La Petite Ferme welcomes bold menu from new head chef Richard Carstens

La Petite Ferme, certainly award-winning just for its location, is perched on the slopes of Oliphants Pass and the Middagkrans Mountain Range.

The historic 5-star boutique hotel and award-winning restaurant offer sweeping, majestic views of the Franschhoek Valley both inside and out.

On arrival, a delicious breadboard of warm buns, biltong butter and succulent droëwors is offered. Followed by an amuse bouche of sushi rice, salmon and yuzu, while a palate cleanser of amasi strawberry sorbet is served between courses.

These touches immediately signal and reinforce the start and continuation of an exciting culinary journey, expertly guided by Chef Richard Castens himself.

The award-winning chef comes to La Petite Ferme from his celebrated role as Chef Patron at Arkeste by Richard Carstens, located on the Chamonix Wine Estate in Franschhoek.

Career milestones include eight years as executive cheff at Tokara Restaurant in Stellenbosch. Before that, Carstens worked at acclaimed establishments including Lynton Hall, Le Provençal, Bijoux and NOVA. He has been recognised as Chef of the Year and featured in Condé Nast Traveller.

Chef Richard Carstens

Menu highlights include the utterly sumptuous starter of butter-poached mussels in a plate-lickable ginger broth. Oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, shaved baby marrow and microgreens offer bright bursts of acidity and flavour, perfectly complementing the earthy, briny mussels.

Other noteworthy starters include the vegetarian option of crispy maize-crusted pickled artichoke, topped with sunflower seeds, Jersey milk feta, edamame and a velvety Chardonnay crème.

The bobotie-spiced tartare with yoghurt, pickled onion, macadamia, cured yolk and curry oil showcases a South African riff on a classic, well-loved French dish.

For mains, classic French dishes such as fillet with a red wine jus and crispy pommes anna and chicken ballotine with polenta, mushrooms and sherry sauce are all up for selection.

The South African twist comes in the form of an incredibly succulent springbok loin with the fluffiest and richest Robuchon pommes (mashed potatoes) and mange tout.

The vegetarian option features oyster mushroom, buckwheat, spinach and truffle sauce.

Desserts do not disappoint, with the standout dish featuring a riot of unique flavours and textures. Gorgonzola forward ice-cream might sound a little left field, but when expertly paired and tamed with soft beetroot, shards of melt-in-your-mouth meringue and roasty honeycomb, a truly exciting and delicious plate of food is created.

It’s no wonder that this particular dessert has become a signature dish from Chef Carstens, and the use of gorgonzola ice-cream praised and adopted by chefs from around the world.

If your dessert palate leans more towards the traditional, the classically French caramelised apple sorbet with crisp puff pastry layers and a rich brandy parfait should happily suffice.

Each course is thoughtfully paired with some of the award-winning La Petite Ferme estate wines.

Bravo, Chef Carstens, what a wonderful debut at La Petite Ferme!

Reservations for the new menu are now being accepted at az.oc.emrefetitepal@noitpecer.

www.lapetiteferme.co.za