Friday, June 18, 2021

In MENU This Week - Tea and scones at Chart Farm; Ondine Cabernet Franc

A  Cape cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) dries its wings between dinner-hunting forays

There are times when one becomes excited by very small things. This week, it is that we have had uninterrupted electricity supply. It almost makes one think (conspiracy theory?) that people in Eskom's management engineered the previous week's worse-than-usual breakdowns in order to light a fire under the government and force them to break down the barriers to independent production of wind and solar power. We live in hope...

Afternoon Tea at Chart Farm

Food memories are so important to us, they shape our family life. Can you remember when you first had an ice cream? Or candyfloss? A very enjoyable book about Cornwall triggered a memory of Lynne's beloved Aunt May's scones and the wonderful scones, raspberry jam and clotted cream we had when we were in Cornwall in 2019. And once you have the longing, it has to be satisfied. Where to go? Luckily someone on Facebook asking the same question had come up with some great suggestions and one stood out. We have been meaning to go back to Chart Farm in Constantia for a long time and we know they do good cakes and scones. So we made a booking, phoned our friends who live in Hout Bay and ventured forth on a lovely, sunny winter’s day this week. Read on...

Ormonde Ondine Cabernet Franc 2009

A wine from our cellar that we had with our supper last night turned out to be a jewel. This bottle of Ondine Cabernet Franc 2009 from Ormonde wine estate in Darling was one we bought a few years ago and cellared. Wow, Darling's best. South Africa produced a few magnificent Cabernet Franc-based wines in the 1990s, Christopher Keet’s iconic Cordoba Crescendo almost certainly leading the pack, but they were very rare. In recent years, we have seen many more very impressive wines from Cabernet Franc producers. Read on...

18th June 2018
Posted by MENU at 4:14 pm 0 comments

Afternoon Tea at Chart Farm

Food memories are so important to us, they shape our family life. Can you remember when you first had an ice cream? Or candyfloss? A very enjoyable book about Cornwall triggered a memory of Lynne's beloved Aunt May's scones and the wonderful scones, raspberry jam and clotted cream we had when we were in Cornwall in 2019. And once you have the longing, it has to be satisfied. Where to go? Luckily someone on Facebook asking the same question had come up with some great suggestions and one stood out. We have been meaning to go back to Chart Farm in Constantia for a long time and we know they do good cakes and scones. So we made a booking, phoned our friends who live in Hout Bay and ventured forth on a lovely, sunny winter’s day this week

The View restaurant at Chart Farm is run by a friend, Sandra Engelen
You can go and pick your own roses on the farm when they are in bloom
Sandra and her husband Philip were abroad for their son’s wedding, but we had superb service from their staff
They serve breakfasts and lunches as well as teas

The weather was so good that it had to be a table on the terrace with its wonderful views of the Constantia valley
And yes we did need an umbrella to shelter from the warm sun

Booking is always advised as this is a very popular venue

All the tables were booked and being occupied when we arrived at 2.30. They close at 4 in the winter

The grounds around the restaurant are beautifully planted
and Lynne would love to have this pale pink bougainvillea in our garden
Our large purple one is rampant

John and our friend Ronnie went to inspect the cake selection and were tempted by many
Lynne and Loraine had set their minds on the scones

The Red Velvet cake looked moist and was delicious said Ronnie, a good sized portion as well

The light-as-air scones arrived warm, accompanied by the raspberry jam and whipped cream
Sadly, we are not able to get clotted cream in the Cape
Lynne had them with her customary pot of green tea with a slice of lemon
Loraine had hers with a pot of Earl Grey tea, another good traditional choice

and John had a slice of rich baked cheesecake with his large, very good Americano coffee
He also swopped a small slice of cheesecake for one of Lynne's scones; two is a bit much for her

and the very reasonable bill for a great tea for four
 Now to return for breakfast or lunch one day


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Ormonde Ondine Cabernet Franc 2009

A wine from our cellar that we had with our supper last night turned out to be a jewel

This bottle of Ondine Cabernet Franc 2009 from Ormonde wine estate in Darling was one we bought a few years ago and cellared. Wow, Darling's best. South Africa produced a few magnificent Cabernet Franc-based wines in the 1990s, Christopher Keet’s iconic Cordoba Crescendo almost certainly leading the pack, but they were very rare. In recent years, we have seen many more very impressive wines from Cabernet Franc producers

This wine has all the desired components, good vanilla wood notes on both the nose and palate adding strength and backbone, beautiful rich, dark berry fruit, with those classic Cab Franc violets and umami flavours of liquorice and a hint of salty minerality and pencil shavings. Silky soft on the palate, the fruit sings... And it still had a line of supporting fruit acids to keep it lasting even longer

We hope that we have more in the cellar. So good with meat and it stood up to some spice 

Currently selling for R140 on the farm, this is a 4 star Platter wine.  Theo Basson tends to keep his wines for a few years before releasing them and we tasted the 2015 with him last December. Thank you for this one, Theo

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