R190 per bottle.
Fritz comes from Kempton Park, studied quantity surveying, and worked on a building site, supplying food to the construction workers on the sites he worked at. He enjoyed artisanal baking, and therefore decided to train at Ile de Pain in Knysna, regarding Markus Farbinger one of the best artisanal bakers. He also uses stoneground flour and allows the natural fermentation of his dough to make and bake his breads, just as Ile de Pain does. The breads made at the De Oude Bank Bakkerij are French Ciabatta, Baguette, Sourdough, Dark Rye Sourdough, as well as salted seed and rustic olive sticks.
What is even more unusual about the restaurant is that the menu is the cheapest possible to produce – a handwritten photocopied menu that itemises every item one may wish to order, on the principle that one only pays for what one gets. Everything is priced, and the customers at each table fill in the quantity per item they wish to order, minimising order errors. I would normally have been critical of the menu, but it is such a surprise, and in keeping with the character of the restaurant, that Fritz can get away with it – it must be the little hearts that are drawn on the menu! He has written the following on the menu, to explain his restaurant philosophy: “Pain de vie is the bread of life. This is what I hope to create here. The opportunity to break bread with friends and family. I believe that this is what fuel (sic) our daily existence, our life purpose. Sit. Talk. Laugh. Debate… and eat more BREAD!” I love it!
Some of the “Condiments” one can order with 2 slices of bread, costing R5 – 7 for two, are farm butter (R4), schmaltz (R6), mustard glaze (R5), olive tapenade (R6), roasted black olives (R10), and a most delicious shitake mushroom pesto (R8). Jams cost R5, and include olive marmalade, “nastergal jam”, rasberry (sic) jam, and bluegum honey (R6). Cheese brands are specified, Ganzvlei matured cheddar costs R10, Forest Hill brie R8, and Witzenberger Kimilili R8. On the meat side, Coppa ham costs R8, as does Smoked Pork, Beef salami and Black Forrest (sic) Ham. Namib beef biltong is R10, and Lucas Jamon costs R30.
I ordered the ‘creamy scrambled eggs with bacon on sourdough toast’ at a mere R 25, the yellowest egg dish I have ever eaten – these must be specially sourced free-range eggs for sure. Gourmet sandwiches can also be ordered, at R25 – R30, depending on the topping. A slice of Butterkuchen costs R12. Organic teas are offered at R10 and less, and a cappuccino costs R14. Six coffee styles are offered. My cappuccino was brought to the table in a wooden cup, on a wooden saucer, with a long wood handle spoon, which was far too long for the saucer, but just added to the natural wood feel of the restaurant. The bread is served on wooden boards, with wood-handle cutlery – the knives are uncomfortable to use. We saw three patrons share a wooden tray filled with a selection of bread slices and lots of little portions on the “Condiments” list, looking like a delicious tapas feast.
I loved the differentness of De Oude Bank Bakkerij, and loved the way Fritz has turned many restaurant conventions on their head, by creating a special and unusual, yet simple, restaurant. I am definitely going back.
De Oude Bank Bakkerij, 7 Church Street, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 883-2187 (phone not always answered). No website. On Facebook. Twitter: @OudeBankBakery Open Tuesday – Friday 8h00 – 15h00, Saturdays from 9h00 – 15h00, and Sundays from 9h00 – 13h00. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings pizza, beer and wine are served from 18h30 – 22h00. On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
Saffron is a sacred spice, used for seasoning and colouring dishes, and is the most expensive spice of all, so its choice as a name for the restaurant of the new 5-star Abalone House in Paternoster is a misnomer, in that its food does not contain any of this special spice.
I ate at Saffron restaurant for four nights in a row, not having many other options in Paternoster, during a winter break. The dining room decor is busy, with about seven tables squeezed around a central serving table, on which the breakfast and the afternoon tea are laid out. At night this table plays no role, and therefore makes things feel a little squashed, especially as the chairs are large high-back ones. Beautiful big bulbous red wine glasses, good quality cutlery and napery are on the tables. The music sounds a little canned, coming from an i-Pod, and is piped through the whole guest house.
One cannot miss the work of Tretchikoff at Abalone House, as it is in most rooms. Tretchikoff prints of the Chinese Girl and Balinese Girl are in every bedroom and bathroom, and in the public areas as well. Natasha, Tretchikoff’s granddaughter and founder of The Tretchikoff Trust (www.vladimirtretchikoff.com), stayed at the guest house one evening, and was charming when I met her and her husband at afternoon tea. The dining room decor colours are yellow/orange, with splashes of purple. Beautiful glass lanterns with a candle are lit at every table every night, even though I was the only guest at the guest house on most nights, giving the restaurant a romantic and festive atmosphere. White orchids are everywhere. It was cold in the dining room in the evenings, as the fireplace is in the lounge, and its heat does not spread to the dining room.
