Tag Archives: Fred Schimmel

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 1 December

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   A heavy-weight World Symposium to ‘Cultivating Sustainable and Peaceful Communities and Nations through Tourism, Culture and Sports will be held in Johannesburg from 16 – 19 February next year, and is in honour of the late Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jnr.  It has been endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and will be held at Emporers Palace.  Keynote speakers include the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Dr Taleb Rifai, Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom,  Minister of Tourism of the Seychelles Alain St. Ange, and various other heads of international tourism bodies. (received via e-mail)

*   From October next year  Turkish Airlines will offer direct flights between Cape Town and Istanbul.  This will double the capacity between the two countries.

*   Winemakers Paul Cluver and Bruce Jack have collaborated in a new cider called Cluver & Jack, made at Paul Cluver Winery Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Delaire Graff Restaurant is friendly professionalism and class!

In the past one and a half years that the Delaire Graff Restaurant has been open, I have had two excellent and one negativeexperience, the last one unfortunately having left such an impression on me that I did not return for a year.  Last week I went back, and was blown away (almost literally by the South-Easter too) by how professional and friendly Delaire Graff and its staff are.   The restaurant is not inexpensive, and therefore it is the perfect place at which to celebrate a special event or achievement.   Its setting above the Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch gives it a perfect view onto the surrounding vineyards and mountains.

The wine estate must be one of the Winelands’ properties which is supported by one of the largest investments (the owner is Laurence Graff, a Switzerland-based jeweller owning 30 branches of Graff Diamonds around the world, in the news last year when one of its London stores suffered the biggest jewellery heist ever).   Graff bought the estate from John and Erica Platter, spent millions of Rands and years of time to redevelop the property, first building the Delaire Graff Restaurant, winery and winetasting centre, and earlier this year adding the Delaire Graff Lodge with Indochine restaurant.  I have written previously about the monumental artwork spread across the estate, not only in terms of the top artists whose work is displayed, but also the sheer size of many of these.   The artwork displayed is by father and son Anton and Lionel Smit, Dylan Lewis, William Kentridge (the s-shaped leather seating in the restaurant was matched in colour to the Kentridge!), Deborah Bell, Fred Schimmel, Sydney Khumalo, Cecil Skotness and Maurice van Essche.

As I entered the restaurant building I could not miss the new Lionel Smit painting in the reception hall, overshadowing even the massive Christmas tree.  The attention paid to decorating the Delaire Graff building for Christmas cannot be overlooked, with massive Christmas trees in the restaurant, reception hall and winetasting room, each decorated in a specific colour scheme, putting me into a Christmas spirit I have not experienced in a restaurant so far.   As the external gates were open when I arrived, the gatehouse could not report my arrival, so that there was no one to personally welcome me in the car park, as used to be the case.   Yet there were three staff members in the massive Reception Hall, all beaming in friendliness, but none asked where I was going and if I needed help to find my way to the restaurant.  I did note a new shop selling clothing as well as some display stands selling Graff jewellery off the Reception Hall, which had opened a few days before.  (Both the jewellery salesladies were not available when I wanted to get an idea of prices, and the clothing shop salesladies hazarded a guess at R80000 for a pair of diamond earings).

But once I had reached the restaurant, charming new Maitre’d Nadia Kotze was waiting for me.   She had reserved a table inside because of the wind, but I chose to sit in a sheltered section outside, due to my cellphone being particularly active that lunchtime.   Quickly a table was set up, a jug of ice water brought to the table, with a lovely linen serviette, WMF cutlery, and a Peugeot grinder for the pinkish Himalayan rock salt filled with lots of mineral goodness, with a matching pepper grinder.   Everything is colour matched in the restaurant, the interior designer being David Collins from London, in that the table underlay, the decorations on the Christmas tree, the menu and the winelist cover all are in shades of yellow/gold/orange.  The menu holder is stylish, with blue edging inside.   Music is piped throughout the building, and has a distinctly European feel, including French and Italian songs.

