Tag Archives: La Petite Ferme

More Top 10 Eat Out foodie lists (with no 11th or 12th places!)

The 2010 Eat Out magazine lists five pages of “10 of the best….” restaurants, many of these not being on the top 10 restaurant list.

The best restaurant sommelier list includes The Atlantic Grill, Azure, Catharina’s, Delaire Graff (interesting that the restaurant is included, only being 6 months old), Hartford House, Jardine, Ritrovo, Roots, Rust en Vrede and Signal.

The 10 best cheese platters are to be found, amongst others, at Caveau, Cotage Fromage, Hartford House, Mosaic, The Saxony and Zacharay’s.

The 10 best bathroom list includes Catharina’s, Grand Provence, maze, and Roots.  Missing from this list, it is believed, is the bathrooms of Delaire Graff, the cleanest and best smelling cloakrooms ever experienced.

Best value for money restaurants include Bellini’s, Sinn’s, Societi Bistro, and Pronto.

Some of the best bread boards are to be found at Cape Atlantic at the Table Bay Hotel, The Food Barn, Ile de Pain, Jardine, Manna, maze, Reuben’s, and The Saxon.

The top desserts are the Grand Marnier souffle at The Green House, the ginger and pistachio cake at La Petite Ferme, the chocolate mousse at Overture, and the strawberry vacherin at Terroir.

The best service comes from Rust en Vrede, Auberge Michel, Aubergine, Grande Provence, Cape Colony, Fyndraai, Mosaic, and Roots, amongst others.

The best tea and cake are served at the Mount Nelson, Cape Grace, Myatt, The Cellars Hohenhort, The Saxon, The Westcliff, The Twelve Apostles and the Vista Bar.

The restaurants with the best view include Buitenverwachting, Delaire Graff, Dieu Donne, Harbour House, La Vierge, Overture, Salt, and Tokara.

The best coffees are served at Doppio Zero, Miss K, and Ritrovo.   The best winelists and cellars include the following restaurants: Buitenverwachting, The Greenhouse, Linger Longer, maze, Mosaic, Ritrovo, Roots, Sands at The Plettenberg, and Zachary’s.

The “restaurants that buzz” include Caveau, Olympia Cafe’ and Pronto.  

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

Franschhoek winemakers resilient to credit crunch

The Franschhoek Month asked the Vignerons of Franschhoek what effect the recession is having on their wine sales.

The majority of the estates that replied stated that their wine sales have increased relative to the same period a year ago.

Dieter Sellmeyer of Lynx Wines writes as follows: “Non-cellar door wine sales locally come mainly from restaurants and from mail campaigns and neither of these have suffered – in fact restaurant business is up, which may partly have to do with the evolution of the brand. We have never done a lot through retail outlets as the competition there is massive and yes, cut-throat.”

Haute Espoir, Rickety Bridge Winery, La Motte, Stony Brook Vineyards, Graham Beck Wines and Vrede & Lust also all report increased wine sales, and it would not appear that the visitors to the Franschhoek wine estates are trading down in their wine purchases, as was claimed in a recent article in the Cape Times.Dana Buys from Vrede & Lust describes how he has enhanced wine sales at his estate: “Our sales are significantly up over last year. I think it is due to our wines improving and a strong focus on direct wine sales. Direct sales are important with more customers buying to drink at home versus while eating out. Our wines are priced well relative to the quality. We have significantly upgraded our cellar door team and they have done a great job building the new wine club and getting our European eStore sales humming”

