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Page 3 Mayor opens craft market
Page 5 GlenWood sushi restaurant
Page 14 Q&A: Michelle Roux
FRANSCHHOEK’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AND ADVERTISER SINCE 1994 • DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021
La Cotte Farm An Icon Restored
The restored manor house now houses the hotel restaurant and bar
Café BonBon @
la petite dauphine
RESTAURANT & FUNCTION VENUE Breakfast and Lunch Wednesday - Sunday, 08h00 - 17h00 Excelsior Road, Franschhoek, 7690 T. 021 876 3936 • E. cafebonbon@lapetite.co.za
For almost twenty years the manor house and werf on La Cotte Farm, one of the nine original Huguenot farms in the valley, lay neglected. Then, with new owners, came new life as an understated country hotel and restaurant on a working farm right at the edge of the village. Visitors won’t be able resist. They’re bound to be enchanted. Ancient oaks, white-washed walls, simple gabled buildings and rambling Cape Mediterranean gardens combine with unrivalled valley and mountain views to charm all comers. It’s no surprise that old SA master Hugo Naudé chose to paint the view from the manor house more than once. The historic manor house now houses the restaurant, an inviting lounge and an intimate colonial-style sporting bar decorated with vintage prints and etchings, comfortable armchairs and a standout pair of red leather bars stools. Diners can choose between the bright conservatory, the dramatically wallpapered voorkamer and the deep, shady stoep. (Tip: Head straight for the stoep when going for sundowners. The view of sunset over the valley will keep you riveted. Your companions will simply have to forgive you if your mind wanders…) The restaurant is the domain where Executive Chef Neethling du Toit (previously at La Petite Ferme) conjures up heritage-inspired country fare,
much of it from the flourishing vegetable garden a stone’s throw from the manor house, with the rest ethically and preferably locally sourced. Fynbos honey also comes from the farm, as do free-range eggs. Chef Neethling’s farm-to-fork philosophy finds expression in dishes ranging from pickled fish and harvest platters to garden salads and koeksisters. Suffice it to say that whether you visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner your palate will be pleased. Ethical concerns also inform the farm’s involvement in the Together Franschhoek feeding scheme, which sees farm-grown vegetables distributed to local soup kitchens. Ten hotel rooms are housed in two newlybuilt wings flanking the werf. All are individually decorated in a contemporary country style by architect and designer Domenic Touwen, who was also responsible for the garden design executed by Rowena Smuts. Five rooms open to the sheltered pool area while the other five overlook the Franschhoek Mountains. A standout feature is hard to pick, but if pressed the walk-in showers are pretty impressive! Continued on p2...
Is it time... to sell? Much has changed over the past few months, and if your lifestyle has evolved as well... It may be time to consider selling your property to meet your changing needs.
Contact us any time
Doug Gurr +27 (0)72 610 7208 Jeanine Allen +27 (0)82 410 6837