The Bastille Festival was a festive weekend of tasting Franschhoek wines, connecting with friends, and trying some of the village food treats.  By all accounts it was a great success, and DnA Events must be congratulated in attracting such large numbers of visitors to Franschhoek, irrespective of the winter weather!  Almost every accommodation establishment was fully booked on Saturday evening, and the restaurants and shops did a roaring trade.  Franschhoek looked festive, almost every business being decorated in the French tricolore, and many of the locals and visitors wearing a beret and French colours.  For our French-speaking intern from Reunion, it was a surprise to experience all the Frenchness of Franschhoek this weekend.

It seemed more crowded on Saturday compared with previous years, yet there seemed to be less on offer outside of the Festival marquee than in the past.  We saw the queue outside the marquee just after the midday opening time, and it stretched a few blocks down Dirkie Uys Street.  We heard from our Whale Cottage Franschhoek guests that many tried to get tickets to get into the marquee on Saturday but were unable to do so, not even in the closing hour. Those that did have tickets could barely move inside the marquee as it was so full, despite a limit on the numbers, mainly caused by the afternoon rain, which meant that the ticket holders sitting outside moved into the marquee.  For many it was too crowded, and they left the marquee after visiting one stand, taking a bottle of wine outside to enjoy it in less crowded conditions.  Col’Cacchio had a band performing, and appeared to be one of the most popular meeting places after the marquee closed at 17h00, there being no cover charge.  Last minute rooms were sold to visitors who had heard about breathalyser tests on Helshoogte Pass.  The traffic on the main road was unbelievable, at times backed up to the Huguenot Monument.

For those who were allergic to the crowds, there were a number of events to enjoy alongside the wine tasting.

Sport

Two sporting events co-incided with the Bastille Festival.  On Saturday morning the Bastille Trail Run over 12 km, 22 km, and 35 km took place, while on Sunday morning the Bastille MTB Classic was cycled over 10 km, 28 km, and 42 km, proving to be very popular, with bicycles seen on many vehicles after the race.

Bastille Concert

On Saturday evening the dramatic and striking soprano Zanne Stapelberg, accompanied by Francois du Toit, performed at a Bastille Day Concert in the historic La Motte wine cellar, all sung in French, which included opera classics, and the chansons ‘La vie en rose‘ and ‘Non, je ne regrette rien‘.  Professor du Toit, UCT  lecturer in piano, performed three solo pieces by French composers Chopin, Debussy, and Satie.

Bastille Fare: Pierneef à La Motte

Chef Chris Erasmus, now one of the best known chefs in our country due to his MasterChef SA MasterClass last week, created a Bastille Menu for the weekend.  Commendable was the translation of French terms such as Armagnac sauce, Sauternes cream, and Bordelaise sauce, with a brief description of how each is made, on the menu.  The flower arrangement by Okasie at the entrance to the restaurant was tricolour, a nice Bastille touch!  Our bread plate contained a baguette and a country seed roll, with an amuse bouche of pâté de campagne topped with truffled mayonnaise and a preserved slice of quince, over which we had to interactively squeeze pomegranate molasses out of a glass vial.  For starters, the green salad came with a French dressing; a cream of watercress soup was served with poached egg white, which our intern Lorraine Bourgogne ordered; a terrine of smoked pork, goose liver, apple and mushroom, served with saffron and pear chutney and a tarragon broiche;  a ragout of sweetbreads, haricot (green beans) and porcini; and confit shallot and sage tart tartin. Main courses included Toasted Brie and bacon baguette; wild mushroom and black truffle risotto served with cep cream, a hearty rich portion which I ordered (Chef Chris is an ardent mushroom forager); confit of smoked pork belly, ratatouille, beurre de tomate and olive tapenade; free-range Weltevrede beef Bordelaise, haricot vert, and shallots; Magret duck, porcini, and hazelnut ballotine, thyme roasted apples, shallots, courgettes, and Meursault cream made with Chardonnay.  Chef Michelle Theron is the pastry chef, and created the four dessert options: red wine jelly, winter fruits and coulis; white chocolate and mint mousse, burnt orange crème anglaise;  raspberry soufflé with dark Armagnac sauce; and a beautifully plated dessert of sablé (butter biscuit), crème diplomat, pears poached in Cap Classique, strawberries and raspberries, with a berry coulis, sabayon, and pulled sugar.

