{"id":17022,"date":"2011-02-17T09:27:46","date_gmt":"2011-02-17T07:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=17022"},"modified":"2011-02-17T16:41:18","modified_gmt":"2011-02-17T14:41:18","slug":"restaurant-review-dinner-at-grande-provence-a-special-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/franschhoek\/restaurant-review-dinner-at-grande-provence-a-special-treat\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Review: Dinner at Grande Provence a special treat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I have been to Grande Provence many times, yet have not written a review of their dinner, but have written about their High Tea<\/a>,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0and Chef Darren Roberts’ visit to Hong Kong<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>late last year.\u00a0\u00a0 A pre-Valentine’s Day dinner on Sunday evening was a very special treat, not just in terms of the quality of the food served, but also because of the service, the beautiful interior, and extreme friendliness.<\/p>\n

It started when Food & Beverage Manager Donovan\u00a0Dreyer came towards us as we walked to the restaurant from the parking area, to welcome us.\u00a0\u00a0 He had called earlier in the day, to confirm the reservation, and had apologised for not being there, as he had the evening off.\u00a0\u00a0He seated us, introduced us to our waitress Shasta, and was most helpful in printing the menu for me.\u00a0\u00a0 He then went off, after sending two glasses of sparkling wine to the table, with the compliments of Grande Provence.<\/p>\n

Since 2005 Grande Provence (previously belonging to Count Augusta)\u00a0has belonged to a Dutch consortium called The Huka Retreats, under the management of Alex van Heeren, and they also own Huka Lodge in New Zealand (usually on the Top 100 world accommodation lists) and the privately owned Dolphin Island\u00a0in Fiji.\u00a0 The business card describes the positioning of the company to be :”Intimate . Sensual . Elegant”.\u00a0 Grande Provence supports good causes, and its highlight is the annual fundraising\u00a0lunch prepared in honour of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, sponsored in its entirety by Grande Provence.\u00a0 This year it will be held on 29 May, and Grande Provence Chef Darren Roberts, his Huka Lodge counterpart Michel Louws, Rudi Liebenberg of the\u00a0Mount Nelson Hotel, Gregory Czarnecki of Waterkloof and Roland Gorgosilich of the Grande Roche will each prepare one of the five courses.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I have attended two of these outstanding lunches in the past.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Chef Darren has worked as a Pastry Chef at L’Heiner Konditorei in Vienna, as well as in London, Johannesburg, Melbourne and the Seychelles.\u00a0 Before joining Grande Provence last year, he worked at Farncourt Hotel, and he has been a restaurant consultant.\u00a0\u00a0 He always makes time to come out of his kitchen to say hello.<\/p>\n