Graham Beck Wines’ Etienne Heyns attributes their sales success to his cellar door staff: “Our staff makes a point of providing our visitors with extra hospitality and superb attention during such times when relatively fewer visits occur. In addition, we reward our visitors with an array of extra special offers on our wines. We value their custom and want them to leave our estate with an indelible impression – and a boot full of superb wines.” Werner Els of La Petite Ferme attributes their sales’ success to focusing on greater distribution in South Africa’s major cities.Vrede & Lust says that there are fewer tourists around this season. “To counteract the tough economy we work on ensuring that our pricing is correct for the climate and we understand that better cash-flow is often more important than higher profit margins – i.e. we are realistic about the laws of supply and demand! Most of all, we work hard to ensure that the customers who visit the farm have a fantastic experience here” says Dana Buys. Rickety Bridge Winery says that it offers a good quality product. “We put a lot of emphasis on giving guests an experience though good service and a good quality “product” in both our restaurant and with our wines. I believe we offer something for everybody – whether they are serious connoisseurs or just looking for a relaxing day in the winelands” says Jackie Rabe.“When visitors come to the farm we sell them an experience – wine sales follow automatically and price hardly comes into it. Being small only I, as passionate owner/winemaker, or my equally passionate Assistant Winemaker, do the cellar tours and wine tasting” says Sellmeyer. “We have a few very loyal small tour operators. Their clientele is usually upmarket and interested in wine and more often than not they have wine sent back home. The tour operators know we offer cellar tours and tastings in German, and for that sector this is an immediate winner”.Haute Espoir exports its wines to Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Malaysia, Belgium and Singapore; Lynx sells to Denmark, Holland, Germany and the USA, but the USA sales “have almost vanished. Europe, on the other hand, has soaked up what the US didn’t take. Our Danish distributor reports the best season ever, and our wines are right up there – the result of joint marketing efforts with our distributor. Holland and Germany are not very different. In addition we have very recently received two significant orders from UK and Switzerland for the first time. With a bit of nurturing these will develop into repeat business.”

Rickety Bridge exports to the UK and the USA; Vrede & Lust exports to Canada and Europe; Stony Brook focuses its exports on Europe; La Petite Ferme exports to the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and America; Graham Beck sells its products in 40 countries, but Sweden and the USA are its two most important foreign markets; and La Motte exports to Europe, Africa and the Far East.

The visitor profile of visitors to the wine estates appears to be varied. Graham Beck Wines estimates that more of their visitors are foreigners than South Africans, in line with 65 % of its wine production being exported. La Petite Ferme receives mainly European visitors, Vrede & Lust is visited by locals, British visitors and Americans; Rickety Bridge Winery says 40 % of its visitors are South African, and the balance are from the UK, USA and France; Lynx sells to visitors from the UK, Germany, USA, Sweden and Holland, as well as South Africans from Gauteng. Some wineries appeal more to older wine lovers, others to younger visitors. “Swallows” are an important part of the winetasting mix at La Motte, says Werner Briederhann, probably due to their exposure to the wines at the monthly La Motte concerts.

When asked how the Vignerons can assist in attracting tourists to Franschhoek, Haute Espoir’s Rob Armstrong said :’“Strive to enhance the experience visitors to our valley have in every aspect, to make this the most attractive destination in South Africa.” Jacky of Rickety Bridge Winery suggested that: “I think it is important to create as much a positive feeling about what you do, get the name out there, get people talking about what you have to offer, make sure your staff are positive and send that message through to customers. Don’t ride on your laurels and expect business to come to you, do as much as you can to drive business to you. Evaluate what you offer and see whether you are really offering guests the best you can, in terms of price, quality and service. If not, how can you expect people to come back. I think in these tough times consumers become sharper, will shop around for good value and will not support places that are taking advantage. I also think that business will have to work harder and smarter to achieve the same business they did in more liquid times.”

Buys says that ‘great customer experience and value’ are key. “We compete with many other destinations in South Africa and elsewhere, and the overall value proposition must be very competitive.”

“We just try to do great value for money wines and give friendly, personal attention to visitors who come to the farm.  We believe in word of mouth advertising and our customers have been very loyal, even when times are tough” says Stony Brook Vineyards. For Els of La Petite Ferme it’s a change of focus to the South African market, while Graham Beck Wines’ Heyns says its “service, service, service!”

Sellmeyer is ‘proudly-Franschhoek’, and makes an important point in this regard: “The best way is to send out the message of what a great place Franschhoek is, and all that it has to offer. To do this the most important thing is to remain upbeat, particularly in communications to the media and in newsletters. Visitors don’t like to go to a place that is depressed and down. But the Vignerons won’t be able to attract visitors on their own – they’re only one element of the Franschhoek experience. It’s a joint effort between all players, and just like I only recommend restaurants in the Valley, I would expect the converse to be the case. When I hear about guesthouses only recommending wineries on the other side of the mountain I ask myself ‘why?’- it’s like shooting yourself in the foot. It’s great if tourists go back and tell friends how much the Cape Winelands have to offer, but it would be better still if they told their friends how much Franschhoek has to offer.”

