Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

For the third year running, twenty of Franschhoek’s wine farmers are inviting wine and food lovers to visit their wine estates this coming Saturday and Sunday (4 and 5 September), to taste their new vintages, to eat specialities from the Gourmet capital of South Africa, and to enjoy French-style activities over a weekend of food, fun and wine.

Tickets for Franschhoek Uncorked cost R80 each, and can be bought at Computicket, or at any participating wine estate.  The full programme offered by the 20 wine estates is as follows:

*   Vrede & Lust will have a cigar lounge, Aston Martins will be on display, chocolate can be tasted and diamonds will sparkle

*   Plaisir de Merle will serve more of their lovely pancakes, offer live music, and for the first time offer bread made from flour ground in a historic water mill on the wine estate.

*   Allee Bleue will offer live jazz, and a tasting of their new Brut Rose’.  Smoked salmon croissants, Flammkuchen, Chicken Tandoori wraps, and Shrimp Guacamole wraps will be available for sale.

*   Solms-Delta will offer “Kaapse” music, food, and wine.

*   L’Omarins has the Franschhoek Motor Museum on its property, will make its Antonij Rupert Protea and Terra del Capo wines available for tasting, boules can be played, and gourmet sandwiches can be bought

*   Graham Beck will offer its Methode Cap Classique bubblies as well as wines to taste, and oysters, cheese and charcuterie platters will be available to eat.  Winemakers Pieter Ferreira and Erika Obermeyer will host masterclasses at R 75 a head, on Saturday and Sunday, at 10h00 and 14h00

*   Lynx Wines will have a Spanish Fiesta theme again, and live Spanish music will be played.  Tapas served include serrano ham and calamari

*   Topiary Wines will release their Rose 2009 and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. Visitors can blend their own wines. Live music is offered.

*   La Chataigne offers boules and live entertainment

*   Moreson offers live music, and a food market

*   Maison is the newest Franschhoek wine estate, and belongs to Chris Weylandt of Weylandt’s, and is now also a winemaker.   Food, jazz and wines will be offered.

*   La Motte’s new and Franschhoek’s latest restaurant Pierneef a La Motte offers Cape Winelands cuisine, a Farm Shop sells wines, gifts and farm-baked bread.   The new La Motte Art Gallery, one of the rooms dedicated to the priceless paintings by Pierneef, has opened, and a classical guitar recital will be hosted on Saturday evening.

*   Glenwood will host a Boules Trophy, and is pairing its wines with gourmet food prepared by Camil and Ingrid Haas, previously of Bouillabaisse and Camil’s, serving Bouillabaisse, Chicken Curry and Crepe Suzette.

*   Rickety Bridge offers tapas too, and its Top 10 Shirazes.  Live music, boules, as well as farm rides in their Dodge truck are also available.

*   Grande Provence offers live music, five vintages will be paired with five dishes, a Chef’s Table is offered, and the Grande Provence Pinot Noir will be launched.  Cheese and charcuterie boards will be available.

*   Franschhoek Cellars offer cheese and wine tastings, as well as cheese lunches

*   Dieu Donne offers live music, Vineyard platters, “wine-infused casual food”, and micro-beer on tap

*   Cabriere offers a wine tour and tasting, with a Sabrage, at 11h00 on Saturday and Sunday

*  La Petite Ferme offers wine tours, and salmon and wine pairing at R120.

*   Boekenhoutskloof will launch The Chocolate Block 2009, a band will provide the “gees” and Reuben Riffel will offer his famous Reuben’s Barbeque Experience.

Further details can be obtained from the Franschhoek Tourism Bureau, Tel (021) 876-3603.

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

In summer I had a wonderful crayfish special lunch at Salt on a hot summer’s day, and wrote a glowing review about it.  A visit to try the winter special lunch of 2 courses for R 140 and 3 courses for R 170 was disappointing, in that it lacked the evidence that Top 10 Chef Jacques de Jager, who was previously at Grande Provence, was in the kitchen or had compiled the winter special menu. 