Similarly to Delaire Graff<\/a><\/strong><\/span> and Glen Carlou<\/a>, <\/strong><\/span>Grande\u00a0Provence invests in art and also has an art gallery, with regularly changing exhibitions.\u00a0\u00a0 I love the interior decor of Grande Provence, and Virginia Fisher is\u00a0the decorator to the group of properties, and is based in New Zealand.\u00a0 The tasting room has a counter made from industrial steel, and the bar chairs are the cleverest I have ever seen on a\u00a0wine estate, with a tractor seat, surprisingly comfortable to sit on.\u00a0\u00a0 In the restaurant, she used industrial steel tables, and blue chairs in the two outside rows, and the finest white leather high-back chairs in the central row.\u00a0\u00a0 The restaurant has a fireplace too, and is lit, even on some nights when it does not seem necessary.\u00a0 The table has linen runners in white with blue stripes, which look a little like fancy drying cloths.\u00a0 The wooden salt and pepper grinders look ordinary and out of place with the silver theme\u00a0(same criticism as at Glen Carlou), given\u00a0the stature\u00a0of and price one pays for a meal at Grande Provence.\u00a0 Two sets of cutlery are laid, and the glassware is excellent.\u00a0 Each table has a silver side table (more attractive than the wooden ‘handbag tables’ at Mange Tout<\/strong><\/span>)<\/a> on which the ice bucket and the water jug go, leaving the table free for the really important reason for being there, being the food!\u00a0 Staff wear black ‘GP’ branded shirts, and black pants, with a grey apron.\u00a0I was happy to see that the denim staff clothing has been done away with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The menu is in a holder made from the same fine white leather, as is the winelist.\u00a0\u00a0 One must have a minimum of three courses, costing R295,\u00a0four courses cost R380, and five courses R 450.\u00a0\u00a0 Once again, a three course meal is more than adequate, as one receives an amuse bouche as well as a palate cleanser too, adding a further two courses.\u00a0 While the courses listed are identifiable as starters, mains and desserts, one may choose any three on the menu, and in any order, even if one has the dessert first!\u00a0 Unusual is the bold red note on the menu that one should advise the waitrons if one would like breaks between courses.\u00a0\u00a0We absolutely loved the mini wholewheat loaf that was served in small slices, containing pieces of fruit, and topped with poppy and sesame seeds.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is sold in the tasting room, and costs R15 a loaf.\u00a0\u00a0 An amuse bouche was brought to the table, being a mushroom tart with mushroom puree, similar to a quiche, and placed on top of the most crispy fried parma ham, and hidden under basil leaves when served.\u00a0 I was impressed with how warm the plates were when they were brought from the kitchen, and I cannot recall when last\u00a0I experienced a hot plate on my restaurant visits.\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/a>My starter of Tempura langoustine tail, blackened corn and tomato was brought to the table in a soup plate, and the sweet-tasting sweetcorn velout\u00e9 was poured into the plate by a waiter at the table, with much more style than we had experienced at the new Planet Restaurant<\/span><\/strong> <\/a>at the Mount Nelson Hotel.\u00a0 The tempura batter was very light and not very crispy.\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>My partner had ordered a Green Pea and Shimeji mushroom ravioli, which he enjoyed, but felt it to be salty.\u00a0\u00a0Other starters are Tom Yum prawn risotto, caramelised eel and foie gras terrine, rillettes of duck, pork and rabbit,\u00a0quail, Stilton and curried pear tartlet, carpaccio of beetroot, and duck prosciutto. \u00a0A palate cleanser of plum sorbet and lemon compote was a surprise course.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I loved the juicy Tagine of duck, served with green olives, dates, pistachio nuts, sweetcorn polenta and walnut arancini (with a R25 surcharge).\u00a0\u00a0 I missed Chef Darren’s colourful plating touch, as the plate only had shades of brown on it.\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>My partner’s Asian braised pork belly, by contrast, had colour appeal, with oranges creating a colour contrast, and was served with tatsoi, roasted onion infused mashed potato, and a hazelnut and apple crumble.\u00a0\u00a0Further main courses to choose from include Baby chicken, hake, beef fillet with lobster tail,\u00a0springbok and Karoo lamb neck.\u00a0 Donovan had told me that the most popular dishes ordered are the Grande Provence Seafood Selection, with his own special XO broth that Chef Darren came back with from Hong Kong last year, and cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e served with a strawberry salsa, and a refreshing strawberry and mint sorbet served on a spoon, which was my dessert choice.\u00a0 The br\u00fbl\u00e9e was soft and creamy.\u00a0 My partner chose the Prince Albert Regal cheese, served with brioche and olives.\u00a0 Other dessert options are chocolate calzone, summer fruit jelly and a chocolate tart.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The winelist has mainly Grande Provence (including Angel Tears) wines, and the wine prices are roughly 50 % of cost of sales, influenced by availability and awards won.\u00a0\u00a0 We were impressed with the generous wine quantity poured by the glass.\u00a0 My reaction to the chilled (17\u00b0C) 2007 Shiraz was picked up by the waitress, and she came back with a bottle at room temperature, and allowed me to taste that one as well, and I far preferred the non-chilled glassful.\u00a0 The paper in the wine list we were given seemed heavily used.\u00a0\u00a0 Innovative was the first page listing of all the awards that the Grande Provence wines have won.\u00a0\u00a0 Wines by the glass include the Grande Provence Chardonnay (R56\/R180), Sauvignon Blanc (R46\/R160), Viognier and Chenin Blanc blend\u00a0(R42\/R140), Cabernet Sauvignon\u00a0 and Shiraz (both R55\/R190), Pinot Noir (R60\/R230) as well as Angel Tears Sauvignon Blanc (R22\/R80), White (R20\/R70), Red (R22\/R80), Pink (R20\/R70) and Blanc de Blanc MCC (R45\/R200), very affordable prices.\u00a0 The Grande Provence, the wine estate’s flagship wine, costs R700.\u00a0 Pongracz (R185), Pierre Jourdan Belle Ros\u00e9 (R44\/210), Piper Heidsiek (720) and Billecart Salmon Brut Ros\u00e9 (R1500) are also available.<\/p>\n

Donovan proudly told me about the new Rosetta imported coffee range that they will be introducing soon.\u00a0\u00a0 Grande Provence guests will be able to order their coffee made from beans of the origin of their choice, much as one can order a type of tea.\u00a0 Beans will be available from Papua New Guinea, two options from\u00a0Ethiopia, Panama, Brazil, and Indonesia. The Illy coffees will remain the baseline coffee at Grande Provence.<\/p>\n

Grande Provence has been an Eat Out <\/strong>Top 10 restaurant, its previous chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Jacques de Jager having\u00a0been awarded this accolade.\u00a0 I am convinced that Chef Darren can achieve the same, and have found him to be one of the most creative platers and food designers, especially as far his desserts go.\u00a0 I felt disappointed that\u00a0our dinner\u00a0did not\u00a0reflect enough of this talent, which I have seen on so many previous occasions, and I told Chef Darren\u00a0so when he came to say hello.\u00a0\u00a0Our waitress was good and attentive, but I was annoyed when she interrupted a heated discussion between my partner and I, just to ask our permission to serve the next course, an odd touch, as one is normally in the hands of the chef as far as serving timing goes.\u00a0A sign of the professionalism of Grande Provence, and of F&B Manager Donovan, was his call the following day, to check if everything had been to our satisfaction, proactively requesting feedback.\u00a0 It is this care and friendliness that makes me go back to Grande Provence over and over again.<\/p>\n

Restaurant at Grande Provence<\/strong>, Main Road\/R45, Franschhoek.\u00a0 Tel (021) 876-8600.\u00a0 www.grandeprovence.co.za<\/a>. (The website contains the menu, a profile of Chef Darren, and a description of the restaurant interior.\u00a0 Disappointingly there is no Image Gallery to display Chef Darren’s beautiful dishes). \u00a0Monday – Sunday lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been to Grande Provence many times, yet have not written a review of their dinner, but have written about their High Tea,\u00a0\u00a0and Chef Darren Roberts’ visit to Hong Kong\u00a0late last year.\u00a0\u00a0 A pre-Valentine’s Day dinner on Sunday evening was a very special treat, not just in terms of the quality of the food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[124,14,20,21,19],"tags":[32367,10007,10017,4645,7511,32378,10006,3985,1736,10010,4759,7198,2877,32369,2645,140,144,2080,9234,10009,10022,10014,3066,899,10012,441,10011,2551,228,10020,9074,10019,10016,252,3625,2613,10021,1612,10005,10018,10008,10004,10013,3056,32373,10015],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t