GLEN CARLOU RESTAURANT
* * * appetising, fresh and flavourful food
Off the R45
Restaurant open daily 11am-3pm; Art Museum opening timesMonday to Friday 8:30am-5pm
KLAPMUTS: 021 875 5528
A warm welcome, the delicate amuse, tempting starters and fascinating mains combos were led down by desserts that failed to impress, writes Jos Baker.
AFTER hearing enthusiastic reports of the food at this vineyard venue – regulars reportedly meet here three times a week – we took a leisurely drive to this unpretentious restaurant and tasting room, which blend unobtrusively into the surrounding fynbos.
Warmly welcomed and settled at a table overlooking the panoramic view across the valley to the Helderberg Mountains, we appreciated the friendly, informed service, relaxing happily with a glass of Glen Carlou Tortoise Hill blend, on special offer. (A bargain at the price, we went home heavily laden).
The delicate amuse, tempting starters and fascinating combos that were the mainstay of mains, sent our tastebuds soaring. Unhappily, the desserts grounded us with a thud.
The “fishes eyes and glue”, described on the menu as boerber (to me, more reminiscent of the boarding-school pud, though more sophisticated in taste) was served in a boarding-school helping. A guava mix with Glen Carlou’s Natural Sweet Chenin, it was presented as a lumpen mass, covered by a slab of meringue, and crowned with guava sorbet. The massive slice of valhrona “dark chocolate torte”, though thin-crusted, was ruined by chocolate so grainy it suggested micro-wave melting, and the orange sorbet so bitter that it obviously included the pith. Had the chef gone home for lunch?
Not lunch, but on leave. Executive chef Johan Stander’s most urgent task on his return is to give his kitchen team a sharp lesson on upholding standards. They’ve surely heard the saying that “a chef is as good as his last meal”?
Given the effort that goes into both menu planning and wine-pairing, which is integral to the meal, our experience was a let-down. Johan first submits a series of menus, which are then tasted with Glen Carlou wines from specific vintages, and either accepted, or rejected for reworking. For while you can change what’s on the plate, you can’t tweak what’s in the bottle.
I was sorry not to meet him, for a question-and-answer interview provided by Glen Carlou suggests he has a wicked sense of humour. Asked to name a chef he regarded as a “food villain” his laid-back reply was that he couldn’t at the time, “although Jamie Oliver springs to mind...”
An exec chef whose happiest food memory is “having a hotdog with all the trimmings on the streets of New York”, is decidedly down-to-earth. He describes his food style as relaxed, with the ingredients speaking for themselves. “A dish has to look good and sound delicious on the menu – that’s what sells it. But ultimately, taste is everything. You don’t want to guess what you’ve just put in your mouth.”
His passion is to showcase local produce in an innovative way, creating modern, stylish versions of best-loved South African classics, most of them taught to him by his mother, and passed down from the grandmother he never knew. “My mother would tell me: ‘this was your granny’s favourite dish’ and I can still remember the pride I felt when I prepared it and it came out perfectly.”
The menu we sampled proved his dedication. The cured salmon, chardonnay vinaigrette, radish, quail egg and trout roe (happily paired with the farm’s unwooded Chardonnay) was a subtle symphony in complementary flavours, while whipped belnori goats cheese made music with truffle honey, white wine braised fennel, new season’s beetroot and bread crisps, imaginatively paired with either the chardonnay or Curator’s Collection chenin; the latter also recommended with the inviting beef tartare, celery aioli, bacon pickled egg, and warm truffled asparagus.
Johan finds it is fascinating to read about the creative processes of molecular chefs; wonders who wakes up in the mornings and says: “Wow, now I crave some tomato caviar...” I’d suggest that his own flavour combos, rooted as they are in the seasons, and evolving from tradition, are less intimidatingly creative. How do you dream up a dish of harissa-crusted ostrich fillet, coriander-chilli yoghurt, Moroccan cous cous, apricot chutney and spiced cashew crumble to add flavour to a bland meat? Or add pizzazz to butter-tender peppered beef fillet medallions with bacon panna cotta, horseradish, burnt onion mayo and grilled asparagus, each flavour distinct?
Sadly, in the kitchen’s hands, the same could not be said of the sea bass. The gremolata topping to the fish totally overpowered the mix of subtle, fishy sauce, corn chowder, amusingly cut pickled baby corn, spinach-coated potato gnocchi, and confit oranges.
That said, the farm, with its Zen fynbos garden and art gallery, is a relaxing destination. Owner of Glen Carlou, Swiss entrepreneur and wine-producer Donald M Hess, is one of the world’s major collectors of contemporary art. His collection covers five decades of recent art history. In 1989, Hess began sharing his passion for art with the public by exhibiting his collection in museums at the Hess Family Estates wineries. The first opened in the Napa Valley, for the second, he chose Glen Carlou.
l Starter and main R190; starter and dessert R125; main & dessert R185; starter, main & dessert R225.