What’s cooking in the restaurants of Hermanus
Two new eateries that were added to the mix during the festive season include Mon Desir on Marine Drive next to the Misty Waves Hotel. Business partners Werner
Heunis and Paul Buckingham (from Lemon Butta) did extensive renovations to this lovely heritage building situated opposite the historic Hermanuspietersfontein to convert it from holiday
accommodation to a restaurant. The former restaurant space in Misty Waves has conversely been changed into extra suites and Mon Desir now services all the culinary needs of the hotel’s guests, from pool and room service to breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant is also open to the public from Wednesday to Monday (closed on Tuesdays). Paul describes their cuisine as a “modern take on classic” and the setting is certainly lovely, especially the outside area overlooking the ocean.
Praize for Flavourz
In the centre of town, Walker Bay Art Gallery not only
Casa Beira-Mar 282 Piet Retief Sandbaai 072 126 7656
BIGA extends hours
Another eatery that enjoys a loyal local following is BIGA
Dis ‘n lekker ou JAN
John and Erna Dry having dinner with friends Louis and Elise Boezaart at BIGA, which recently extended their trading hours. Serving them is Julan Arries. Bakery Café in The Village, which has now extended their opening hours to include dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. Already a firm favourite for hearty breakfasts, light lunches, excellent coffee, freshly baked artisan breads and pastries, the evening menu adds a number of more sophisticated dishes to the mix such as Osso Bucco and Veal Scallopini. “We decided to add a bit of an Italian flavour,” says Ankea Herringshaw. With BIGA being a bakery and all, you’ll also find delicious pies such as Jamie Oliver’s Fish Pie and a Springbok & Guinness Pie on the evening menu.
Mellow music at EAT
On the other side of The Village, the ever-popular EAT restaurant now has live music every Saturday evening performed by Jared Prior. As a local singer-entertainer, Jared
C00-EEE Café @ Pennypinchers Gateway Centre 028 32 1131
Vanessa Prior of Tutamen Antiques enjoying lunch at Flavourz with Jenny Jackson of Gallery 19.
Jared has mastered a wide and versatile repertoire and can sing everything from swing to country and even hard rock. At EAT he sings laidback songs from the ‘60s – ‘90s by old favourites such as Neil Diamond, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Otis Reading, Van Morrison, Rodriguez, Dire Straits, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, James Taylor and many more. If you’d like to catch Jared on a Saturday evening along with good food and
Winemakers Gordon Newton Johnson of Newton Johnson Vineyards, Reino Thiart of Whalehaven and Gavin Patterson of Sumaridge.
Rayno and Celia Rabie relaxing at Creation with their daughter Inemari and son-in-law Kevin Grobler shortly before their departure for Nice where Kevin works as head chef at the One Michelin Star Restaurant JAN. owner of JAN, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, is the first South African to ever receive this prestigious accolade in the whole of Asia and Europe. Bathing in the refracted rays of Jan’s glory are Rayno and Celia Rabie, Hermanus’s own powerhouse restaurant couple and owners of Betty Blue Bistro in town, whose sonin-law Kevin Grobler, joined Restaurant JAN last year as head chef. Married to the Rabie’s daughter, food stylist and consultant Inemari, Kevin hails from Bloemfontein and previously worked at Terroir, Cavalli and Delaire Graff in the Stellenbosch Winelands. He was one of 1 400 hopeful applicants to join the team at Restaurant JAN, which had already received its first mention in the Michelin Guide a mere 8 months after
Die lekkerste biltong en droëwors in die Overberg!
19 Long Street, Hermanus, 7200 (028) 312 1073 or 076 594 5749
Running Rabbit Eastcliff Shopping Centre 028 312 1515
FEBRUARY IS THE MONTH OF LOVE!
Rossi’s Italian Restaurant
We will have at least three delicious Valentine’s Menus at special price on offer
outside in the garden,” relates Celia, “and we were over the moon when Kevin came out and said he got the job.” Shortly after that Kevin departed for Nice, but he had to come back a few months later to sort out his visa. While waiting for the bureaucratic wheels to deliver their visas, Kevin and Inemari jumped in to help Celia and Rayno with the development of Betty Blue’s menu. “We cooked for weeks on end, sometimes late into the night, trying out different flavour combinations,” says Celia. It’s little wonder then that, when Betty Blue opened its doors, the dishes on their menu took diners’ taste buds by storm – they were, after all, created by a chef who is part of a Michelin-star team!