The menu and winelists have a gold colour, with the branding and logo of the guest house embossed in it. Nowhere could I see the Saffron restaurant name inside the restaurant, except on a tiny silver plaque as one enters the restaurant. The menu changes every three days. Three choices are offered for each course, and on the first night I chose a celery and potato soup, which tasted more of leek, and was very thin. I could not taste the potato. The freshly baked bread brought to the table had a crispy crust, and was more-ish. Other starter choices offered were almond rolled goats’ cheese, as well as smoked salmon and potato salad, all starters costing R 45.
I skipped the main course on the first night, and had a lovely portion of the mixed vegetable side dish, at R25, with carrots, broccoli, and beans, all crispy and not over-cooked. The fillet of beef on another evening, served with champagne mash and a red wine jus, was perfectly prepared medium-rare, as ordered, and a little expensive at R125 for a less than 200 gram portion of fillet. Other mains offered were a duo of salmon and and hake (R 80), and roast vegetable and garden herb risotto (R70), the latter being an extremely delicious and generous serving of risotto with green pepper, courgettes, mushrooms and beans, and quite different to what I had expected from the ‘roast’ description. I had the apple crumble dessert served with ice cream, at R 40, but the crumble part was very crumbly and burnt when grilled in the oven. The cheese platter is very good value at R 45, with five cheese types, biscuits and fig preserve offered.
Red wines-by-the-glass are reasonably-priced, and on offer are Chamonix Cabernet Sauvignon (R45), Hermit on the Hill (R35), and Cloof Inkspot (R 25). White wines offered by the glass are Withington (R 25), Journey’s End ‘The Haystack’ (R30) and COAV (R30). R50 corkage is charged. Unusually the winelist contained the following note: “All wines are subject to availability and vintages may change due to demand”. Commendably the vintages are mentioned. Each wine is briefly described on the winelist. Champagnes stocked range from R605 for a Drappier Carte d’Or to R1 430 for Gosset Grand Milliesime. Cap Classique wines range in price from R185 for Krone Borealis to R390 for High Constantia. Three Shirazes are offered: Migliarina 2007 at R 200, Tamboerskloof 2006 at R 190, and Catherine Marshall at R 125.
My biggest problem with the restaurant was with Rudi the waiter, who doubles up as the hotel’s guest relations person. On the day that I arrived, he wore a pair of shorts and the guest house staff’s African style shirt – in Paternoster one does not feel to be in Africa. He must have sensed me looking at his shorts (or legs), and he quickly put on a long apron, which made him look far more professional. He was very vague in his knowledge of the menu (i.e. which vegetables are in the mixed vegetable side-dish), and had to keep going to Nickie Lawson, the chef, to ask her. Nickie is a fun Irish lass whose mom lives next door, and this had led her to Paternoster. I was a little weary about eating at the restaurant, as I had been warned that it had some problems, and after a poor start on the first night, the food got better and better on each subsequent night. Rudi is extremely willing to please and made me the best cappuccinos for breakfast and afternoon tea (yes, this is part of the guest house package, not at the Mount Nelson level, but sandwiches, chocolate cake slices and the most delicious light scones are served with strawberry or berry jam and fresh cream every day). His past as mechanic, self-confessed, may explain some of the rough edges, but he is kind, laughs a lot, and nothing was too much trouble.
On the second day, I was told by Ann, the Manager, that the owners Johan Jansen van Vuuren and Stef Venter had wanted me to have a bottle of wine on the house. Rudi brought me a condensed current winelist, with only a few items on it, as well as the brand new well-presented winelist. I liked the greater selection on the new list, and requested a Tamboerskloof Shiraz from it. Rudi looked and looked in his bar, and very few of the wines on the new list were in the tiny bar, and he had to tell me that the bar stock had been stored elsewhere in Paternoster, but that he would have the bottle for me for the following day’s dinner. He was true to his word, and the smoky Shiraz character of the wine went well with the (unintended) smokiness of the fireplace in the lounge.