The hostess Taahira, with a very low cut dress, wanted to seat us in the furthest corner and not necessarily at the window, but our lunch was purely business, and therefore we did not need to be “hidden”.  Being the only patrons initially, about a week prior to the start of the World Cup, we were then allowed to choose any table we liked.  My guest Darren said that the table we chose was the one Daniel Craig sat at in the movie “Flashback of a Fool”, large parts of which were shot in Cape Town.

Darren and I both had the three-course special, and chose a different course each - one has a restrictive choice of two options per course.   A quick page-through the new a la carte menu designed by Jacques was also disappointing, as I expected the creativity that he has become known for, and was recognised by Eat Out as a Top 10 chef in November, would be reflected in the menu.   It was my first visit to the restaurant since De Jager introduced his new menu after taking over the Salt kitchen.  I had expected a heavy French emphasis in the menu, especially as the waiter Michael had told me on my previous visit that the staff were learning all the French terms in the menu - I could only find the French terms ”moules mariniere”, “souffle”, “mussel veloute”, “ballottine”, “ratatouille”, “bouillabaisse” and “parfait” on the menu.

We did not order wine, but one can pay an extra R 25 in total to have the courses paired with a wine per course (Paradyskloof Chenin Blanc 2009, Paradyskloof Pinot Noir 2008, and Vriesenhof ‘enthopio’ 2005), making the meal far better value. 

We were served a choice of two breads: ciabatta and a light wholewheat bread.   An amuse bouche was brought to the table, consisting of pork rillette, truffled pea puree (nice touch of colour on the plate, but too salty) and the cutest looking poached quail egg.

My cream of butternut soup was served exactly how I like it - thick and creamy, and the Gruyere-crusted toast was a lovely match - this was my best dish of the three, yet I missed Jacques’ creative touch.  Darren was happy with his lentil salad with bacon, feta and croutons, which looked very healthy to me, but he felt that it could have done with a dressing to liven it up.

I was disappointed with my braised lamb, probably due to the rich sauce it was served with, which dominated the dish.   The sauce is not mentioned in the menu.   The sweet potato mash it was served with had a pronounced green colour - a bit worrying, as I have never seen it served this green before.  It lacked the taste of sweet potato.  Darren’s cob served on cannellini beans and sauce mittone was another healthy choice (after his lentils), but was too salty, and the carrots and celery were undercooked, he felt. 

My chocolate parfait looked pretty, decorated with two strawberries, the plate decorated with four orange segments.  The menu says that they were marinated, but what it was marinated in was not mentioned.  Darren’s pear frangipani tart was served with cinnamon ice cream, but the pears were not ripe enough and the pastry hard.

Michael was efficient in looking after all our needs, and impressed us when he rolled down an outside blind when he saw that Darren was affected by the glare of the sun.  He only got it wrong when he brought the bill in response to a request for more water, and he asked my how I wanted to pay as soon as he put down the bill, without allowing me to look at the bill first.  Taahira sent a copy of the menu to the table, which I had requested to prevent me from having to write down the menu, in a roll held together with a brown ribbon - a professional touch.

I would find it hard to recommend this Winter Special, due to it lacking excitement, it not reflecting any of the dishes on the standard menu, and it offering far less value for money as a winter special, compared to the 6-course Myoga or the 5-course (plus amuse bouche) Cape Colony specials, for example.   The Salt view and decor is far superior to those of Myoga and the Mount Nelson though.   

The August winter special will offer the following choices: vol au vent or cured beef carpaccio; baby chicken or linefish; pavlova or citrus pudding.

Salt restaurant, Ambassador Hotel, 34 Victoria Road, Bantry Bay.  Tel 021 439-7258. www.saltrestaurant.co.za  Open Mondays - Sundays, lunch and dinner.  The winter special is not available on Friday and Saturday evenings.

