Tokara lunch

After visiting Rickety Bridge, Mont Rochelle and Grande Provence,

we had a superb lunch at Tokara - Richard Carstens' amazing food paired with Miles Mossop's Tokara wines. Jaap-Henk Koelewijn, sommelier made the excellent wine suggestions

baked Alaska rainbow trout with meringue baked on top, smoked salmon ice cream, citrus salsa, salmon caviar, ginger soya & mirin sauce – paired with Miles Mossop Saskia 09

Chicken, crisp pancetta, prawn, 62°C egg, almond & sofrito - with Tokara Director's Reserve White

Kabeljou, pan seared and finished in the oven with chlorophyll potato crème, sauce bouillabaisse and al dente seasonal vegetables - paired with Zondernaam Chardonnay 2010

Pork belly, celeriac purée, coffee yuzu gastrique,  hazelnuts, mint  & white chocolate oil - paired with Tokara Reserve Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2009

Lemon, mascarpone mousse, white chocolate sorbet, meringue & almond financier

Hazelnut ice cream, pistachio sponge, aerated chocolate, coulant, streusel & honeycomb

After settling our bill, we had a chat with Miles Mossop in the tasting room

Natural beauty and wine farms, Franschhoek

After Bastille, we took some time to relax in comfort at Basse Provence and enjoy the scenery

and visit a few wine producers, starting with Boekenhoutskloof

where Innocent Mpahleni looked after us

and we had a chat with Marc Kent

Then a visit to Holden Manz (formerly Klein Genot)

where Hanri Marais and her colleague, "the back room girls"

and Guy Kidian 

looked after us and introduced us to Gerard ("Big G") and Migo, the owners

Then a spot of lunch at the Salmon Bar

after which we visited Jean-Philippe Colmant at MCC producer, Colmant, who gave us a very generous amount of his time and delicious tastes of his wine

Franschhoek Bastille celebration

We went on Sunday, which was very civilised, although the music was a bit loud. 

We were told that Saturday was a maelstrom of enthusiastic consumption

We started with tastes of bubbly from Boschendal, Topiary and Graham Beck

Oysters from Wild peacock, pancakes from the Hospice and venison Bitterballen from Le Quartier Francaise

The best value lunch came from Mont Rochelle

There was amusement for all ages

The barrel rolling race was a popular diversion

and there were plenty of other things to enjoy

Neil Jewell showed his delicious cured meats

Nicole from Glenwood with their delicious chardonnay

Irene Waller from La Bri showed Lynne her elegant lemon/limey chardonnay

Achim von Arnim was pleased with his unwooded Cabrière Pinot Noir

Solms Delta attracted a crowd of enthusiasts

Some picnicked on the pavement

and the security staff were happy to see us go home

after a most enjoyable day.