Chelsea came to introduce herself, and offered me a choice of three breads – ryebread, focaccia sprinkled with rocksalt and rosemary, and ciabatta.   Nadia pointed out the barbeque as we stepped outside, with which chef Christiaan Campbell is experimenting, she said, preparing kingklip and chicken on it on alternate days.   Staff look smart in white shirts and black pants, and a black Delaire branded apron.   Everyone coming to the table beamed, and called me “Mrs von Ulmenstein”, showing their professional touch without familiarity. Even Johann Laubser, the Delaire Graff Estate GM, came to greet me.   Nadia has only recently moved across from Zacharay’s at Pezula.  She has previously been a Food & Beverage Manager at the Liz McGrath Collection of hotels, and has done the cruiseliners.   Chef Christiaan has been at the restaurant since it opened, and must be one of the few original restaurant staff still there.   Chef Christiaan laughed when I said this to him, when he came to say hello, and said quietly that he is a loyal chef, a nice answer!   He said that they had been disappointed to receive negative feedback about the restaurant’s service levels, but had taken stock earlier this year, and have addressed the shortcomings in this regard.  The service I received was excellent.

Given that it was the chicken barbeque day, and that I sat close to the barbeque outside, I ordered the Roast chicken, confit leg deep-fried in a batter, and a smoked corn and parsnip mash.   I loved the colour the corn added to the mash, and the smoky barbeque taste of the roast chicken (R155).  Having been ill for the four days prior, my appetite was not yet back to normal, and therefore I took some of the dish home.  Starter options cost between R85 – R105, and include paprika squid, buffalo mozzarella, goat’s cheese fritters, cured beef, ceviche of red fish, and yellow fin tuna.  Main courses start at R110, for Primavera, and peak at R295 for Cape Rock Lobster.  Other main courses include fish and chips, pork belly, seared salmon trout, Waterberg beef, and line fish.   A number of sides can be ordered too.   Nadia was such a good salesperson that she persuaded me to have a refreshing fruit feast for dessert, being apricot panna cotta, with nectarine sorbet, star anise marshmallow, plum soup, with macerated apricots (R55).   Other dessert options cost R65, and include a chocolate sandwich, pistachio nougat, and strawberries.  Gelato costs R25 per scoop.  “Handcrafted cheeses” can be ordered at R95.   Interestingly, the dessert and cheese options each had a wine pairing suggestion on the menu.   I had a lovely frothy cappuccino with my dessert, expensive at R30. 

The winelist contains the Delaire wine collection, including Sauvignon Blancs (R170 – R320), Chardonnay (R210), Rosé (R140), Shiraz (R175), Red Blend (R220), Port (R320) and Semillon Noble Late Harvest (R300).  A small selection of other wine brands is offered per variety.  Champagnes are by Taittinger (R1500), Billecart-Salmon Rose NV (R1650) and Louis Roderer Cristal (R7750). Méthode Cap Classiques range from R245 (Colmant Brut Reserve) to R950 for Graham Beck Cuvee Clive.   Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc costs R170, and an imported Domaine Lafond Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc costs R620.  Pax Verbatim 2007 Shiraz costs R295, Cirrus 2006 R455, and Stark-Conde Three Pines 2007 R 550.    Wines by the glass cost R 40 – R 55, and are predominantly by Delaire, with Bon Courage Brut Reserve costing R55.

The bathrooms at Delaire Graff are the best-smelling, cleanest, and tidiest I have every experienced at any restaurant.   I had not seen the tasting room before, and saw in it not only the attractively labelled Delaire wines, branded shirts, but also the latest Platter and Rossouw’s Restaurants guides.  My eye also caught the attractively packaged Delaire Graff chocolate slabs and mini-chocolate collection packs, which looked like they could make the perfect Christmas presents, even if not inexpensive.   Michael walked me out of the building to the car park, a nice touch I remember from the early days of Delaire Graff Restaurant.

Delaire Graff Restaurant has an interesting counterpoint with the “new” Tokara Restaurant with chef Richard Carstens across the road.  I could not see any dramatic changes to the Delaire Graff Restaurant menu as a result of the “new” competitor, and the service is very much improved.   It will be interesting to see how both restaurants fare on the Eat Out Top 10 restaurant list in 2011.  

POSTSCRIPT 7/8/11:I popped in at Delaire Graff this afternoon, after lunch at the close-by de Huguenot Restaurant.  I was impressed once again with how classy and professional this wine estate is.  It was the perfect afternoon to sit outside.  I had a frothy, almost creamy, cappuccino, and a study in strawberry with it – there were dried and fresh strawberries, strawberry granite, meringue crumbs, vanilla pastry creme, black pepper shortbread, and strawberry ice cream, a refreshing and attractively presented dessert.