This article was written by Chris von Ulmenstein and was first published in the July 2009 issue of The Franschhoek Month.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com

Franschhoek’s crunchy restaurant winter specials

A number of Franschhoek restaurants are offering good value winter specials:

Allora: 3-course winter meal R 85, one free children’s meal for every main course ordered, Sunday roast R 95, complimentary Gluehwein, and delivery of pasta.

Bouillabaisse:   Food and wine pairing 4-course dinners on Thursdays at R 225

Burgundy‘s:   Daily specials, including oxtail (R 78), soup (R 40), pasta (R 65), savoury pancakes (55), cakes (R 28). Free glass of wine per main course.

Cotage Fromage:   10 % off main course if have two courses for lunch

Dieu Donne: Friday evening “Pub Fair” at R 75 and 25 % off Dieu Donne wine and beer

French Connection:  Set menu for R 125 Monday – Friday lunch and Monday – Thursday dinner, also sandwich or pita plus glass of Pierre Jourdan Tranquille at R 60.  Christmas in July at R 225, with contribution to charity, date to be announced.  

Genot: 3-course set menu at R 150

Grande Provence:   2-course lunch and dinner R 150, 3-courses R 195 and 4-courses R 240 Mondays to Saturdays.

Haute Cabriere:   2-course set menu Monday – Friday lunch, and Friday and Saturday evenings, R 100 per head 

ici:   chicken, glass of wine, and a movie at R 120, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings

La Petite Ferme:   Friday evening winter “loosen your belt” dinners, 3-course set menu R 150 + carafe of wine

Reubens:  2-course set menu at R 130 and 3-course set menu at R 150

Further details about  the Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com 

This article was first published in the July issue of The Franschhoek Month.

Are Franschhoek restaurants losing their service touch?

Franschhoek wears the crown of the Gourmet Capital of South Africa, with its Wedding Capital stature growing.  The wines of the valley also bring tourists to the area, together with its beauty.

 

The Eat Out 2009 results may have been an early indicator.   After many years with at least two or three restaurants on the Top Ten restaurant list, we only have one restaurant left on the list, and Franschhoek is in danger of losing its status to neighbouring Stellenbosch as the Gourmet Capital of South Africa.

 

We asked the accommodation establishments to give us feedback on their views of the service levels offered by Franschhoek restaurants to themselves and to their guests.   The feedback is offered anonymously, to protect the identity of the brave accommodation establishment owners and managers who provided their feedback, and to ensure that they are not banned from any of the restaurants, as has happened in Franschhoek!

 

Accommodation establishments are an important source of bookings for restaurants, with most guests relying on the recommendation of their hosts to recommend and book restaurants for them.  Only a few guests make their own restaurant bookings before arriving in Franschhoek.  

 

Spontaneous mentions of restaurants the establishments book for their guests for lunch or dinner are Kalfi’s, Allora, Le Bon Vivant, French Connection, Haute Cabriere, Dieu Donne, La Petite Ferme, Laborie in Paarl, Boschendal Le Piqnique and  Monneaux.

 

The restaurants that accommodation establishments send their guests to are the ones from which their guests return happy, with their expectations met or even exceeded, that offer a free collection and drop-off service as do Monneaux and Dieu Donne,  that offer a consistent quality of excellent food, excellent service, good ambience, good value for money, being able to make bookings without any problems or errors, being able to expect a positive reply when the guests are asked about their enjoyment of the restaurants,  superb setting, personal attention from the staff, being offered a table a day at certain restaurants but released by a certain time of day, and tend to be those at which the owners of the establishments enjoy eating at as well.

 

Some accommodation establishments do not send business to a specific restaurant, because they do not know it, because they or their guests have had a bad experience there previously, because they are too expensive, because the “booking service is sloppy”, because of poor service recovery when there is a complaint,  because of poor service from the waiters, and because of the food not being up to Franschhoek standards.    A bad experience reflects badly on the accommodation establishment, in that it recommends the restaurant, and therefore such restaurants quickly fall off the recommendation list.

