When
we booked our summer break at Paternoster we had already been invited to this
lunch, so we scheduled the end of our holiday so that we could do the lunch on
the way back to Cape Town. Bertus Basson has done a series of lunches this year
at Vondeling and tells us more are planned for 2016. Get your bookings in now,
they are extremely good and very, very popular
Our
friends Loraine and Ronnie who joined us for our last night in Paternoster also
booked and asked for vegetarian food and they also had a lovely lunch. We know
and love Vondeling’s wines and they matched perfectly with the food
Vondeling is in the Voor Paardeberg, which is only
one hour from the city and it was a lovely warm summer's day when we arrived at
11.30. This is their wedding chapel
Inside the tasting room it is cool and comfortable
with great air conditioning
We were welcomed with a glass of crisply chilled
Rosé wine made from Merlot, very refreshing
The tasting counter wall
Lynne cooling off in the lounge area
John crept into the kitchen to get some quick
shots of Bertus and the food being prepared. This is the caramelised onion tart
canapé
The production line
Light as air biltong bitterballen with a garlic
emulsion
Those onion tarts
Chatting with chef are Maggie Mostert, Bertus' wife Mareli and Hennie
Coetzee
Hot summer vineyards. We ate outside on the
terrace but under the shade cloth
Local flora for decorations. Vondeling is a nature conservancy and they have reclaimed most of the farm from alien infestation
More people, more canapés
Manager and co-owner Julian Johnsen supervising
the table laying while the serving staff have a briefing
Lunch under the vines at long tables
The menu
The wine list
We (and many others) opted for their excellent
white blend Babiana 2014 (Chenin Blanc 60%, Grenache Blanc 15%, Viognier15%, Chardonnay
10%)) The Babiana noctiflora is a rare species of fynbos
Lunch was served family style, which means
platters were placed on the table and you could help yourselves. We had some
hearty eaters at our table and you had to call loudly for the platters in order
to get some. This is the Rare roast beef served with parmesan, olive pesto and
semi dried tomatoes topped with young carrot fronds
Great smoked olives, olive oil mousse, butter and
great bread
Beautifully crisp spiced batter squid with radish
slices, miso cream
A wickedly sinful, smooth as silk, chicken liver parfait
served with toasted mosbolletjie bread and jam. It could have been duck liver
and the bread was as good as any brioche. One to copy at home if the blender
can get the livers to a creamy consistency
Cos lettuce with crisp soy seeds, shaved parmesan,
red onion and radish with a wholegrain melba and a rich creamy dressing. And
these were just all the starters!
Chatting while waiting for the main courses to
arrive
Cooked, pickled puréed and raw organic beetroot of
different colours, with sour cream and herbs
Roasted line fish, broccoli, asparagus,
courgettes, fennel and capers in a smoked velouté
Caramelised sweet potato with maple syrup and
pecan nuts. Orgasmic
Salted smoked pork belly with organic carrots,
salsa verde and roasted almonds. Of course all the platters were cleared and
the plates went back to the kitchen clean. It was a tour de force of summer
eating
Then for dessert. Bertus likes bringing back childhood
dessert memories and he certainly excelled with this very sweet local favourite,
Peppermint Crisp Tart with vanilla ice cream. You do need a very sweet tooth
for this sort of dessert
For the non dessert lovers, Ash camembert with
homemade green fig preserve, nuts and grissini
Two of the three partner owners of Vondeling,
Julian Johnsen and partner Anthony Ward thanking the chef for a lovely meal
