What was meant to be an Easter weekend treat turned out to be a very windy affair at the new L’ermitage restaurant.
The restaurant has been very low key since its opening in December, and this appeared to have been its first big function.
Daniele Pascal, the French born but South African based chanson singer, entertained the audience with a mix of Brel and Piaf, with some local Afrikaans liedjies thrown into the pot as well.
The L’ermitage hotel has a beautiful setting at the edge of a dam on The Fransche Hoek Estate, and the full moon crept over the Franschhoek mountains during the evening, giving the setting a very romantic feel. The organisers had decided to host the function outside, on their terrace and lawn, not taking into account the south-easter which came up soon after the start of the evening.
The staff tried valiantly to appease everyone, and could not meet the request for blankets. The restaurant did not have enough tables inside to allow one to move inside. Pascal had to battle the wind in the first half – ironically she sang the beautiful Laurika Rauch hit “Kinders van die Wind”.
Miraculously the wind dropped before she came back on stage for the second half. Well into her sixties, Pascal openly talked about her recent hip replacement operation. When singing about love, one does not see her age, as her face and soul light up.
A set menu was offered at R 350 per head, which included a bottle of French wine – the 2007 Merlot was too light for the South African palate, which expects a more full-bodied wine. The starter was a choice of soups, but the waiters just assumed that all patrons were having the seafood soup, without taking the order upfront. No bread was served with the meal, even though side plates were laid on the very small tables for two. When asked for it, slices of white sandwich loaf were brought to the table. A remark about it to the manager quickly led to its replacement with some tasty whole-wheat bread. The main course was a small portion of chicken, and the dessert a small portion of chocolate brownie and mint cream. I could have sworn there was salt instead of sugar in the brownie. Coffee had to be paid for as an extra.
The service received from Emmi, Pearl and Santjie during the evening was outstanding, who must have heard nothing but complaints about the wind and the resultant cold.
L’ermitage plans to host live entertainment once a month, and will even introduce classical concerts in its conference centre. The organisers have promised that future events will be held indoors.