Local winemakers added the sold-out Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot Noir Celebration to their busy harvesting schedules on 29 & 30 January when guests arrived from all over the world for this prestigious event. Hosted for the third year at Bona Dea Private Estate, the event included a tasting of Pinot noirs from Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Bouchard Finlayson, La Vierge, Sumaridge, Newton Johnson, Ataraxia, Creation, Domaine des Dieux, Storm Wines and Crystallum presented by the winemakers, followed by a gala dinner on the Friday evening. The festivities continued with individual events on the wine farms on the Saturday. The Pinot noir proceedings were facilitated by South African born Master of Wine Greg Sherwood. Greg did his dissertation on Method Cap Classique production and is currently working at Handford Wines in the UK. He is only the fourth South African ever to pass the distinguished Master of Wine examinations. Said Hemel-en-Aarde Winegrowers’ chairperson Bevan Newton Johnson: “We appreciate the overwhelming interest of Pinot noir lovers in this annual event that celebrates this special grape variety and the wines made by Hemel-en-Aarde producers”.
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028 313 1032 Swartdamweg Industriële gebied
Share your restaurant’s news with us by contacting hedda@hermanus.co.za or 083 645 3928
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The Rabies accompanied Kevin and Inemari to the Mount Nelson Hotel in April last year, when Jan had flown in to conduct personal interviews with the five candidates. “We waited
Jared says he loves Hermanus and that he and his family had wanted to get out of “the rut of city living” for some time. “We really enjoy the country life here and find the beautiful, peaceful environment both inspiring and stimulating.”
Musician Jared Prior is entertaining patrons at EAT on Saturday evenings.
DORF.KRUG
Stanford Manor Restaurant 10km from Stanford on the R326 028 341 1574
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Exciting restaurant news that featured in both the local and international media last week was the release of the Michelin results for 2016 in Paris, France, which saw Restaurant JAN, a South African restaurant in the South of France, awarded its first One Michelin Star in this prestigious 2016 French Guide to gastronomic heaven. The
opening its doors in 2013. Part of the application process entailed developing, cooking and presenting a sevencourse meal to Jan via email and Skype, after which Kevin was chosen as one of five chefs on the shortlist.
has built up a strong following in the Cape Town area and recently relocated to Botrivier.
Oskars Village Square Market Street 028 312 3873 Paradiso Village Square Piazza 028 313 1153
Crazy Horse 3 Long Street Hermanus 028 312 1944
This is quite a compliment coming from someone whom I know to be rather particular about her food and wine. Another good point made by Jenny is that Yolanda welcomes feedback and always reacts positively to criticism. “In fact, she encourages comment on the food, unlike most establishments who are usually most affronted when you criticise their food. They should pay more attention to customers’ feedback – how else will they ever improve?”
company, remember to book a table.
Hermanus
Mon Desir
The Mon Desir team: Co-owners Werner (left) and Paul (right) with chef Lizl and waiters Michael, Stewart, Fortune and Cuthbert.
extended the gallery space but added a bistro which spills over to the shady courtyard garden. Run by gallery owner Francois Grobbelaar’s wife Christine and business partner Yolanda Alazraku, previously from Daily Bread in Voëlklip, Flavourz Bistro & Wine Bar opened just before the start of the Festive Season and has fast become a firm favourite among many locals such as artist Jenny Jackson. “I love the intimacy of the venue and the fact that the food is freshly prepared on the premises every day,” says Jenny. “Because the menu changes regularly I can eat here as often as three or four times a week and still be surprised by new dishes – it’s always an adventure.”
We also cater for all functions, including weddings, birthday parties, baby showers.
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Hermanus
Restaurant News
By Hedda Mittner
A relative calm has descended on the various eateries in town and staff members seem to have lost that frazzled demeanour they displayed during the holiday period when coffee shops and restaurants were so swamped with customers that they battled to keep up. Staff problems proved challenging to restaurant owners during this time, and some also complained about patrons making bookings and failing to turn up while walk-ins had in the meantime been turned away. But every season is a learning curve and let’s hope some of these problems have been ironed out by the time Easter rolls by.
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To advertise on this page, contact Kathy Mulock-Bentley on 083 581 7219 or kathy@chartwellsupport.co.za
Stand a chance of winning R10 000! Buy one of these tickets as part of the Benevolent Golf Day’s Fundraising and find out on 18 March 2016 if you are the lucky winner. Tickets are available from Hermanus Senior Centre, Huis Lettie Theron, SOFCA and Hermanus Provincial Hospital. From left are Erika Rossouw (SOFCA), Theresa Maree (Huis Lettie Theron), Joan Farmer-Geldenhuys (Hermanus Senior Centre), Ilse Lourens (Hermanus Provincial Hospital), Gayle Smith (SOFCA), Simon Van Vuuren (Huis Lettie Theron) and Ilze Peters-Cloete (Hermanus Senior Centre).
26 JANUARY 2016
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