One unforgettable weekend full of exceptional flavors, beautiful nature and good wines.

Thursday Lunch at FYN

We started off with lunch at FYN Restaurant in Cape Town. Discoveries are made when boundaries are crossed. At FYN, South Africa’s Wild Freedom is tempered by the rigours of contemporary cuisine to create a restaurant at the edge. Check your assumptions with your coats and join FYN on a journey of flavour discovery.

Here’s what the menu looked like:

Canapes
Braai hamachi, green chili sambal, paprika thread
Daikon, soba, carrot, sancho & chili, coriander romesco
Oryx, honey pickled spekboom, ancient African teff grain
Tempura dune spinach, smoked snoek dipping broth

Oudtshoorn ostrich egg custard, local black truffle, shiitake, bacon

Game fish tataki, chirizu sauce, vegetable kakiage

Greenfield’s beef, slow roast tomato, braised wagyu gyoza, celeriac, kelp jus

Madagascan chocolate, young pine needle parfait, yuzu pears

Friday Night Dinner at Indochine

One of the earliest meeting points between East and West, Cape sailors returned from Asia’s spice lands with great riches, and it is these flavours that are celebrated at Indochine, together with the expression they found in South Africa’s Cape Malay cuisine.

Amuse Bouche:

3 Small plates:

BILTONG SPICED WAGYU | gooseberry chakalaka, bao bun, wild garlic aioli, pickled radish
SUNCHOKE CHAWANMUSHI | tomato dashi, shiitake ketchup, black garlic, kimchi croquettes
CURED DUCK | red curry chicken livers, apricot mebos, corn cakes

Main course:
SEAFOOD LAKSA | turmeric thick cut noodles, cashew nut, dune spinach, fire dried papaya, amasi
CHICKEN TIKKA (sharing) | tohu chicken salad, rye chapatti, smoked tikka curry, sambal

Palate Cleanser:

Dessert:
5 SPICED MALVA & SANCHO PEPPER | sancho ice cream, mandarin jelly, mandarin cru

Saturday Lunch at La Petit Colombe:

La Colombe has consistently received world-wide acclaim and is positioned amongst the top restaurants in the world.

Visitors to La Petit Colombe, Franschhoek can now look forward to experiencing excellent service and exquisite cuisine that has put La Colombe on the map and remember with every new venture comes a new twist.

Oatmeal, honey, sweetcorn

Malay tuna, avocado, coriander, slangetjies

Basil and Lime

Quail, prawn, parsnip, spiced coconut velouté

Chamomile and Blueberry

Lemon

Karoo lamb, celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke, romanesco

Coffee and cherry

Smoked Stanford, guava, sherry, buckwheat

Valrhona Caramelia, banana, lime, malt

Treats

Saturday Night Dinner at Le Coin Francais

The newest edition to the Franschhoek scene is a restaurant really and truly for Franschhoek. Both in concept and in name, the aptly named “Le coin Français”, which literally means Franschhoek, will embody the essence of the valley in heritage, cuisine, art and wine. It will feature cutting edge methods meeting time tested French elegance in cuisine, a carefully selected locally themed wine list to showcase the best local wines, a French sommeliers selection, and an ever-evolving collaboration of art.

Here is what the tasting menu looked like:

Amuse-bouche

Hot smoked red pepper cured tuna tartar, elements of citrus, iced dune lettuce

8 hour confit Springbok shank, cold smoked and aerated pomme purée, dehydrated porcini, ponzu marinated and BBQ shiitake mushrooms.

Chefs taster

Butter poached and BBQ north coast langoustine, aerated Boerenkaas and west coast snoek brandad velouté, wild vineyard pea shoots, garden pea and guanciale risotto

Roast cauliflower and Boerenkaas tortellini, smoked pork emulsion, foraged local porcini, injected hens yolk, puffed pork