Brian Berkman reviews food at Waterkloof. First seen in 48 Hours. (26-Mar-10)
IF a James Bond movie were made in South Africa, the restaurant and winery at Waterkloof would be the villain’s lair. Aside from the 10 meter glass promontory from the concrete cube on the slopes of the Schapenberg, between Somerset West and Sir Lowry’s Village, Frank Böhm’s interiors are so 70’s sexy that even if the food were poor, people would visit simply to take in the architectural and interior beauty, all chocolate and charcoal and glass.
There’s a circular fireplace with a wide, low hood next to which the Bond girls would lounge and curl up on bear skins while the villain shows Bond around the art collection (including a fabulous Beezy Bailey sculpture.)
Cuisine is by chef Grégory Czarnecki of Burgundy, France, who according to the press release, has worked at some of the finest Michelin-star rated restaurants in France.
The daily menu is based on the freshest available ingredients and with lunch starters from R65 and mains from R95 for the Duck Pastilla with the average price of R130 you should budget around R300 per person for three courses and a glass of wine. Of the four courses we sampled, I was blown away by one, found a delicious salad in the other but was left underwhelmed with the remaining two, given the magnificent environment.
It was Oscar Wilde who quipped about having to live up to his blue china, but even without the hype, simply stepping into Waterkloof sets high expectations, only exacerbated by trumpeting a litany of Michelin Guide awards.
I found the Asparagus risotto perfectly ordinary. Yes, I am getting tired of foams, spumes, froths and other airy flavours but while the rice was well cooked it was just okay. I did like the Circumstance Chardonnay 2008 that accompanied it.
The Cape salmon was dry and without any flavour that I could link to the accompanying salad, a triumph of red cabbage and mushrooms with exotic mango. I’d like to believe that the cooking of the fish was left to a lesser chef in the kitchen as I find it hard that the same hand could also create such an elegant and delicious salad.
The main course of Springbok loin was superb in every respect. The meat was so tender and flavourful complimented by the smoky notes from the aubergine. This was the only dish I considered worthy of the venue and chef’s pedigree.
Dessert was a witty and beautifully poached pear with koeksister ice cream the flavour of which is achieved by steeping koeksisters in the cream. I was served a diabetic alternative of freshly sliced fruits and berries but couldn’t resist tasting the sugary offering.
Diners wanting magnificent architecture, vertiginous views and glorious food will certainly find it at Waterkloof but also at Overture, Tokara and Graff Delaire in Stellenbosch and in the Hemel en Aarde Valley at Sumaridge, Heaven, Creation and La Vierge.
Waterkloof, .
I had low expectations of the food at Showcook’s Young Stars competition lunch sponsored by my client Tru-Cape and Villiera and Caturra until I tasted winner James Gaag, from Silwood Cookery School’s, main course of “Credit Crunch Pork”.
His braised pork cheeks stuffed with apple and sage with elegant twists of crackling on a bed of white beans, peas and asparagus is superb. On paper, his dish reflects everything I like about food; to the eye it is a harmonious picture as if painted by an Impressionist and in the mouth something so delicious that I’m salivating as I write.
See www.Showcook.co.za for his recipes.
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We don't need pitching agencies in PR (26-Mar-10)
Public relations is about conversations. It cannot be to either the client's or the agency's benefit to use a go-between such as a third party, who puts together a potential list of providers for a fee.
Download the piece as it appeared in AdVantage Magazine, March 2010 here. • Permalink • Comments [0]
The Grand Cafe & Beach Review. First seen in 48 Hours. (05-Mar-10)
DURING the nineties I wrote a column called Club Crawl in the Sunday Times. I was very young and enjoyed being out all night. I discovered then how much I liked the All Access, not mind you because I was a looker or rolling in money, but because of the influence I borrowed from the newspaper.
Typically I’d visit four to six nightclubs a night and report on them the following Sunday. I had a wad of plastic laminated VIP cards too great to keep in my pocket that I’d regularly boast to friends about.
The book, The Last Party and movie Behind the Velvet Rope sketch life at and after Studio 54, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager’s feted New York nightclub where the concept of who made it past the velvet rope into the sanctum was tested and proved an alluring marketing tool. Let everyone in and no one will come.
Even though I was on the right side of the rope, I always felt out. Knowing my reason for being there was other – being neither the looker nor moneyed.
These memories, dormant for nearly for two decades, came back as we entered The Grand Café and Beach, Granger Bay near the Waterfront where the Oceana Powerboat Club is.
It is a glittering spectacle, iridescent as the setting sun fires up the white sandy beach and the iron warehouse shimmers like mercury. Light reflects off everything – the vast chandeliers and Venetian mirrors; the silver ice buckets; the diamonds on the rings and ears of patrons.
By dark, candles light up long tables of diners still with the feet in the sand. In the warehouse the pace is frenetic, long-aproned waiters shimmy past tables and through queues of people wishing they had one. This is not the spot for a quiet night out. I recognised faces from billboards and TV programmes and many from the nightclubs.
It was as if this were a reunion for Idols, Cats, Rita’s or 777’s revellers. Visionary owner Gail Behr is already famous for her Homework range of clothing and Grand Rooms and Café in Plett and Camps Bay. I hope she has the fortitude to shut this arm of her style empire come winter.
In places such as this, food is often disappointing. After all, creating something beautiful and alluring is the focus. At the Grand Café and Beach the food is excellent, especially if you let chef Seelan Sundoo prepare one of the “specials.”
I started with an avo ritz (R75), two halves with good sized prawns and Marie Rose sauce for a dash of 70’s glam. JP had the Slice of Caesar (R70) which is large wedges of lettuce rather than elegant leaves. It seemed as if there were two large lettuces in the dish. Although a great source of roughage, I’d prefer more sauce and bacon bits.
The sugar salmon (R140) is a beautiful coral fillet topped with brown sugar and soy and divine to eat but not as good as the “special”, seared tuna with a creamy ginger and wasabi sauce. Unbelievable.
When we return we will have one of their giant pizzas, a 1.5 meter rectangle for the table to share or sit on a sandy couch and eat mussels with chips (R80) sipping a Brazi with grapefruit and lime juice, cachaca and cointreau (R48).
You won’t get past the velvet rope without a reservation which you can only make via email at Beach@thegrand.co.za or by sms: 072 586 2052.
It is worth the trouble. Oh, wear something nice. • Permalink • Comments [1]
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