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

For the 17th year, Franschhoek will put on its French dress, and Franschhoekers will dust off their berets, celebrating the 14 July storming of La Bastille.  “Again in 2010, Franschhoek’s Bastille Festival, which began as a village fete, will be a celebration of freedom for all!” says the Festival brochure.   The Bastille Festival takes place this weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday the Bastille Festival activities get off to a rolling start at 8h00 with a Boules Tournament on the Dutch Reformed Church grounds on the main road.  From 10h00 onwards there is ”a showcase of artisanal food and fare” in the Town Hall and one can sit down at a Parisian cafe.   Locally made olives and oils, fruit preserves, honey products, tasty take-home treats, Cape cuisine, and fresh vegetables will be sold.

The highlight for regular Bastille Festival supporters is the marquee in the centre of town, that sees almost every Franschhoek winery (Akkerdal, Allee Bleue, Anthonij Rupert, Bellingham, Boekenhoutskloof, Boschendal, Dieu Donne, Glenwood, Graham Beck, Grande Provence, La Bri, La Motte, Lynx, Mont Rochelle, Rickety Bridge, Rupert & Rothschild, Solms-Delta, Topiary and Vrede & Lust) paired with almost every restaurant in town (Allee Bleue, Dieu Donne, French Connection, The Grillroom, The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Haute Cabriere, iCi, La Petite Ferme, Monneaux, Plaisir de Merle, Reuben’s, and Fyndraai).  The food and winetasting marquee is open from 12h00 - 17h00 on Saturday and Sunday, and entrance costs R 100, which entitles one to five tasting coupons.   Tickets can be booked at www.webtickets.co.za

The Porcupine Ridge Barrel Rolling competition starts at 14h00 on each of the two days, and a Waiters’ Race will be contested at the Food & Wine Marquee at 13h00 on Saturday. 

Whale Cottage Franschhoek has a Bastille Festival weekend accommodation package - write to winelands@whalecottage.com.  

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

The Sweet Service Award goes to Salt Deli on Victoria Road in Bantry Bay in Cape Town, for hosting a cosy media breakfast to showcase their cooked breakfast range, which includes scrambled or poached egg and bacon (no fried eggs available), salmon and eggs benedict, and eggs en cocotte.  On leaving, each person was handed a little sweet treat to take home.   New Salt restaurant chef Jacques de Jager, originally from Grande Provence in Franschhoek, came to introduce himself.

The Sour Service Award goes to La Vierge restaurant in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley outside Hermanus, nominated by Ebony Sanders.  Ebony writes that she was disturbed when a team of handymen arrived at the restaurant last Sunday lunch-time, and used power tools to break down a center stage, when she had to wait for more than an hour to discover that her order for her poached salmon had not been placed with the kitchen, and had to wait to have her drinks served.  She was told that the waiter that served her has a medical condition, which must have influenced his service level.  The invoice system was not working properly, so it took time to organise the bill when Ebony and her husband had had enough, and decided to leave, even though the Manager, via the waiter, offered to not charge for the meals.   The waiter did not apologise about the delay in serving the main course, and the Manager never came to see and to apologise to Ebony and her husband. Ebony has subsequently written to say that she received a call of apology from Andrew, the manager, and he has invited her back for a complimentary meal.

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.

The “Taste of Cape Town” is in its third year, and its new location (it has had a different location every year) at the Rhodes High School in Mowbray is the best ever, with parking adjacent to the field on which the stands are set up.   It is a wonderfully inexpensive and convenient way to taste one’s way through 19 of Cape Town’s, Franschhoek’s and Stellenbosch’s best (and some lesser good) restaurants.

Delegates at the S A Food Bloggers’ Conference received free entrance tickets to the “Taste of Cape Town” and only had to buy the crowns, which are the wine and food tasting currency.   All wines and foods served cost between 4 - 8 crowns (R 20 - R 40).

With 18 restaurants present (as well as Camil’s serving oysters but being such a last minute stand it is not located with the other restaurants), it was not possible to taste all the dishes (each restaurant offered three choices in the main) at all the restaurant stands.  My companion was our new Brazilian trainee Muriele Stefani, and we shared portions to allow us to taste a larger variety of foods:

*   the highlight was Reuben’s prawn, rocket, yuzu dressing and wasabi cream, a mini-meal in itself, compared to the other stands, which mainly only served a piece of meat or fish without any other accompaniments.   Impressively Reuben Riffel was in the makeshift “kitchen”, doing the hands-on preparation.

*   Bistro Sixteen82, with chef Brad Ball, served a crispy panko crumbed fried crab, soft shell crab, with dressed pea shoots and smoked paprika aiolli

*   Eric Bulpitt at Jardine Restaurant offered two very tasty Kroondal duck leg patties, which also contained pomegranate, celeriac, and walnut

*   It was nice to meet hands-on Philip Carmichael from maze, who was taking orders rather than cooking.  His peppered biltong consomme was the most attractive of all the dishes eaten, with a fried quail’s egg presented on top of the biltong consomme, with shaved biltong.  The taste of the soup was disappointing, having a bean soup taste.

*   At Nobu chef Hideki Maeda’s crispy pork belly with spicy miso was simply just that - nothing to distract from the compact dish.

*   Grande Provence’s Darren Roberts served a ballantine of Elgin free-range chicken and lobster with white onion risotto.  The lobster was nowhere to be seen, and gave the chicken a less-than-nice taste.

*   From its name, Overture’s braised pig’s cheek, parsley pomme puree, carrots and gremolata was very popular, served by chef Craig Cormack.  It was a very filling tasting portion.

*   Overture’s chocolate mille-feuille and raspberry ice cream was a dreamy yet filling sweet end to a lovely tasting.

*   A bonus was a chocolate cup filled with Nutella and topped with a cherry at the Southern Sun stand, with The Cullinan pastry chef Jean hand-making the lovely sweet treats at no charge.   Macaroons and lemon meringue tartlets were also available for tasting.

Foodlovers will enjoy Pick ‘n Pay’s Fresh Living Chef’s Theatre, at which top chefs, including some of those with stands, do demonstrations, and Jenny Morris, the Giggling Gourmet, at the Checkers’ stand.   The wine stands feel like “poor cousins”, receiving less attention than the restaurant stands, despite brands such as Hermanuspietersfontein, Thelema, Boschendal, Steenberg, Spier and many others being present.

What is lovely about the “Taste of Cape Town” is meeting up with other food and wine lovers.  Some of the restaurant stands have a table and chairs, at which one can be lucky enough to sit to eat one’s tasting dish, and meet friends and acquaintances coming to the stand in this way.   Reubens’ stand had its Franschhoek black-and-white checkered floor replicated as decor on one wall of the stand, and offered very comfortable white leather dining chairs.

Given the cooler weather, being wrapped up in a white blanket by a Heineken hunk at the end of the tasting and washing down all the lovely food with a Heineken was a lovely ending to a special evening.

Taste of Cape Town, Rhodes High School, off Klipfontein Road, Mowbray.  Saturday 13h00 - 17h00, 18h30 - 22h30, and Sunday 12h00 - 17h00.

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

Eighteen leading restaurants from Cape Town, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch will be on show at the “Taste of Cape Town” next week, which takes place from Wednesday 24 - Sunday 28 March at the Rhodes High School in Mowbray.

Leading restaurants which will be offering up to 3 interesting mini-dishes will be Bistro 1682, Cape Colony at the Mount Nelson Hotel, Ginja, Myoga, Grande Provence, Jardine, Le Quartier Francais, Bread & Wine, Overture, The Greenhouse and Reubens.   Interestingly the One&Only Cape Town restaurants Nobu and Maze will also be presenting a taste of their dishes.   Odd is that restaurants that cannot be compared to the gourmet level of those mentioned already are also part of the ‘Taste of Cape Town’: Wang Thai, Societi Bistro, Gold, Signal at Cape Grace, and Il Leone Mastrantonio.

“Taste of Cape Town” is a franchised event, that will also be held in Johannesburg, London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Auckland, Sydney, Milan, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Dublin, and Dubai in 2010.

Dishes to be tasted are paid for in crowns, and each restaurant can name its price ranging between 4 - 8 crowns (or R 20 - R 40).   Tickets can be bought at Computicket, either for R 80 for just the entrance, or at R 170 for entrance and crowns to the value of R 100.

Taste of Cape Town, 24 - 27 March from 18h30 - 22h30, as well as 13h00 - 17h00 on 27 March, and 12h00 - 17h00 on 28 March. www.tasteofcapetown.com

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

An extremely hot summer’s day, as well as a mouth feel urgently requiring crayfish, beckoned the writer to Salt restaurant in the Ambassador Hotel in Bantry Bay, which has been running a crayfish special at R 185 with its sister restaurant OYO in the V&A Hotel for a while now.   There was no cooler way to escape from the heat than lunch at Salt.

Parking is uncomplicated, either across the road from the hotel, or on its roof, and is complimentary if one eats at the hotel.   As the restaurant hostess sat at the computer, meaning that she had her back turned to the restaurant entrance, she did not see the customer arriving.  A yawning waitress attended to the guest but had to go to the hostess to decide which of the many tables could be allocated (only 5 tables in total were occupied)! The waiter Michael came to the rescue, and seated the customer at a table with a lovely cool breeze, and wonderful view onto the ocean.   Later on, the sliding doors were opened completely, and an even cooler breeze cooled one down.   The protective glass barrier can barely be seen, and it looks as if one is sitting at the edge of the door, making this restaurant one of the most spectacular in terms of its location, view and ocean smell.

Michael efficiently took the order for a glass of Colmant Tradition bubbly, at R 59, and agreed to organise that the ordered crayfish be served cold rather than hot.   Cold water was brought to the table regularly, and while the wait for the crayfish was long at 45 minutes, it was worth every minute.  Six small tails of crayfish were served with the most delicious jasmine rice (a bowl of chips was initially brought to the table in error, and one cannot imagine that the restaurant would serve chips with crayfish) and a salad (the only odd ingredient was mozarella cheese, which clashed with the crayfish), and a piquant mayonnaise, a little too strong.  It was the perfect Saturday afternoon lunch.

Other lunch options are salads (caesar salad at R 55); three pasta dishes ranging from R 70 - R 80; four seafood options (mussels R 70, squid R 95, fish and chips at R 115, and fish of the day R 120);  five meat dishes (including burger R 65, chicken schnitzel R 80, and rib-eye steak R 125); and desserts cost about R 55, the most expensive being a three-variation creme brulee at R 85.

The bill was brought to the table efficiently, and Michael was the perfect waiter - no small talk, efficiently answering questions and executing requests.  What is missing is the personal touch - no Manager appeared to be on duty, to check one’s satisfaction with the meal.  This is what differentiates a hotel restaurant from a stand-alone one.

The new chef at Salt restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel, Top 10 chef Jacques de Jager, who recently moved from Grande Provence in Franschhoek, has not yet made himself felt, in that the existing menu is still used.   His new dinner menu will be launched tomorrow evening.   According to Michael, the menu will be in the French cuisine style.

Salt restaurant, Ambassador Hotel, 34 Victoria Road, Bantry Bay. tel 021 439-7258,  http://www.newmarkhotels.com/newmark/salt 

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

Salt Deli, which had a disastrous opening over the festive season, appears to have settled in, and the feedback provided has been implemented, meaning a huge improvement.

The menu has been changed completely, following the feedback supplied (read our initial review here) and the arrival of Jacques de Jager, the new chef at Salt Restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel on Victoria Road in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, who was previously a Top 10 chef at Grande Provence in Franschhoek. 

The biggest change is that cooked breakfasts can now be prepared on site, and these include eggs benedict with bacon (R 45) or salmon (R55), scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (R55), eggs en cocotte - egg cooked individually in cream or butter in a small ramekin (R 45), and savoury ostrich mince (R40).  Further breakfast treats on offer are yogurt, berries and nuts (R 30), bagel and cream cheese (R 20), salmon and cream cheese bagel (R 40), muffins and croissants.  Breakfast is served all day, good news for breakfast fans.  A good cappuccino (R 14) is served too.

The lunch options, which probably are available all the way until the Deli closes at 9pm, include chicken supreme with asparagus salad (R 65), stuffed aubergine (R 60), lamb pita and side salad (R 65), onion and goat’s cheese quiche (R 38), endive, pear and walnut salad (R 40), game terrine (R 65) and a roast beef sandwich (R 65).  I had a tasty lasagne with side salad for R 50, which was not on the menu, but was mentioned.   The lamb pita was dry, and could do with more tzatziki, if there was any in it at all.  A menu board of specials is changed daily, and is additional to the printed menu choice.

A delight for Salt Deli visitors is the large selection and quality of the wines on the winelist - every one of the 12 red wines and 10 white wines is offered by bottle or by glass.   The Bosman Rose costs R 23 per glass, while the most expensive white wine is the Waterford Chardonnay, at R 51.  The reds range from R 31 for a 2005 Waverley Hills Cabernet Sauvignon  to R 55 for a 2006 Ataraxia Serenity blend.  Two Shiraz’s are stocked - 2007 Kleine Zalze and 2006 Andreas.

The star of Salt Deli is the Assistant Manager Cisca, who recognised the guest from the last visit almost two months ago, and came to the table regularly to chat, requesting feedback about the menu and the meal. 

One aspect of Salt Deli that is hidden if one sits outside, is the quality of the bakery items, and the Deli could capitalise on this more in its list of desserts.  The finest tarts (fruit, chocolate, lemon meringue and others) at a mere R 10 each, and the crispiest and lightest pastries (croissants, apple, raisin, danish) at only R 8 each, are fantastic value for take-home treats compared to the expensive ones sold at Voila! in the Cape Quarter.  A good selection of breads is also sold.   The staff dealing with this part of the Deli were exceptionally friendly and accommodating.

Salt Deli has been transformed for the better, and now is well worth regular visits.  In about three weeks the Vodka and Champagne Bar is planned to open upstairs.  Open until 9 pm every day, Victoria Road, Bantry Bay, opposite the Ambassador Hotel. Tel 021 439 7258.

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

Salt Deli, a sister coffee shop to the Salt restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel on Victoria Road in Bantry Bay, operated on its second day to total shambles, not being able to cope with being full.   It is a bad reflection on the Salt and Ambassador Hotel brands. 

The Deli upset most of its clients who were not served for up to half an hour, and who sat at tables with dirty dishes.  To make a point, two clients got up and played “waiter”, clearing the outside tables.  Other clients went inside to fetch their orders themselves.  Some just left without being served!

When the Assistant Manager came to take the order, she informed us at 12h00 that the deli had run out of food, and that they were only taking beverage orders.   She was able to organise a croissant with cheese and ham, according to the menu, but it came “deconstructed”, without butter, in that one had to make it up oneself (costing R35!).  The cheese slices looked a few days old and dry.   While we were sitting there, we saw the Rosa’s Bakery van doing a delivery, spoiling the illusion that everything is prepared and baked at Salt Restaurant across the road.

A further disappointment was that no cooked breakfasts are served at Salt Deli at all, as they have no proper kitchen, it just being a “satellite kitchen” to the restaurant, the Assistant Manager explained.

For the amount of money that the Ambassador Hotel must have put into the renovation of the Deli, previously Carlucci’s, in appointing Stefan Antoni as the architect and interior design company, it is a shame that they were so badly understaffed and understocked.   The interior design quirks (a pile of wood with a top is the desk, the flooring is made up of a mixture of slate, wood and tile, and the ceiling in part has a wooden crate look) pale into insignificance when one experiences such chaos and poor service.  No management was visible from the Ambassador Hotel, to assist the obviously new staff in coping with the full Deli.

The menu is disappointing, given that Eat Out Top 10 chef Jacques de Jager from Grande Provence will be joining Salt next month.   Breakfast options are yoghurt and berries, bagel and cream cheese (with or without salmon), muffin and preserve, and smoked ham and gouda croissant (as described above).

Salads range from R 45 - R 65, and include nicoise, caesar, caprese, chicken and salmon.   Three types of wraps are offered, as are three types of unexciting sandwiches, three basic pasta dishes, soup (in summer!), a tart, tapas (including oysters, olives, parma ham and melon, smoked salmon) and cheese, meat and Mediterranean platters.  It was good that the planned oyster and champagne bar upstairs has not yet opened, as this would have caused even greater problems.

The management of Salt Deli should close it until they can train their staff properly, can appoint more staff, and have a better supply of ingredients needed to make the dishes they offer on their menu.   The overall experience as well as menu was a disappointment, relative to the pre-opening hype.   One may say that a new restaurant should not be judged in its opening days, but it should not open if it is not ready to do so.  The opening day had been delayed a number of times in the past 2 weeks.

Response from Neil Markovitz, MD of Newmark Hotels, owner of the Ambassador Hotel, and Salt restaurant and deli: “Thanks for the mail yesterday. Clearly a disaster as you have described. I am told that the lunch service went a bit smoother and a complete post mortem of the days disaster was discussed and analysed in full. Opening on boxing day was clearly not the best idea, but then again opening on in December was always going to put us under tremendous pressure.   Absolutely no excuse though and I apologise for the experience. We will get it right.   There is a problem on the that side of the road with extraction at the moment and the hence no cooked breakfast. This is something we are working on but a bigger problem to solve.”

Salt Deli, Victoria Road, Bantry Bay, tel 021 439 7528.

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

An outstanding new restaurant opened on the Waterkloof Winery in Somerset West two weeks ago, marrying a magnificent view with a deconstructionist approach to food.

The Waterkloof wine estate in Somerset West, which belongs to one of the largest wine distributors in the UK, Paul Boutinot, who calls himself the “Custodian” of the wine estate, according to its website, with chef Gregory Czarnecki in the kitchen and Julian Smith, previously from Grande Provence, managing the restaurant.  Czarnecki was previously at The Big Easy in Stellenbosch, the restaurant belonging to Johan Rupert and Ernie Els, amongst others, and left when he was expected to cook hamburgers, it is said.    He worked with 3*** Michelin chef Alain Senderens at Lucas Carton.   Waterkloof’s website states that it makes ’slow wines’, with fermentation taking place between one to eleven months instead of the usual 20 days.

One takes a dirt track off the road to Sir Lowry’s Village, and passes an empty security hut.   Soon the road is tarred, and it is clear that one is entering Waterkloof, in that the road is neatly tarred as it winds its way up the mountain on which the winery perches.  At first one cannot see the vineyards, but they are high up, suddenly visible around a corner.  One sees the very modern “block” building almost hanging off the edge of the Schaapenberg Mountain as one drives higher and higher,  and the comparison to Hidden Valley cannot be avoided.    The winery juts out further than the restaurant does, blocking the view from the restaurant on its west side.   One’s first reaction to the wonderful view over False Bay (and the townships of Strand/Somerset West below) is of wonderment - one probably is only this high up on Sir Lowry’s Pass, but from a different angle.

As one enters the building, one is dazzled by the view.  There is familiarity, in that the inside has a lot of glass, allowing one to see the vats and tanks, as at Tokara.  What is unusual is that the restaurant and tasting room are one large open space, separated by an unusual large brown leather couch with fireplace, over which towers a massive fire extractor - one can imagine how cosy winetasting and lunch will be at Waterkloof in winter, accompanied by a roaring fire.