 

Sometimes establishment owners are forced to book at other restaurants because their favourites are fully booked or have a closed function.

 

The accommodation establishment’s owner or manager is likely to recommend the restaurants that are their personal favourites.    This places a huge responsibility on them to recommend restaurants that will make their guests happy too.   Reasons for a restaurant becoming a favourite include the ambience, the service and food quality.

 

One self-catering establishment owner no longer recommends restaurants, having received negative feedback from her guests, and therefore she sends the guests to the Tourism Bureau, so that they can look at the menus and book the restaurants there.

 

Service levels of restaurants were seen to be good and not good enough.   Those that laud it, say it is good value for money, and improves all the time, the staff are friendly, and this can often make up for a slip in service delivery.    Those that criticize it, say that restaurants say they are fully booked when an accommodation establishment calls, yet take walk-in bookings.   They complain about “the emphasis is overwhelmingly ‘looks-like-French-cuisine’ but it is patently plastic when the entire package is evaluated.   Local-is-lekker takes a distinct backseat in Franschhoek”.  Service levels are seen to be dropping.

 

Suggestions to restaurants for improving service levels to accommodation establishments making bookings is to reserve a table per accommodation establishment until a certain time every day, because they are often booked out on the same day.   A restaurant map, as the Vignerons one, would be useful, it was suggested.   Better staff training, given the high turnover of staff in restaurants, to prevent the staff training on their customers, offering a wider range of wines-by-the-glass, offering wines at better prices, displaying accommodation information in restaurants, much like the accommodation establishments tend to display the menus of the restaurants, to not provide reservation numbers for bookings made, to not confirm bookings to the accommodation establishments, as they have no control over their guests’ actions, and to not request credit card details to secure tables at restaurants.

 

Restaurants would not be happy with no-shows, when accepting bookings from accommodation establishments, and this could annoy them in dealing with establishments. Accommodation establishments cannot be held responsible for the bad manners and actions of their guests, and make bookings in good faith.   The point was made that no restaurant can afford to be unhappy with accommodation establishments making bookings at a restaurant, for whatever reason.

 

Restaurants tend to not thank the accommodation establishments for the business they receive.    “It would be nice with the odd free (or price reduced) meal, even in winter when they are slow.  We have never received acknowledgement” said one guest house owner.   Another view is that Franschhoek is dependent on its restaurants for its gourmet status, and that no tourists would stay there if we did not have such good restaurants.  Also, some guests may think that one has shares in the restaurant, or that one receives commission when one recommends a particular restaurant too strongly!   One owner expressed the fact that he has not been to all the restaurants: “As locals we find the cost of “test’ dining at Franschhoek restaurants prohibitive”.  He states that his establishment probably therefore does not support the more upmarket restaurants.   “A formal thankyou will be nice” said one owner, while another said “restauranteurs do not need to thank you for your business…   A general note of thanks is appropriate and good and consistent service is also adequate.”

 

One exception is Haute Cabriere, the only restaurants that appears to understand the reciprocal relationship that should exist between the parties, in offering accommodation owners and managers a complimentary lunch once a year, just as the new season starts.   This enables the restaurant to explain its menu changes, and it gives the accommodation owners a good feel for what is on the menu.

 

Generally the readiness for 2010 is questioned and the service levels are not seen to meet the challenge of this important sports event.   But will 2010 impact Franschhoek at all, a manager asks.   Another view is that Franschhoek’s fine dining and wining may not be of interest to a fast-food and beer soccer fan, and it is questioned whether Franschhoek has enough large screen and fast-food type establishments to allow communal viewing for the soccer fans.   One owner said Franschhoek’s service levels should be perfect at all times, not just in winter 2010.

 

An accommodation owner was very vocal about Franschhoek’s businesses not being very welcoming to tourists and residents.   He complained about surly supermarket cashiers and shop assistants, beggars in the streets, dirty streets, faded road markings, potholes, tattered flags, bare flag poles, the “scruffy” Post Office, untrimmed street trees, unkempt gardens, unpainted buildings and walls, “scruffy” sidewalks, and “wonky” road signs, all of which create a poor impression of Franschhoek.

 

This article was first published in The Franshhoek Month, April 2009.