Delaire Graff Restaurant, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch. Tel (021) 885-1270.  www.delaire.co.za  (The website contains menus for both Delaire Graff Estate restaurants, and has an Image Gallery).   Mondays – Sundays lunch, Mondays – Saturdays dinner.   Booking is advisable.

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

Restaurant Review: Delaire Graff restaurant serious threat to Franschhoek gourmet crown

The Delaire Graff restaurant in the Helshoogte Pass, which opened in June, is another threat to Franschhoek’s status as the Gourmet Capital of South Africa.   The restaurant is likely to be a Top Ten contender in 2010, given that restaurants have to be at least a year old to qualify for nomination.  

Stellenbosch already has three Top Ten restaurants, and Delaire Graff may well be a fourth next year.   This could make Stellenbosch take over the Gourmet Capital crown from Franschhoek, an accolade the beautiful French Huguenot village has claimed for many years.   It currently only has one Top Ten restaurant, i.e. Le Quartier Francais.

Delaire was bought by Lawrence Graff,  Chairman of Graff Diamonds International, in 2003, previous owners having been Erica and John Platter, well-known for their Platter wine guide.   For the past six years the estate has been rebuilt to house the winery, the tasting venue and space-extravagant restaurant.   The entrance from the Helshoogte Pass has been remodelled, and is impressive with its stone-work wall, alongside which is the landscaping work by King of Gardening Keith Kirsten.

From the Helshoogte Pass one can see that the building is well-lit at night, and almost comes across as too “Caesars Palace”!   Fortunately the lighting is not in one’s face, so to speak, on arrival.   The locals may find it too bright and over the top, however. 

The only jarring experience is the poor welcome by the outsourced security guard, who opens the right hand gate, struggles to get the pin to hold the gate into the fitting for it, then takes his time to ask for the surname, and a mobile number.   He accepts all answers given and lets the guests in, but first has to open the left hand gate, a slow and time-wasting exercise.  One wonders how effective the guards (we counted five in the hut as we drove out) will be should there be an illegal attempt to enter the property.

The parking area is graced with statues welcoming one, and a staff member comes towards one in the parking area.   A limp handshake and an inaudible introduction are quickly forgotten when one is greeted by the hostess, who seats one in the restaurant, and places the serviette on one’s lap.   She explains that she is our hostess for the evening, but we do not see her again.   On the way in we are welcomed by the Maitre’d William van der Merwe, previously with The Big Easy.

The low-key menu offers a good range of dishes, with starters ranging from R 88 – R 115, mains around R 155, and desserts between R 65 – R 85.   Delaire wines range from R 110 for a bottle of white to R 280 for a red.

The estate is looking after its carbon footprint, and the generous garden and the bottling of its spring water in glass bottles for its exclusive use at the estate bear testimony to this concern.

The restaurant’s focal point is two orange leather wave-shaped couches which are linked to 16 tables, and they are well-matched to the William Kentridge painting in the restaurant.   The building resembles a distinctive art gallery, with works by Kentridge, Anton Smit, Lionel Smit, Dylan Lewis, Deborah Bell, Fred Schimmel, Frank Benson, Sydney Khumalo, Nicolas Moreton, Durant Sihlali, and Johannes von Stumm.

The skill of the Maitre’d is put to the test, when a request is made for a tasting portion of the crayfish lasagne, the most interesting sounding dish on the menu.  The richness of the dish prevents the customer from ordering the dish on this visit.  William does not flinch, and soon a more than generous tasting portion is served – it is heaven, a definite must for the next visit, prefaced by a two-day fast!   Christian Campbell is the chef, previously at the Cellars-Hohenhort Hotel in Constantia.

The fillet and sirloin steaks arrive perfectly done, the chip and mash portions are very generous, and the sauces are well suited to the steak.   The meal is ended off with a ball of choc chip ice cream and a cappuccino, with which chocolate coated coffee beans are served.

The cost of two main courses, a bowl of vegetables, a glass of Delaire Shiraz, the ice cream and cappuccino was R 448.   On the Stellenbosch Restaurant Route.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com