Saffron Restaurant is expensive, but its pricing no doubt is based on supply and demand, and its five-star grading – there is no other reasonable equivalent in Paternoster, except for Gaaitjie and Ah! guest house, where I also ate during my holiday. I will be back to try the restaurant under the new management of Darren and Lindsay Stewart, the new Executive Chef and GM, respectively.
Saffron Restaurant, Abalone House, Kriedoring Street, Paternoster. Tel (022) 752-2044. www.abalonehouse.co.za(the Image Gallery is very slow to download. There is no menu nor winelist. The name of the new chef has not been updated on the site, which probably means that the dishes in the Image Gallery are those of ex-Chef Nickie).
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com
Of all the restaurants that I have visited and reviewed, newly opened Dutch East in Franschhoek has been one of the most difficult to come to grips with, to categorise and to review. It appears to not have a focus, and to be all over the place in terms of what it wants to achieve.
When we spoke to co-owner Sainkie du Toit, the front-of-house manager, she immediately emphasised the South African nature of the restaurant, but with an Eastern touch. We could not see the “Eastern” touch at all, and in fact there was little South African about it, except for a BBQ one can order, as well as offal. Sainkie tried to correct herself, and referred us to the menu, in which the restaurant describes itself as “contemporary, with a South African influence and an Asian touch”, and “Fresh local ingredients infused with eastern flavour combinations”. Our party of three could not see the Asian, South African nor contemporary descriptions in the menu items at all. However, the menu had some French names, and a “chimichurri relish”, which is South American, is served with the squid starter. Sainkie could not explain how they had got to the name, or why they chose the name out of about 40 options.
The problem is the menu. I’m all for creativity and doing things differently, but when a new restaurant sets itself up in a space of a restaurant that was frowned upon by many of the locals (Burgundy), one cannot move too quickly or too radically until one has a following. It was the grouping of the menu items that caused the biggest challenge, with headings for “raw” (e.g. steak tartar, seared tuna, shaved salmon, springbok tataki), “small” (curried eggs, meat balls, “black lip abalone” and grilled scallops), “breads” (tortilla with duck, pizza, baguette – served at lunch only), “cured” (biltong sirloin, kudu carpaccio, coppa, smoked trout and more), “offal” (veal tongue, lamb’s head “tourchon”, oxtail, and pork trotter), “meat” (hangar steak, lamb shoulder, pork belly, quail and rib eye), and “fish and shellfish” (kingklip, crayfish with Cafe de Paris, tiger prawns). One can even order a “BBQ”, serving a whole sheep’s rib, game sausage, and the unmissable toasted cheese, tomato and onion sandwich, and a salad. A minimum of 6 guests must order this South African “braai” dish for it to be prepared, it costs R130 per head, and it must be booked in advance. “Sweets” are the apple crepe, fried milk tart, brulee, and Swiss chocolate fondant.
We could not get to choose what we liked, so we looked at the Winter Special menu, which is charged at R150 for three courses and a glass of Protea shiraz or sauvignon blanc (made by Anthonij Rupert Wines). We made sure that we all chose a different combination of dishes, to give us nine opportunities to try them. What is confusing is that the Winter special menu has prices for each individual dish, even though one can only order from it for the three courses, at the total price of R150.
Our waitress Nolundi had a lovely smile, and also could not explain the essence of the menu to us before Sainkie came to the table, stating that the restaurant serves, “afval, raw meat and game meat”. This was a bad start for us. She said the wine came from “Reuben”, but not the restaurant Reuben, she said, meaning Rupert.
The wine list is very ‘proudly Franschhoek’, almost every wine estate being represented, probably making it one of the most comprehensive Franschhoek wine lists: Graham Beck, Rickety Bridge, L’Omarins, Glenwood, Rupert & Rothschild, Porcupine Ridge, Stonybrook, Boekenhoutskloof, Grand Provence, Landau du Val, Solms Delta, Lynx, Haut Espoir, Haute Cabriere, Chamonix, Klein Dauphine, La Bri, Vrede & Lust, Klein Genot, Bellingham, Eikehof, and Pierre Jourdan. The list contains a few typing errors. What was unusual was to lable the sparkling wines as “bubblies” and the Rose’s as “blushes”.
