Chris Louw MOVEABLE FEAST
TO me, the Fountains valley near Pretoria holds merry=20 memories of late-night revelry after our newspaper –=20 the late Oggendblad — had been put to bed. That was=20 more than 20 years ago, but I still hear the sounds of=20 songwriter Koos du Plessis, then an unknown sub-editor,=20 singing Kinders van die Wind to his rowdy and=20 unappreciative audience of beer-guzzling hacks.
In pace with changing times a classy restaurant –=20 Chagall’s at Toulouse — now stands among the thorn=20 trees where our braaivleis fires used to crackle and=20
Disguised in decent clothing, I accompanied my spouse=20 to Toulouse last weekend. The memories of drunken=20 parties were still embedded in my psyche, so I handed=20 my notebook and pen to her to record our experiences.
The owner, Chris de Jager — chairman of the=20 Restauranteur’s Guild — had gone hunting, we were=20 told. In his stead, we were hosted by ma”tre d’h=99tel=20 Jean Luc, a humourless Frenchman with a British sense=20 of superiority.
When we congratulated him on the ambience, he pulled up=20 his nose and answered: “You think this is good? Do you=20 know the Tante Helene in Britain? Well, that is three=20 star. This is only one star.” And when we complimented=20 him on the excellent service provided by the waiters,=20 he sniffed and said: “You must see them when the guests=20 are gone.”
Honest man, this Jean Luc, considering we had told him=20 right from the start we planned to write a review about=20 the restaurant!
In fact, the service was excellent. When we phoned to=20 book a table, chief waiter Piet Mosehle said they were=20 fully booked. He told us to come anyway, and afterwards=20 showed us how he had rearranged the tables to fit us=20
While Monsieur Luc was cocking a snoot at his own=20 eating establishment, a pianist was unobtrusively=20 tinkling away on his instrument, high tea at the Mount=20
Meanwhile, Mosehle brought us a helping of Kabeljou=20 Quenelles on a pale sauce — compliments of the house – – as a pre-hors d’oeuvre. “Melt-in-the-mouth,=20 delicious,” according to my spouse’s minutes.
Jean Luc rattled through his list of starters, which=20 included mushrooms. Asking Monsieur Luc what the=20 mushrooms tasted like was to no avail. “I don’t know. I=20 don’t eat mushrooms,” was the answer. My spouse=20 documented her evaluation: “Four kinds of fried=20 mushrooms, tender and creamy, in a pastry case, topped=20 with a slice of exquisite fried duck liver.”
I closed my eyes and decided on prawn risotto — prawns=20 with Basmati rice and tomato concassee in a lobster=20 sauce. My scribe entered in her minutes: “Fresh sea=20 taste, piquant.”
To refresh the palate, Mosehle served us two pink=20 grenadine sorbets — also on the house.
Meanwhile, waiter Albert Moromphela saw to it that our=20 side plates were never empty. The bread was out of this=20 world — hot and crusty. It came from Fourneria in=20
By this time, Monsieur Luc (“yawn-yawn”) had obviously=20 forgotten that we were writing a review about his=20 gastro-dome and asked haughtily: “Why all the questions=20 — do you want to start your own restaurant?”
We decided to enjoy the meal nevertheless. (My wife was=20 in a buoyant mood.)=20
For her main course, she had a generous portion of=20 crisply fried kabeljou served with stir-fried julienne=20 vegetables and a cream sauce — “somewhat bland, but=20
I was slightly more adventurous and ordered roasted=20 guinea fowl, which was served with cabbage stew and a=20 selection of vegetables. My wife’s notes: “Tasty, the=20 guinea fowl slightly dry, the vegetables young and=20
The next day I peeped at the account (it was my=20 birthday and my wife took the bill): it came to a grand=20 total of R213,95, including wine and two medium cream=20 Monis sherries.
I asked my spouse what she thought of the evening. Here=20 is what she said: “It was well worth the effort. The=20 prices are reasonable, considering what you get.=20 Booking is essential. And, oh yes, access is easy from=20
Chagall’s at Toulouse: (012) 341-7511