Tag Archives: Julian Smith

New Maison Deli serves luxury Tapas, made with passion!

Maison Deli main pic Whale CottageWe recently wrote about Maison Estate, and the visit in winter by its Chef Arno Janse van Rensburg to Portugal, Spain, and Australia, from which he has brought back new menu ideas.  These ideas have been incorporated into their menu, and a clever way of attracting attention to them is to incorporate them into a Tapas menu which greets one when one arrives in the Tasting Room.  The quality of the Tapas is the best I have experienced to date, and is excellent value for money.

As one enters the Tasting Room and The Kitchen building at Maison, a lounge area to the immediate right has been transformed into the Deli, with a High Table at which one can sit with bar stools, and ‘decorated’ with scientific looking equipment and preserves made by Chef Arno and his team.   A large shelving unit ‘divides’ the Deli section from the remaining (now much smaller) lounge, the shelves being filled by the hard work of Chef Arno, including green tomato atchar, pickled broad beans, marmalade, aubergine and courgette chutney, green figs, vinegar, chili relish, pickled Jerusalem artichokes, onion relish, spiced tomato ketchup, plum chutney, olive oil, courgette relish, yellow tomato atchar, olives, lemon cordial, and fresh ciabatta.  The items on the shelves are interspersed with home decor items from Weylandts stores, owned by Maison owner Chis Weylandt,Maison Deli shelves and produce Whale Cottage including tea sets, glass jugs, wooden boards, cutlery sets, placemats, bowls, plates, and more.  A refrigerated display unit contains jars of duck rillettes, pork rillettes, pork terrine, pancettas, saucisson, salamies, smoked yellowtail, fresh farm eggs, lemons, massive 5-year old Angus six week dry-aged thick 500 gram slices of T-bone (R300), and guineafowl pistachio parfait.    Almost all the produce used for the items sold in the Deli was harvested from the farm.   The styling of the Deli section was done by Marc-Anthony Hewson-de Swardt, Group Visual Merchandiser of Weylandts. Continue reading →

Exciting developments on the table at The Kitchen and The Tasting Room at Maison!

Maison Interior changes Whale CottageThe Kitchen and Tasting Room at Maison has been operating for almost three years, and during its recent two month winter break, a number of changes were made to the interior, to the menu, with further changes on the way.

Ten days ago I visited Maison after a long absence, mostly due to the winter closure, and my less frequent visits to Franschhoek in the winter months.  In walking to The Kitchen and Tasting Room at Maison it was a delight to see that the uncomfortable stony entrance walkway has been replaced with very comfortable walkable wooden decking.  Tables and chairs have been set up on the front lawn, to allow for overflow of unbooked guests.  Inside, the ceiling near the pass has been redone with wooden Maison wooden deck Whale Cottagecladding, as has a wall alongside the fireplace.   New lamps have been hung, looking like seahorses to me.  Lamps have been erected above the pass, with shelving above it, and the pass exterior has been wood-clad as well.

The biggest change is that a Deli is to be introduced in the winetasting section, on the right as one enters the building, with a bar counter, at which one will be able to taste six to eight Maison wines (the number is still to be finalised), each paired with two tapas-like bites reflecting some of the dishes which Chef Arno Continue reading →

Maison launches its first MCC Blanc de Blanc 2009: ‘clean, pure, and naked’!

Last night I tried the dinner at The Kitchen at boutique winery Maison outside Franschhoek, which now is open for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.  I was privileged to try the new Maison Methodé Cap Classique Blanc de Blanc 2009, which was released last week, and which has been added to its portfolio of Chardonnay 2011, Viognier 2011, Blanc de Noir 2012, Chenin Blanc 2011, Shiraz 2010, Cape Ruby, and Straw Wine 2011.

Winemaker Antwan Bondesio patiently waited for the first sparkling wine to be made by Maison to be on the lees for 36 months, to bring out the best in the MCC, while owner Chris Weylandt would have loved to have released it sooner than that.  Only 1100 bottles have been released, each hand numbered (I had a glass of bottle number 123!), and each is hand labelled and branded.  The design of the label is minimalistic, being typographical only.  The back label informed that there has been zero dosage, and therefore the sparkling wine is ‘clean, pure, and naked‘!  It contains 12% alcohol, and sulphites, the label informs.  The winelist prices the MCC at R265, and is only available by the bottle.  Antwan has worked in California and Marlborough (New Zealand), as well as at Kaapzicht and at Spier.