We were served three tiny slices of garlic and herb pizza while we decided on our order. The pizza slices were over-salted, and contained onion, and spoilt the palette for what was to come. The water took a long time to come to the table as they had run out of jugs (the restaurant was half full). Our starters arrived almost immediately: the spinach soup arrived lukewarm and was terribly bland, but the parmesan-topped bread was very tasty. The squid came in a soup plate with a lot of liquid, but was not described as a soup. The idea of ‘pairing’ this with red pepper and yellow pepper was probably meant to be a good one, in that it would have added colour to the dish – the problem was that the red pepper was hidden by the 6 tiny tubes of calamari, and the yellow pepper was so overcooked that it became a brown ‘something’ on top of the calamari, and was initially unidentifiable until one tasted it. The calamari dish had a distinct taste of nutmeg, not a good match in my opinion. The “spring rolls” were served as three samoosas, and were not served with the advertised salsa, but with bits of paw paw, cucumber, onion and tomato and lots of rocket. When we asked Sainkie about the spring rolls, she apologised, saying that the kitchen staff had rolled the spring rolls into the wrong shape.
None of us was happy with the starters, and we asked our waitress to relay this to the kitchen. There was no response from Sainkie about the feedback, and she seemed to steer clear of our table thereafter. We were nervous about our mains, but we fared far better. The gemsbok steak was cut into slices, and was tender. It was such a large portion that I had to ask to take half of it home. The spinach was perfect, and the “potato mash” was served as if it was a whole potato. The Venison pot au feu was very tender, and came with dumplings, underneath a pastry layer. The lamb’s tail was bravely chosen by my colleague, and served “barbequed”, making it quite black, too burnt for the taste of our Brazilian trainee. The lamb was served with more rocket, polenta mixed with sweetcorn, and “Sauce Gebriche”, an odd mayonnaise sauce with boiled egg and pickled cucumber. When we checked with Sainkie, she went to the kitchen to find out for us for sure – she returned with the news that there was anchovy in it too, but my sharp-tasting colleague could not detect this at all.
The desserts had mixed reactions. The rhubarb, strawberry and custard dessert, on a bread base, was a compressed stack served with plum sherbet, which needed some extra cream or custard, as it is very dry. Poached pears were served in a soup plate with rooibos sultanas, in a ginger cinnamon broth, far too weak to allow one to get a clear taste of the ingredients. Once again, we felt that the fruit should have come with custard or cream. As the Winter specials menu only had two options for desserts, I requested an apple crepe dessert from the main menu, and offered to pay in the difference of R10. It was very tasty and a generous portion, with caramelised apple and raisin, and vanilla ice cream. The first cappuccino was not frothy and had spilled over the side, but was quickly replaced with a great frothy one in a clean cup, when requested.
Sainkie admitted that co-owner and chef Pasch du Plooy (previously at Reubens, L’ermitage and Bouillabaisse) was not on duty, and this appeared to explain the poor quality of many aspects of our meal, and the kitchen mistakes. We pointed out to her the chipped candleholder on our table. She said that she knew about it, but that she had not been able to find a replacement. We advised her to have none at all rather than one with two chips in it. We also advised Sainkie to reflect the restaurants dishes in the Winter special menu, so that one can get a taste for them, especially as it is such a complex menu, and she admitted that it had been a mistake in their May special menu to not have done so. Sainkie and Pasch are both graduates of the highly regarded Institute of Culinary Arts Chef’s School in Stellenbosch, and met each other there. The raw facebrick interior and exterior of the restaurant are the same as the previous restaurant, with only a name change.
Without being asked, Sainkie discounted the meal by R 72,45 on our total bill of what should have been R488 in total, for 3 meals, one tea, the cappuccino and the dessert surcharge, a reduction of 15%. Sainkie invited me to come back to try the standard menu as the guest of the restaurant when I return to Franschhoek. The bill is confusing, in that each of the items of the Winter Special menu is charged individually, and almost every item, even the mains, were charged at R 50 a dish, even though one pays R 150 for the meal and the glass of wine in total.
The website states boldly :”Authentic and inspiring, DUTCH EAST is a culinary jewel in the heart of Franschhoek’s iconic main street”. We believe that Dutch East has a long way to go before it can make this claim!
Dutch East, 42 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek. Tel 021 876-3547. www.dutcheast.co.za (The website has irritating photographs flashing, if one does not click onto a specific website page, when one first opens it. It commendably does carry a lot of information, unusual for restaurant websites in general, but irritatingly does not list prices for its dishes and wine list). Open 7 days a week, lunch and dinner. Corkage R30.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com
A Tudor-style restaurant building, built in the 1930’s, has become the home of one of Cape Town’s best “finer dining” restaurants, offering excellent value for money. La Mouette (The Gull) has opened on Regent Road in Sea Point (there is no branding on the outside yet, so one must look for the number 78, near Checkers), and is named in honour of the noisy landmark of this suburb, even though there were no seagulls to be seen nor heard while I was there. The building was previously the home of Europa and The Carvery. Coats of paint, chic decor inside, and a bubbling fountain filled with Koi in the entrance courtyard and surrounded by French-style bistro tables and chairs, have given the building a new lease on life.
