Reviving traditional food, Vive le Bistro!
After a surfeit of gourmet, gimmicks and ferments, is ready for simple, rustic, flavour-packed classics at atmospheric bistros offering Gallic-inspired creations
IT’S THAT time of the year when the best of everything is awarded medals and certificates and, of course, gets welcome publicity. The recent Eat Out awards saw Western Cape restaurants take nine out of the Top Ten places, with a Gauteng venue coming in fifth.
While culinary practices of pickling, smoking, foraging and fermenting continue to be prominent on menus, the Eat Out website suggests the hottest current trend is vegetarian “charcuterie”, illustrated by colourful pictures of artfully arranged forests of leaves, strewn with edible flowers, fungi and baby veggies.
While it’s exciting to explore the world of gourmet innovation, few can afford to dine at these venues regularly. The appeal of popular alternatives – burger and pizza joints and Asian noodle bars – can also pall.
Time, perhaps, to consider finding a neighbourhood bistro, preferably one that offers traditional French dishes. If the quality of ingredients and the care taken in combining them are regarded as the yardsticks by which to judge the fare, you probably have a winner.
Of less importance is the plating, likely to be straightforward with nary a wisp of foam, puddle of essence or scattering of crumbs in sight.
French bistro food celebrates generous, full-flavoured cooking, family fare that includes robust soups, rustic salads, wine-scented stews and casseroles, bubbling gratins and granny’s desserts.
It adds up to inexpensive soul food from small eateries all over France, where pride and tradition ensure maintenance of quality: even truck drivers won’t continue to frequent bistros where items like sausage and potato salad, coq au vin, salade niçoise and lemon tart were not consistently good.
Creations are usually well-balanced, combining, for example, chicken roasted in chicken fat or butter with fresh watercress to foil the richness.
Where to find these sources of Gallic goodness?
Meet one of our most popular of French chefs: Christophe Dehosse has lived in South Africa for 25 years, delighting locals and visitors with gourmet cuisine and now bistro fare in two venues.
Paris-trained, Christophe was working in a restaurant in Cognac country when he met Susan Myburgh, who grew up at the historic Joostenberg farm, near Klapmuts.
The couple relocated to South Africa where they opened the La Maison de Chamonix restaurant at Franschhoek, then moved to the city, starting the Au Jardin restaurant at the Vineyard Hotel in Newlands in 1994.
Regulars were devastated when they left the suburbs to join the Myburgh family enterprises: a farm stall and nursery at Klein Joostenberg soon blossomed into a deli and bistro, while a pork butchery, cut flowers, and a winery on the old farm occupy other family members.
Today the deli and bistro are well established, the wines attract awards and Christophe leaves the kitchen to head chef Garth Bedford, who started as a trainee at Au Jardin.
The a la carte menu reveals a delectable choice of bistro classics: starters include homemade charcuterie with terrine, rillette, cured pork and ham with a mini-bobotie quiche for local flavour. Mains offer pork sausage with apple sauce and mashed potato, and braised beef and mushroom ragout in red wine on homemade pasta.
Families that reserve tables for Sunday lunch can expect mixed starters of brawn and pickles, hummus, a vegetarian roulade and salads with home-baked breads. Main course choices could vary from tuna steak with ratatouille and sauce vierge to slow-cooked Karoo lamb SUMMER STARTER: Salade Nicoise from Joostenberg Bistro. or roast shoulder of pork.
The final course is a mélange of local cheeses, classic floating islands, fresh strawberries and a blueberry cheesecake.
This meal costs R205, while children can enjoy two courses for R85. The value is self-explanatory, culinary standards consistently high and advance bookings are required.
When I heard that Dehosse was opening The Vine bistro on the sophisticated Glenelly wine estate outside Stellenbosch, I wondered if the rustic principles could be maintained: a recent lunch there has proved that indeed they can.
He stays with traditional French fare, sourcing ingredients from local organic growers, adding a soupçon of African flavours to the mix. A starter of tuna tartare preceded silverfish with chive beurre blanc or beef fillet in red wine sauce and TALENTED PAIR: Chef-patron Christophe Dehosse and head chef Garth Bedford of Joostenberg Bistro and Deli. chocolate fondant with poached pear and yoghurt Chantilly completed the meal. Prices are higher than at Joostenberg, but, says Christophe firmly, Glenelly is still a bistro where no jacket is required.
It’s a measure of his talent that Glenelly’s owner, 91-year-young Madame May de Lencquesaing chose a chef who specialises in robust country fare to complement her distinctive estate wines, which combine Old World elegance with New World fruit .
Visitors can choose to dine at wooden tables on the terrace, or inside where antique chairs and classic Parisian tables offer views of rolling hills of manicured vineyards.
Vive le bistro!
Contact details:
l Joostenberg Bistro: Tel: 021 884 4208
l The Vine Bistro at Glenelly: Tel: 021 809 6444