It was a picture perfect evening for an outside dinner, both on the terrace, and on the long tables on the lawns, and a large group of Whale Cottage Franschhoek guests had been booked to have dinner there.  The families had brought their children, and they enjoyed the safety of the property, the lit fires, the lanterns all over the property, the cocoon hanging chair, and the roosters, giving the children more than enough to do while their parents enjoyed their dinner.   I have been to The Kitchen on numerous occasion for lunch, but last night the lit candles and lanterns gave the restaurant a magical and romantic atmosphere, from the time one enters the building.

On Friday and Saturday evenings the normal à la carte menu is available, which is used for lunches as well.  On the first Friday of every month Chef Arno Janse van Rensburg improvises, and offers his unique three-course menu for R250.  I jokingly said to Manager Julian Smith that they should do a braai, having big containers with fire, and he said that Chef Arno is considering doing a speciality braai on some of the first Friday of the month dinners.  I enjoyed the kingklip, beautifully prepared, firm, and not spoilt by any sauces or toppings as had been my last piece of kingklip at Nederburg’s The Red Table! It was served with carrot mustard purée, chive croquettes, marrow, beans, and sake jus.   The kingklip was on a specials board, which has a number of starter and main course items for every meal, and changes regularly, while the menu stays the same for about a quarter.  Currently the menu includes baby squid, tempura prawn, and smoked bone marrow starters in the range of R 65 – R85, while the main course options include forest mushroom tagliatelle, confit duck leg, Karoo rack of lamb, linefish of the day, and Shanghai pork belly, costing between R120 – R135.

For dessert the Valrhona Nyangbo (from Ghana) chocolate, peanut butter, and meringue rum cheesecake, served with anglaise ice cream and espresso gelée, was a treat, being quite a formal and serious dessert for a restaurant which is more inclined to informal cuisine. Other dessert options are a green tea parfait, and a tonka bean créme with gooseberry sorbet, costing between R55 – R65, and a local cheese platter at R95.  I finished off the evening with an iced coffee made with a special Terbodore blend, the best I have ever had.

I had a fantastic evening, enjoying the ambiance, knowing half the guests, and meeting interesting table neighbours, one couple attending a wedding in Franschhoek, and the other couple being Canadian/Germans, who have fallen in love with Franschhoek during their holiday.  The food was superb, as was the new MCC.  Julian refused to accept payment, laughingly saying it was my ‘commission’ for bringing so much business to the restaurant.

The Kitchen, Maison, R45, Franschhoek. Tel (021) 876-2116.  www.maisonestate.co.za Twitter: @MaisonEstate  Tuesday – Sunday lunch, Friday and Saturday dinner.

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

The Kitchen at Maison Sweet and Col’Cacchio Franschhoek Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award goes to The Kitchen at Maison Estate in Franschhoek, which did not charge for a slice of their new foie gras parfait, served with a delicious home-made grape jam, which I took home as a take-away after a coffee and tapas lunch.  I only noticed that they had not charged for the parfait when I had returned home and checked the bill, and called the Manager Julian Smith, to make him aware of his error, and offering to pay for it on my next visit.  He said that Chef Arno Janse van Rensburg had decided that I should not be charged for it.  This is one of the special touches of Maison.

The Sour Service Award goes to Col’Cacchio Franschhoek, and its Managing Partner Elizabeth Rossouw, who threatened to call the police when we refused to pay for an inedible Tiramisu costing R35!  It was covered with a toffee sauce, and consisted of mainly (artificial) cream, and had barely any finger biscuits, no coffee, no liqueur, and no mascarpone.  Despite sending the dessert back after one spoonful, it appeared on our bill.  Ms Rossouw arrived at the table, called me by my surname, even though we have known each other for years (we stopped going to French Connection when she managed it, due to her aggressive and unfriendly nature), as a sign of respect she said, and said that she had tasted it and it was perfect, and that we must pay for it! The Tiramisu was a compromise dessert choice when I had to return my first choice ‘Meringa’ Eton Mess type dessert, which was served with ice cream rather than cream, and without the fresh berries, contrary to the menu description, even though I had taken the trouble to check with the manager Andrew that it contained real dairy cream. No one came to the table to proactively inform us that the cream had ‘melted’ due to the heat of the kitchen, which was the ‘creative’ excuse provided by manager Andrew when I asked for him about the ice cream!  Despite my visit and experience being shared on Twitter on Monday, I have not received a call from the Col’Cacchio head office or from David Foster, the owner of the Franschhoek branch, regarding the misleading menu descriptions of at least two of the Col’Cacchio Franschhoek desserts.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.