But it is the owner trio of General Manager Mari Vermaak, Chef Henry Vigar, and Marketer/Righthand Gerrit Bruwer that has “rejuvenated” the building and its interior, with a refreshing approach to running a restaurant of excellence, based on Henry and Mari’s experience in the restaurant industry in London. Vigar is a passionate chef whose cooking style is modern French-style cuisine with a Mediterranean influence. He has worked at a number of Michelin-starred restaurants (The Square, La Noisette and The Greenhouse in London, Rascasse in Leeds, and Hotel des Pyrenees in France) as well as at The Quayside in Sydney. He was the Head Chef at Kensington Place, where Eric Bulpitt, chef at Jardine on Bree Street, worked for him for a while.
Mari is a bubbly yet serious restaurateur, who has a firm hand on the operation of the restaurant. She has done all the staff training, and impressed me with her description of how they employed the best of more than 400 applicants for the waitron and kitchen positions, including making applicants write food and wine knowledge tests. All the staff have sampled all the dishes on the menu, and whenever a new dish is introduced, Chef Henry explains it to the waiters. Wine estates like Villiera and L’avenir have come to the restaurant, to train the staff about their wines. The service from my waiter Peter was perfect, a reflection of Mari’s thorough training.
Mari grew up in George, and was a graphic designer before moving to London, where she was a Restaurant Manager at Gilmours on Park Walk, at Kensington Place, and at Launceston Place. It was at Kensington Place that Chef Henry showed her his interest by sending specially made chocolate macaroons to her desk. The rest is history, as they say in the classics! Mari’s London background shows, in her neat black shirt, skirt and stockings, the ultimate classic front-of-house dress. Mari is a warm, friendly, down-to-earth and generous hostess, giving up three hours of her time, sitting and chatting to me about their background, and receiving a quick overview about the importance of social media marketing from me. Whilst they have just started a blog, they agreed that it is time to embrace Twitter, especially given their gull theme, and did so immediately! Gerrit and Mari both studied graphic design at the University of Potchefstroom, and Gerrit has designed a beautiful corporate identity for the stationery, menu and winelist, with flying seagulls and flowers. Mari and Henry are partners, and both Leos!
Mari felt it important to not alienate locals, and hence all menu items were named in English instead of their French equivalent. The menu has a small selection of dishes, making it relatively easy to choose. The lunch and dinner menus are almost identical in terms of dishes offered, but the prices differ somewhat. For lunch, for example, one can order extra sides, at R 25 each, whilst they do not appear on the dinner menu. For lunch all Starters and Desserts cost R 35, and Mains cost R 80, a total of R 150 for a 3-course lunch, whilst the dinner cost is R 210 for 3-courses, or R 50 for the Starters and Desserts, and R 110 for all Mains. The dinner menu offers one or two more options for each course.
I had the Chicken liver parfait, chicken reillette, pear chutney and toasted brioche as a starter, a lovely combination, the pear chutney being a surprise but well-matched. I overheard a neighbouring table proclaim that the French onion soup was the best they had ever eaten. Other lunch starters are a tomato salad served with tapenade and smoked mozarella; mushrooms on toast served with walnut salad and roasted fig; and prawn and ginger ravioli. I ordered the sweetcorn risotto served with the cutest tempura pea shoots, almost a work of art, and decorated with lime and coriander gremoulata. Alternatives are “house-made” linguini (by an Italian in the kitchen), hake, chicken, confit duck, and minute steak. The dessert options are really interesting, and gives one a feel for Chef Henry’s creativity (he still seems somewhat more classic, but with a twist, on the starters and mains), and I will come back for these: peanut butter parfait and chocolate ganache; a “gin and tonic” with a difference; and passion fruit curd, doughnuts, Greek yoghurt and honey foam. The cappuccino was excellent, the coffee being supplied by Deluxe, a small specialist coffee roastery in Cape Town.
An alternative to the menu is a choice of tapas style dishes to share, at R 35 each: marinated vegetables and olives; truffle and cheese croquettes; tempura style vegetables and roasted pepper dip; sweet onion tart, olive, thyme and marinated anchovy; and crispy calamari, smoked paprika and saffron aioli.
