Constantia Uitsig in the Constantia Valley has always been known for it food . Its home to two of South Africa’s finest and most well respected restaurants La Colombe and Uitsig Restaurants. Up until last year the chef at these two restaurants were by Franck Dangereux and Frank Swainston respectively, until the unexpected departure of Franck from La Colombe .
Who could possibly fill Franck’s shoes? There was much skimming debate around the stock pots, and frosty chatter in the hallowed circle of the ‘walk in freezer’.Chefs and foodies all knew that these were pretty big chef clogs to fill .Franck had been known to run a tight ship, and to wheedle a pretty sharp kitchen knife. Renown for his passion for sauces, meat and a strict compliance to every thing french.
Luckily for Constantia Uitsig – Luke Dale Roberts came along. With traditional training in Switzerland , Luke’s ‘ lucky break’ came when he went to work for Bali Sugar in London. He then continued to work around the London circuit of restaurants before finally moving to the Far East.
A large group of Rhino African’s put La Colombe’s Restaurant to the test on Saturday night and Luke Dale Roberts and his team definitely scored full marks. The food was delicious.
For starters we had a choice of Home Made Gravadlax with Blinis and Crème Fraiche or a White Bean Cappucino Soup with Porcini Mushrooms. Main course was Lamb Cutlets or Pan Seared Fish of the Day. Desert was a choice of a trio of Home Made Sorbets or a Crème Brulee with a Compote of Mixed Berries and Shortbread. Anyone who is in any doubt about the quality of food at La Colombe since Frank’s departure need not worry, in my opinion, Luke’s food is more real, more substantial, more flavoursome, less complicated and more fitting for its winelands setting.
Our meal was complimented by some excellent wines from the Uitsig Wine Estate. The service was faultless. La Colombe managed to cope with a group of 25 Rhino Africans ( with all our wonderful special requests ! ) plus a full restaurant and a private 50th Birthday Party for about 70 peoples , as if it was an every day occurance.The staff smiled through the entire evenings, there was never an empty wine glass, never a cold plate of food, and never a missed order.
La Colombe is certainly worthy of being recognized as being one of the leading restaurants in the country and as Rhino Africa we wish Luke Dale Roberts and his team every success in the future. We stayed at Constantia Uitsig Hotel and who would have thought we were only a few minutes drive from the centre of Cape Town. I shall leave the description of the hotel accommodation to one of my colleagues but thank you Allison and her team for what was a fantastic weekend away.