Franschhoek was one of the most beautiful places we visited in South Africa but it is often overlooked in favour of it's much more famous neighbour Stellenbosch. It sits just 80km from Cape Town and is a fertile valley surrounded by snow capped mountains.
It benefits from a Mediterranean micro-climate and rich soil which makes it a perfect area for the local wine industry. Indeed the 17th Century French Hugenots who fled Catholic persecution back home, settled here and brought with them European agricultural practices including farming grapes and producing fine quality wines. This has been passed down through the generations and the region now produces some of the finest new world wines. I'm not going to pretend to be a wine expert but instead here are some interesting links to reviews of the local wine industry:
http://www.franschhoek.org.za/food_and_wine_route
http://www.places.co.za/html/franschhoek_wine_route.html
http://www.winemag.co.za/article/franschoek-2008-09-11
The people of Franschhoek take their wine and food very seriously and whilst the adoption of French names everywhere appears at firsthand pretentious, it must be remembered that this is an integral part of their history and so the locals are proud of this heritage.
During our honeymoon we actually stayed in Stellenbosch but took a day trip to Franschhoek and our only regret is not having spent longer in this quaint little town. As you drive along the main road into town, there are many vineyards within close proximity and just as you reach the town centre, there are several fabulous looking restaurants. We had lunch at The French Connection, on a sunny terrace looking onto the mountains. The food was as excellent as the view.
We started with a few Saldanha Bay oysters which were beautifully fresh and rich; and a Mussel & corn chowder which was incredibly tasty and generous - although like much of the food we sampled in South Africa, a bit heavy on the salt.
This was followed by a roasted quail and exotic mushroom salad which was creatively dressed with saffron, spiced pear and sweet wasabi. This was a great blend of flavours that matched really well with the robust yet tender quail.
We also had a grilled filet of Kingklip with a roasted pepper and black olive dressing. A good choice of accompaniment as the Kingklip is a local fish which is white and meaty, lending itself to strong flavours and spices. This was really excellent and I'd love to be able to find this fish again in Europe.
A really reasonable meal at under 300 Rand (about 30 Euros) - which is considered expensive locally but coming from Europe was a real bargain for the quality. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the local boutiques and driving around the fabulous countryside, before stumbling across the fantastic Grand Provence vineyard which turned out to be a real find...
The French Connection
http://www.frenchconnection.co.za/
48 Huguenot Rd, Franschhoek, Western Cape, South Africa, 7690
No comments:
Post a Comment