The winelist is neatly presented, and offers an impressive list of 15 wines-by-the glass, and about 75 wines. One senses that many of the wines stocked are because of a special relationship that developed between the wine estate and Henry and Mari when they were compiling their winelist, and Avondale, Villiera, Springfield and L’avenir feature strongly on the list, as does Tokara Zondernaam. Champagnes are stocked (Moet & Chandon, Billecart Salmon Rose, Champagne Barons de Rothschild and Bollinger Special Cuvee), while the very recently launched La Motte Methode Cap Classique (R500), as well as Villiera, Pierre Jourdan and L’avenir sparkling wines are also stocked. A number of Shiraz options are available, ranging from R 150 for Villiera Shiraz, to R 280 for the Thelema. No vintages are offered on the winelist, one of few points of criticism.
Mari refused to allow me to pay for the two course lunch, glass of bubbly and two cappuccinos I enjoyed with her. I therefore returned for a paid-for dinner with a friend three days later, and we were impressed with the Butternut squash soup served with toasted pine nuts and blue cheese, and the sweetcorn risotto and the pan-fried Duck breast as main courses. We were spoilt with a taste of the Bouillabaisse, with a plump prawn, tiny mussel, tender tube of calamari and crayfish. For dessert we had the signature “Gin and Tonic”, consisting of tonic jelly, gin syrup, and lime ice cream, the most unusual dessert I have ever experienced, refreshing and revitalising.
La Mouette is planning themed evenings, and will open a chic wine bar upstairs in December. One can sense the energy and innovation in what is still a very early start for the restaurant, my visit having been a week after opening. La Mouette is a restaurant to watch, and will soon be flying high on the Cape Town restaurant scene.
POSTSCRIPT: I was privileged to have been invited to the Chef’s Table at La Mouette on 20 May, in the company of Clare Mack of Spill Blog, JamieWho of JamieWho Blog, Kim Maxwell, Rey Franco, and Sam from L’Avenir. The amuse bouche was a butternut soup served with a to-die-for cheese and truffle croquet, followed by a prawn and ginger ravioli, mushrooms on toast served with walnut salad and vanilla roasted fig, a highly praised Bouillabaisse, Rib of Beef, the famous “gin and tonic” dessert of Chef Henry, passion fruit curd served with mini-doughnuts, and the “crunchie” dessert, served as a chocolate fondant, honeycomb espuma and ice cream. Every course was perfectly paired with a L’Avenir wine. Such a good time was had that the last guests left long after midnight. The La Mouette branding has now been erected at the entrance to the restaurant, and should make it easier to find the restaurant.
POSTSCRIPT 4 JULY: I have returned to La Mouette a number of times, and always had attentive service from Mari. My last visit was a disappointing one, probably due to Mari not being on duty that evening. The manager on duty was not on the floor except for showing us our table and apologising about the winelist error. A winelist “typing error” for an incorrect Villiera wine-by-the-glass vintage, which had been identified ten days prior as an error, was still on the winelist. The waiter stretched in front of us to put down the cutlery. The wrong amount was taken off my credit card for payment. There was no one to greet us when we left the restaurant. I wrote to Mari after the dinner, and received a very defensive “Dear customer” letter.
POSTSCRIPT 2/9: I returned for the first time in 2 months today, sitting in the fountain courtyard, dominated by a massive motorbike parked there. Mari was professional, yet very changed in attitude, due to our feedback about the 4 July dinner. The restaurant has changed to a Spring Special menu at R175 for 6 courses (or R350 for wines paired to 5 of the courses), with a typing error. An Express 2-course lunch at R99 has been introduced, which was not good value – my colleague had the marinated tomato salad and chicken. We shared a bowl of Chef Henry’s new cheese and ham croquettes, and I ordered my favourite, the chicken liver parfait. The Beef Sirloin was average, four small slices expensive at R105 – one pays a R25 supplement for it. The Tapas selection has been taken off the menu. The service from Hazel was sweet, and she was very willing to please, but stretched across us in replacing the cutlery. Mari did not want us to pay for the meal today, due to the problems with our 4 July meal, but we refused her generous offer.
La Mouette, 78 Regent Road, Sea Point. tel 021 433-0856. www.lamouette.co.za (the website is one of the best I have ever seen for a restaurant, informative, with menu and winelist, and link to the blog). Twitter @teamlamouette. Open Tuesdays – Sundays for lunch, and Mondays – Saturday evenings for dinner.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com