Boschendal Farmshop & Deli
My brother and sister-in-law from Rheebok visited us on the last weekend of February 2016. We had to find a new venue for lunch. This time, after a Google search, we decided to visit Boschendal in Franschhoek, one of the oldest farms in South Africa.
The first owner of the farm was Jean le Long, a French Huguenot. He was granted the land by the Dutch East India Company in 1688. Cecil Rhodes bought the farm in 1887 from the De Villiers family and established the Rhodes Fruit Farms which exported deciduous fruit. It is today a magnificent estate specializing in naturally produced food and wines. There are many beautiful buildings, of which the original farmstead today is a national monument; there are guest cottages; beautiful gardens and vines, all set in the breathtakingly beautiful Drakenstein Valley with the Drakenstein and Simonsberg mountains as backdrop.
After many photographs were taken, we headed to the Farmshop & Deli, originally the wagon house, which has been beautifully restored. The restaurant was very popular, especially with visitors from abroad. We were seated under the huge oak trees with cute grey squirrels watching us from the tree tops and dropping acorns on the patrons – or was it my imagination?
The deli specializes in fresh produce from the food garden, farm bread, artisan jams, home-made preserved, olive oils; Angus Beef and free range eggs. A few chickens were amongst us scratching for food.
Deon ordered chicken pie and salad. Johan, Paula and I decided on the bobotie pie. Bobotie is traditional South African food which originated from Indonesia and was introduced to South Africa by the colonists from the Dutch East India Company in Batavia. It consists of spicy mince covered by an egg custard. The salad was beautifully decorated with little edible flowers. Boschendal’s fine Sauvignon Blanc which complimented our lunch went down a treat.
After lunch we strolled through the gardens and took more photographs before we headed home. It was a splendid afternoon in our spectacular Western Cape. We are extremely privileged to live in Cape Town within reach of a historical farmstead like Boschendal.
Next time we shall visit one of the other restaurants, The Werf Restaurant or sit on the lawn and enjoy a spread from Le Pique Nique. I can’t wait!
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