Bastille fare: Grande Provence

Seeing Chef Darren Badenhorst’s French inspired Bastille menu, we booked lunch at Grande Provence, enjoying the cosiness of our table near the fireplace.  Lorraine was impressed by Chef Darren’s Bastille Brunch/Lunch menu in close to perfect French, with an English translation of each item. We were welcomed by a tasting glass of  The Grand Provence, the flagship wine, a 85% Merlot/15% Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Chef Darren’s lovely seeded mini loaf was quickly finished by the four of us. There was a good selection of breakfast (unusual for the restaurant) and lunch options, each with a wine recommendation, and we decided to share some of the courses.  My son and I shared a rich creamy foraged wild mushroom and Alsace crépe, beautifully presented with fresh herbs.  Keith and Lorraine shared creamy mussels with French loaf.  I kept it light with creamed scrambled eggs and smoked trout on a croissant, drizzled with a citrus crème fraîche and wild baby rocket. Keith had Coq au Vin, and my son enjoyed the cassoulet of suckling pig and Karan beef.   We were unanimous in all ordering the last Vanilla Crème Brûlee before it ran out, which was served with a cinnamon ice cream.

La Residence: High Tea

Entering the dramatic lounge and dining room of La Residence is always a treat, as it always looks different, depending on what function is taking place on that day.  Yesterday the entrance hall had flower arrangements in red, white and lavender blue, to tie in with the Bastille Festival.  Many Franschhoekers and visitors to the village have heard of Sir Elton John’s favourite boutique hotel when he performs in Cape Town, but have never been. The welcome from Edward Morton, the GM, Nick Solomon his deputy and my nephew, and the new Food & Beverage Manager Louis Fick, was warm, as if one is visiting their personal home.  We sat in the lounge, where a table had been set up for us with beautiful Victorian-style china and a trolley heaving with the new High Tea served on Sunday afternoons at a cost of R195, which we had been invited to try.  It was a treat to have Chef Lennard Marais sit down at our table, chatting about restaurants, about his fledgeling fruit trees (including guava, custard apple, and figs), with plums and grapes which are already growing on the estate, and his passion for food.  He uses what he can from the estate, including the olive oil to sautée onions, makes rose petal jelly to serve with scones, and bakes shortbread with lavender growing between the olive trees.

In preparation for the new High Tea, Chef Lennard tried the one at the Mount Nelson, the best known in the Cape, but he was not impressed with its quality, lacking passion, and appearing mass produced.  He loves baking, and the High Tea we experienced consisted of chocolate buttermilk cake, apple and almond cake, and berry cheesecake with spun sugar;  scones with rose petal jelly; open chicken sandwiches with homemade chutney; tartlets; mini quiches; the most beautiful looking Paris-Brest eclairs topped with chocolate and crushed pistachio nuts;  meringues filled with granadilla curd; and chocolate and walnut biscuits, ginger biscuits, and oat and cranberry biscuits. Chef Lennard did his in-service training with Chef John Jackson, a doyen of the restaurant industry, when he had Jackson’s in The Peninsula Hotel twenty years ago.  He then spent a year at Klipperivier in Swellendam (which belonged to Portfolio owner Liz Westby-Nunn at the time), followed by a long stretch at the Table Bay Hotel, and then Ellerman House, before moving to La Residence.   Chef Lennard offers a Chef’s Table, which is available to non-residents of the hotel too, at R750 for a seven course dinner, paired with La Residence wines.  If the guests are interested, he will offer his guests a food demonstration.

What is wonderful about Franschhoek is that there is always something new to discover gastronomically and culturally, which was true this weekend.  Speaking to Lorraine, it appears that Franschhoekers appear to be more patriotic ‘French’ in celebrating Bastille Day compared to the French, who would not think of wearing a beret, nor wear clothing in the French colours, or have a big wine drinking party, as she experienced this weekend in Franschhoek.  In France La Fete Nationale, the independence anniversary, is celebrated with military parades!

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage