Whale Cottage Portfolio Blog

The new Place Vendome, at the entrance to Franschhoek, is a most chic and attractive centre, that has a collection of small outlets (although at least three shops are standing empty currently).  The Cafe Vendome that opened in it initially has a new owner, and is challenging the well-established Huguenot Fine Chocolates by changing its name to Cafe Le Chocolatier, and by making the most delicious chocolates.  However, the chocolate delights are not incorporated into the menu.

The Cafe originally was owned by the owners of the centre, but they were not at the Cafe enough, running a busy estate agency in the village. The rude and agressive attitude of the staff has been a problem since they opened.  When I saw the new name of the restaurant on a recent visit to Franschhoek, I popped in to try it again.  Sadly the same waitresses are still there, but a chocolatier, trained at the Lindt Chocolate Studio in Cape Town, is a new member of the kitchen team. 

Cafe Le Chocolatier is now owned by Dr Daniel Waldis, a Swiss national who lives in Franschhoek, who says he bought the Cafe as a “hobby” at the beginning of July.  He owns the Swiss Dermal Technology company in the V&A Waterfront, which offers skin rejuvenation without plastic surgery.  He only goes through to Cape Town three times a week.  His “Botox clients” see the brochure for his new restaurant, he says, and then come through to Franschhoek.  Dr Waldis wants to establish a “European style” restaurant, with good quality coffee, cake and meals, and wants to help to lift the standard of Franschhoek’s claim of being the Gourmet Capital of South Africa.   He introduced the chocolate-making inside the Cafe, and will be introducing a deli with cold meats and cheeses as well. 

The menu has been compiled by Dr Waldis, who selected light meals that were requested by customers.  Its opening line is “An experience for the connoisseur” - this is a claim that Dr Waldis will find hard to live up to, given his two waitresses’ attitude, and the selection of dishes that are offered, even though the quality of the food is good.  The menu also states “Our menu is created with the freshest of locally sourced products and is therefore subject to change on an almost daily basis.”   The prices of some dishes are on the high side.  Breakfast options include bacon, mushroom and eggs (R59); poached eggs on croissant, with salmon (R69); scrambled eggs with Emmentaler cheese and bacon or salmon (R69); and filled Omelettes (R69).  Sandwiches cost R69, and two choices are offered: grilled chicken, char grilled aubergine, mozarella, pesto and tomato; and smoked salmon, light wasabi creme fraiche and rolled cucumber sheets.  Soup of the day costs R29; chicken pie and salad R49; beef lasagne (R69); Quiche Lorraine with salad (R69); Club Sandwich (R69); and Penne Salad, with organic feta, olives, tomato, basil, lots of herbs, and a wonderful dressing was delicious (R59).  The Cappuccino was excellent, good and frothy, and cakes are expensive at R39 for a small slice.  The chocolates cost R8 each.

A small selection of beverages is offered, including Heineken (R20) and Peroni (R24), and wines-by-the -glass are reasonably priced (R25 for Haut Espoir Sauvignon Blanc, Simonsig sparkling wine R45, Beyerskloof Pinotage R35).  One wonders why such a small selection of wines is not proudly-Franschhoek!

It was when I asked the staff about Dr Waldis’ background, and about the new chocolate-making, that the waitress Sony became rude and aggressive in answering the questions, stating that I had “not asked her permission to interview her”!   She referred me to her “manager” (apparently she is a waitress too), who in turn said I should make an appointment with Dr Waldis and ask him the questions directly, that is after she first spent 10 minutes doing other things and returning the ice to a freezer. I had requested to speak to the new owner when we arrived.  Luckily Dr Waldis was at the restaurant, and sat with me for 10 minutes, charmingly giving me his background, and that of the thinking behind his new “hobby”, and offered us some of the chocolates to try.  They are absolutely wonderful, with melt-in-the-mouth liquid Lindt chocolate fillings. 

Cafe Le Chocolatier could become a threat to Huguenot Fine Chocolates (an institution in Franschhoek), because its chocolates are better, and due to its location at the entrance to Franschhoek.  However, the chocolates are twice as expensive.   The waitressing staff need serious training in customer interaction, and need a manager looking after them.   Branding is a problem, with a Cafe Vendome sign still on one side of the shop, and the door mats having the old branding too.  The chocolate-focus in the restaurant name contradicts the menu that offers everything but chocolate (except hot chocolate).  The delicious cakes (carrot cake, chocolate mousse, etc) are not listed on the menu.  If one did not anticipate chocolates to be sold from the name of the restaurant, one would not know about them, as there is no proper display counter in which to see them.  A ball of chocolate brought with the bill, or served with the coffee, could be a good chocolate sampling opportunity. 

Cafe Le Chocolatier, Place Vendome, Huguenot Road, Franschhoek.  Tel (021) 876-2233.  No website.   Monday - Sunday, 9h00 - 18h00.

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

This coming weekend, Franschhoek will be showcasing some of the best of its restaurants and wines, as well as food and wine related activities, under the banner of “Franschhoek Affair”.

The 14 restaurant and wine pairings on offer are the following, and the winemaker and chef “will be presenting their crafts to their guests”:

*   Allora Restaurant and Lynx Wines offer a 3-course meal for R 250. 25 and 26 June.  Tel 021 876-4375

*   Bread & Wine restaurant and Moreson Wines offer a 4-course meal for R 660.  Ten persons only. 26 June. Tel 021 876-4004

*   Cafe Bon Bon and La Bri Wines offer a 3-course meal, R650. 25 and 26 June.  tel 083 501 0878

*   Dieu Donne Restaurant and Dieu Donne Wines offer a 3-course lunch at R 275 (25 and 26 June) and a 5-course dinner (26 June).  Tel 021 876-3384

*   Dutch East and Antonij Rupert Wines offer a 3-course meal and one glass of Protea wine at R 165. 26 and 27 June.  Tel 021 876-3548

*   Fyndraai restaurant and Solms-Delta Wines offer 3 courses for R 190.  25 and 27 June. Tel 021 874-3937

*   Haute Cabriere restaurant and Cabriere Wines offer a 5-course dinner at R 480.  25 June. Tel 021 876-3688

*   The Tasting Room restaurant offers a 5-course dinner paired with “local wines” for R800. 25 June.  Tel 021 876-2151

*   Mange Tout restaurant and Mont Rochelle Wines offer a 4 course meal at R 480. 25 June dinner, 26 and 27 June lunch and dinner.  Tel 021 876-2770

*   Mon Plaisir restaurant and Chamonix Wines offer a 5-course dinner at R 550. 25 June. Tel 021 876-2393

*   Restaurant at Grande Provence and Grande Provence Wines offer a 4-course meal for R 320.  Maximum 20 guests. 25 and 26 June.   Tel 021 876-8600

*   Reubens restaurant and Graham Beck Wines offer a 5-course lunch for R 550. Maximum 24 guests.  27 June.  Tel 021 876-3772

*   Rickety Bridge restaurant and Rickety Bridge Wines offer 8 tasting courses for R 335.  25 June. Tel 021 876-2129

*   Salmon Bar and Franschhoek Pass Winery offer a 4 course salmon and bubbly pairing. 25 June lunch.  Tel 021 876-4591

Other food and wine related activities over the Franschhoek Affair weekend are the following:

*  Pasta making course at Allora restaurant, R 280, 25 and 26 June, 15h00

*   Huguenot Fine Chocolates shop tour and tasting, R 25, 25, 26 and 27 June, at 11h00, 12h00, 14h00 and 15h00

*   Sushi course at Allee Bleue, R 300, 26 and 27 June at 15h00

*   Breadmaking course at Bread & Wine, R 770, 26 June, 9h30

*   Cooking Class at Le Quartier Francais, R 895, 26 June 10h00 - 15h00

*   Chocolate Art course at Dieu Donne, 26 June at 9h30, and Sugar Art course 27 June at 16h00, R 500 each course

*   Traditional Cooking Tour (outdoors walking tour) at Solms-Delta, R 100, 26 and 27 June

*   Wine Tasting Tour - Cap Classique Tasting Tour (R395 includes R 120 lunch voucher, 26 June at 10h00), White Wine Tasting Tour (R495 includes R 120 lunch voucher, 27 June at 10h00) and Red Wine Tasting Tours (R395, 27 June at 15h00).

Further details about the “Franschhoek Affair” can be obtained from www.franschhoek.org.za or call the Franschhoek Tourism Bureau at tel 021 876-2861.

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

The Sweet Service Award  goes to Haute Cabriere in Franschhoek, for hosting the guest house owners of Franschhoek for a cellar tour of Cabriere, and a generous lunch, as a way of saying thank you for the support they have received from the accommodation establishments, and to introduce their new menu for summer.  Matthew Gordon is the chef who prepared the lovely meal, and his wife Nicky looked after the guests.  All courses were paired with Cabriere wines, and Huguenot Fine Chocolates gave each guest a gift pack of chocolate footballs. 

The Sour Service Award  goes to Rocketseed and its sales executive Sam.  Sam recently called Whale Cottage Franschhoek to sell the Rocketseed banner advertising.  She started her call by stating that she was calling on behalf of the Franschhoek Tourism Bureau, who had made use of the banner advert of the company.  She then proactively said she was not calling to sell advertising.  However, she launched into a sales call for the company’s banner advertising.  When she was asked how she could say that she was not selling advertising, she stated that she was selling ‘banner advertising’ which differs from ‘advertising’, in her opinion.  The Franschhoek Tourism Bureau confirmed that they had not instructed Rocketseed to call members of the Franschhoek Tourism Bureau.   Later that day Whale Cottage received an e-mail from Johan Huisamen, a Director of Rocketseed. He was told about the interaction with Sam, but had been contacted by the Franschhoek tourism bureau already, and had been asked to desist from implying that the bureau was endorsing the sales calls.   On Twitter Whale Cottage picked up three Tweets sent by Sam about the incident, defaming Protea Hotels and Whale Cottage (she had thought she was speaking to the Franschhoek Inn, now the Protea Hotel Franschhoek).  A half-hearted apology was made by Sam on Twitter under pressure from her bosses, but no further direct apology has been received from Sam nor the company.  Rocketseed in fact refused to take responsibility for the Twitter communication, saying that it was done in Sam’s private capacity - however they were made after her business sales call!    This is the second Sour Service Award Rocketseed has received - previously it was for the rude interaction with a Director of Rocketseed, when Whale Cottage pointed out that the banner advertising is highly spam sensitive, and does not always reach its intended recipients, and that it has a design problem as to where it places the ‘footer’ of the banner advertisement when one replies to enquiries coming from accommodation websites.

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.

This week marks the official launch of two competing but neighbouring restaurants in the new Cape Quarter extension on Somerset Road in De Waterkant.   Cru Cafe’ (see review here) has been open since the beginning of the month, but celebrated its launch on Tuesday.  Vanilla has also opened, and its launch evening is on Friday.   In general, these are the two ’serious’ restaurants in this new lifestyle centre, that is set to take off as Capetonians discover its unique combination of high quality shops.   Lazari is a restaurant that disappointed on a first visit, with a shrieking pink interior, and the restaurant staff and the patrons being unsure as to which of their two terraces are for smokers and non-smokers!   The visible food preparation area when one enters the restaurant is enough to put one off from entering and sitting down!

This week saw the opening of the long-awaited Crepe et Cidre in Franschhoek, near Huguenot Fine Chocolates.  It belongs to Robert Maingard, the largest hospitality owner in the village, also owning Le Franschhoek, and Dieu Donne, and he is also set to open a sports bar in the old station building soon.  He is opening two further restaurants in Franschhoek, on opposite sides of the main road, when he completes the malls next year, one being on the current Pick ‘n Pay site and the other on the site where the Huguenot Hotel was located.   Crepe et Cidre will be run by Gerhard van Staden, previously chef of the Le Franschhoek.  The creperie has “imported” Yann Guyonvarch from Brittany in France to train the staff in crepe-making.  His true French accent is a delight, but his stay will be a short 2 weeks.  Imported French cider is served.

At La Brasserie in Franschhoek, the Friday jazz evenings will start again tomorrow (30 October), and the opening session will be dedicated to the launch of a CD ‘Tribute to Alex van Heerden’, who played with the Cape Dutch Connection, and passed away tragically.

In Hermanus the new Hermanos restaurant has opened in the building in which Joubert restaurant operated before closing down earlier this year, with a new chef and owner Wayne Spencer.  He was originally the Executive Chef at Birkenhead House in Hermanus, and at Phinda Game Reserve, and worked at the Michelin-starred Port Palace in Monaco.   He says of his new restaurant that it is fine-dining but that it is not intimidating, and he will not place a lot of emphasis on plating the food.  He intends to come out of the kitchen, to chat to his guests, which is commendable - too few chefs do so.   The menu is small, with 5 starters (R36 - 48), 7 mains (R68 - R 110), and 4 desserts (ranging betwen R 30 - R 40), and sounds interesting. The winelist is more extensive, and is very proudly-Hermanus.  The restaurant is open Mondays to Saturdays for dinner only initially, and can be booked at tel 028 313-1916.  

The Seafood at The Marine restaurant in Hermanus was a pleasant surprise earlier this week, when the most delicious kingklip was served.  The restaurant offers a choice of two courses at R 180 and 3 courses cost R 215.   A number of irritations on arrival - struggling to find the booking on the reservation list and a wobbly table - were sorted out when addressed, and the Relais & Chateaux crested butter arrived rock hard, so much so that it was unspreadable.  The restaurant has no ambiance, it being too brightly lit and it not having any attempt at a decor focus.  But the food cooks, and the hand of Executive Chef Peter Tempelhoff, a previous Eat Out Top Ten chef whilst at Grande Provence, is evident.  The biggest surprise was the presentation of three scoops of ice cream on a block of ice, serving a functional as well as an aesthetic role.   The whale-shaped biscuit served with the coffee, whilst not new, remains a cute and clever touch.   The service is friendly and willing, and a miscommunication between the waiter and the kitchen was quickly rectified.   No senior management was visible all evening.   The cloakrooms are most disappointing for a five-star hotel, and the owner Liz McGrath would do well to invest some monies in upgrading these at The Marine.

The speculation in a previous WhaleTales blog post that Ginja is to move to New Church Street (between Buitengracht and Kloofnek Roads), into the previous Relish and Nova restaurant space, has been confirmed by the EatOut website.  “Executive Chef Chris Erasmus will continue the Ginja legacy with his playful take on gastronomy, abundant with colour, texture and taste - using the finest local produce”, the website says. 

Allee Bleue in Franschhoek is hosting its first Sushi and wine-pairing evening on Friday 6 November, at R 195, with a miso soup and tempura prawn starter, and five main sushi courses, each paired with a different Allee Bleue wine.   The dessert is a green tea brulee.  Chef Dane Newton, previously at Chamonix, is known in Franschhoek for his sushi.    In addition to Allee Bleue’s Bistro, the new Winetasting Courtyard 5-item menu, and the scrumptious picnic baskets, a small beer garden menu is also available to be enjoyed with the Paulaner draught beer served at the lower end of the estate.

Jordan wine estate is opening its The Restaurant at Jordan on 21 November.   The e-mail sent to announce the opening looks amateurish, and is an instant turn-off, as one is asked to commit to the food one would like to eat on that day, and the exact time slot in which one would like to eat it in.  Payment must also be done by bank transfer prior to arrival.  For a weekend treat, a visit to a wine estate is enjoyed in leisurely fashion, without being so prescriptive!  George Jardine of Jardine is the new chef of the country restaurant.

Cafe’ Sofia is boldly advertising its seven branches (Green Point, Camps Bay, Sea Point, Rondebosch, Gardens, Greenside and Blouberg) in a striking half-page advertisement: “Come and experience our new 2010 menu, the best breakfast in town or Happy Hour Cocktails.  You may be in for a surprise”.  The Happy Hour cocktails are priced at R 25 for cocktails and R 15 for beer on tap between 17h00 - 19h00, while breakfasts range from R 19 - R 29. 

It was a food book launch week last week, with“Franschhoek Food”, written by Myrna Robbins, featuring the main chefs of Franschhoek’s restaurants, and some of their favourite restaurant menu recipes, as well as wine pairing suggestions.   “South Africa On a Plate” was also launched, a book featuring restaurants that deduct R 5 off the patron’s bill to go toward the Streetsmart charity.   A three-course dinner suggestion, with the recipes, is featured for each restaurant.   Grande Provence, Cafe’ 1999, Jewel of India, Auberge Michel, Ginga, Haiku, Rust en Vrede, Jardine, La Colombe, Ninth Avenue Bistro, Myoga, Mosaic, Bosman’s, Hartford House, Roots, The Saxon, Ile Maurice, and Terroir are some of the restaurants included in the book.   The inspiration for the book comes from Jess Meredith-Watts and his fiance’ Louise, who were touched by beggars on the streets, and felt that they could make a difference, by giving all the profits of the book sales to the Streetsmart charity.   More details about the book are available here.

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

The Sweet Service Award goes to Galeisha and her team at Huguenot Fine Chocolates in Franschhoek, for being able to fulfill an order for 50 boxes of turndown chocolates on the same day as receiving the order, as the customer had run short.

The Sour Service Award goes to Glenwood Manufacturers, nominated by Megan from Sugarbird Manor.  She writes as follows:  “We recently requested a quote from a Glenwood for new Room Info Pack holders, Do Not Disturb (DND) signs & Menu covers. They sent us artwork for the DND signs and advised that all the other establishments were fine with the fact that on the one side it had “make up room” in lower case and “PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB” on the other side in uppercase. If you are in the service industry, would you think nobody would find this peculiar?  I requested the cost of a new embossing block, which they could use in future for any other clients who also found this peculiar. The block would cost R600. I found this an exorbitant price for 8 items,  that would only cost R78 to have made? I called the Sales Rep, and advised her that we would not be placing the order unless they halve the price of the block. She would get back to me, she said. I then received an e-mail with the new artwork, so assumed that they valued our business and were happy to give it to us half price. I signed the artwork off, and then received the invoice. Yes, they charged us R600! The sales rep said she could not recall the conversation that we had!  I then spoke to Tracy, the manager, who advised me that I was wrong, and that if I cancel the order, they would sue us! Now I ask you, what kind of service is this? Are the people in the tourism industry just more aware of the fact that the client is ALWAYS right and that you NEVER say no? What is going to happen in 2010? Are there going to be suppliers who will refuse to take a step back - and yes, maybe loose a few rand, but in the long run, have a happy client who will talk about you, in turn getting more people to make us of your services or not have them come back to SA because our service levels are atrocious?  There must be someone out there who would have treated me the way we treat our clients, that deserves the business more!”

Tracy, the Manager at Glenwood Manufacturers, responded as follows:  “Megan at Sugarbird Manor was shown samples of exactly what she would receive should she place the order.  She did query the difference in embossing and I discussed it with her at length. 

• I explained that as all our products are made to order our clients either supply or order their own embossing blocks.
• I explained the process & the costs involved should she choose to order a new lower case block saying “do not disturb”.
• I then explained that the embossing blocks we were using to do her job were blocks that the company had made up in the past to do samples for new clients. I was prepared to use these block on her signs AT NO CHARGE as I agreed that her spending R 600 on a new block was not very cost effective for her company.
• When she suggested that I use another companies block, I explained that it was unethical for us to do that as the block had been paid for by the companies and did not belong to us. Therefore were not ours to use.”

“Megan then demanded to speak to the sales rep.,who repeated what I had said and said she would try get a discount from the block manufacturer.  Artwork was sent to Megan for the new block and it was signed off and returned to us. At no time did Megan mention that she did not want to continue with the order nor did she send us a cancellation.  When the invoice was sent to her with a 20% discount on the embossing block (ie R480 not the R 600 that was mentioned in Megan’s nomination), we were told that they now aren’t prepared to pay for the block or the order unless I only charge them R300.”

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.