The occasion was a birthday celebration, and we felt lucky to have known Julian from the years of dining at Grande Provence.  He is a gentle soul, always eager to please.  His wife Mandy, also previously at Grande Provence, now co-ordinates events at Waterkloof.   He made a huge difference to the service received and information provided, some of the waiters still a little unsure of themselves. 

The Waterkloof logo of a face blowing furiously is meant to depict the southeaster, which must blow strongly from the Helderberg mountains.   The logo is proudly displayed outside the building, on the menus, on the staff aprons, and on the wine bottles.

The restaurant is buzzing and close to full.   One is offered a table inside or outside, but the outside tables with shade from the building have been taken already, and at 30 C or more it is too hot to sit in the sun.   The air conditioners cool the interior, and we are given a lovely table near the outside sliding door, and a cool breeze blows in when the door is opened.  The chairs are an unusual light beechwood with black leather seats, and the black leather theme is carried through in the menu and bill folders.

A platter of olives, hummus and bread sticks is brought to the table.  We see some rolls passing, and are brought these to the table, and they are lovely.   We are offered complimentary mineral water, a choice of still or sparkling, brought in a decanter.   The water comes from a spring on the estate.  Julian tells us that slow and organic dominates wine-making at Waterkloof.   No tractors are allowed, and horse-drawn ploughs develop the land.

The menu presents a selection of 5 starters, all costing R 60, and include ink and squid tagliatelle and asparagus risotto.  There are 7 main courses, ranging from R 95 for the pastilla of duck leg confit to R 150 for the lamb shoulder confit and baby rack.  Kingklip and Red Roman are also on the menu.  The duck comes shredded, wrapped in a (small) pastry parcel with sultanas, and 6 tiny roast potato slices, topped with a coriander foam.   It is very tasty, but the portion is VERY small.   For dessert one has 4 options, all costing R 55, as well as a cheese platter, to choose from.   Here the chef is at his most deconstructionist, in that the lime pie has separate bits of almond crumble, the lime content, topped with a tequila sorbet ball.  The rooibos tea poached apple dessert is the tiniest miniature apple balls on a plate with cabernet reduction jelly, with a ball of plain sorbet.

A special Waterkloof coffee blend of 40 % Mandheling from Sumatra, 40 % Yirgalheffe from Ethiopia and 20 % Linu from Ethiopia is roasted for Waterkloof at Lourensford, and is brought to the restaurant warmly roasted.

We were told by Julian that the Waterkloof wines are made to suit a European palate, and therefore the Waterkloof Circumstance Shiraz 2007 was a disappointment, being very light-bodied - it tasted like non-sparkling grape juice with alcohol.   Only Waterkloof wines, with their Circumstance and Peacock Ridge secondary labels, are included in the menu cover, but they do appear to have other wines in stock, e.g. the Steenberg 1682 bubbly, as Waterkloof does not make a bubbly.   The owner wants to sell his wines first and foremost, and therefore these are the only wines offered.   The wines range from R 91 for a bottle of Peacock Ridge Sauvignon Blanc (R 23 per glass) to R 245 for the Waterkloof Sauvignon Blanc.   All wines in the range are decanted three hours before the dinners and lunches, to allow them to breathe.

The newness of the restaurant and its staff was most visible when we asked the waiter as well as the friendly Maitre’d to explain what each element of the dessert was, but both said they did not know, and that the chef had not yet had a chance to explain the menu to them!   Our waiter had a very shaky wine-pouring hand, and messed some as a result.   His Lithuanian colleague was very professional, and clearly far more experienced.  Julian came to the table regularly, and made a big difference to the service satisfaction.

The total cost of two mains, two desserts, a cappucino, 2 glasses of red wine, 2 glasses of Steenberg Brut and the sparkling water was R 402. 

Waterkloof restaurant, tel 021 858 1491, off Sir Lowry Village Road, Somerset West,  www.waterkloofwines.co.za

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