A culinary adventure awaits at JAN Franschhoek season III
Passing through the tree-lined entrance toward the La Motte Manor House in Franschhoek, I gasped audibly at the beautiful setting, realising that I was more excited than I’d thought possible about the prospect of dining at JAN Franschhoek Season III.
Upon entering the Manor House, the staff smiled warmly and handed us glasses of La Motte Cap Classique 2020 and a canapé spread of biltong lamingtons, smoked tomato consommé with fynbos and walnut, green fig and Boerenkaas mousse, setting the tone for a delicious menu.
Our chariot awaited outside, a blue-and-white, two-toned 1974 VW Kombi, to take us on a short drive to Veepos, an 18th-century cottage amid lavender fields in the Franschhoek Valley. I headed down a footpath toward a towering oak tree, stopping to use a traditional hand-washing station before entering the cottage.
In front of me stood an impeccably set 18-seater dining table, ready to transport diners on an unforgettable gastronomic journey. Monogrammed linen napkins hung from the thatched ceiling while a fire roared on the far side of the room and music played softly in the background, adding to the already impressive setting. When I say no detail was spared, I mean it wholeheartedly, as even the butter accompanying the deliciously warm anysbrood et beurre de baroque (a version of mosbolletjies (sweet bun) that was so good I even dreamt about it that night) was a work of art, shaped into mini, churned busts that were almost poetic.
Waitrons emerged from behind a doorway at the back of the room, carrying our first course. They placed in front of each eagerly awaiting diner a plate of delicate Trout in the Garden, paired with La Notte’s vin de Joie Rosé 2024 with its notes of melon, nectarine, rose petal and Turkish delight.
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen
Then came the course that I was most wary of: Pap, Slak and Gremolata, paired with La Motte Chardonnay 2023. I’d never eaten escargot, and I had not thought I would, but when Jan Hendrik and Head Chef Lara van Heerden spent three months in France working on a new menu that ‘would not only showcase international fine dining but also place a special emphasis on hearty local cuisine’, who would have said no thank you? Not me, that’s for sure. So, I dug into the elegantly plated molluscs atop traditional South African maize meal, finely blended with various cheeses and covering a bed of marinated lamb. The dish left me pleasantly surprised and feeling rather chuffed with myself for having been brave enough to try it.
I stepped outside for a moment to take in the beauty of the night sky before they served the next course. A polite tapping on silverware grabbed my attention while heading back inside. Frozen apple, Tête de Moine, sea bass and smoked haddock milk awaited. I smiled as waitrons presented the dish, wondering, Is that a carnation? Indeed it was. Not the kind growing in your garden but Swiss cheese, carved into a likeness of a carnation in full bloom! This delicate, cheesy work of art was nestled in a frozen apple base with sea bass, a hint of chorizo and seasonal vegetables, finished with a haddock velouté and paired perfectly with the JAN White 2023 Blend.
Kook kos followed, served family style. Head Chef Lara explained, ‘Kook kos is an Afrikaans term for a Sunday lunch, where you eat beautiful, abundant food that takes hours to prepare and share with your friends and family, creating beautiful memories.’ And what memories this course offered. A whole roasted leg of lamb with roasted apples and asparagus, a quail, mushroom and leek pie, fynbos pickled butternut, white-pepper green beans with toasted almonds, crispy baked potato, slaphakskeentjies (little sweet and sour pickled mustard onions) with a rosette (which we later learned was the equivalent of a pancake), topped with jus so delicious you could swim in it. They paired this course with La Motte Syrah 2020, with its full-bodied character and naturally fruit mulberry and red berry notes. To call it a feast would be an understatement, and to tell you that I was planning to pickle the butternut I had at home the first chance I could try to replicate what I just eaten would not be a word of a lie.
Something sweet followed: a peppermint tart that had me questioning how good my family recipe for this South African classic really is.
The tables cleared, the door separating diners from the kitchen opened, and the space where all the night’s magic had happened beckoned, not just for a peek inside, but to savour the Kaas en Konfyt (cheese and jam) set out on the main table in the middle of the kitchen. A selection of local and French cheeses (I was partial to the Époisses that I was ready to book a flight to France just so I could gorge myself silly on it), breads, marmalades and more. It was like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for cheese lovers, and I was in heaven.
We wound down our night of feasting with a cup of moerkoffie (with condensed milk, of course) and mignardises (chocolate-coated truffles) before heading out again to take in the star-filled night sky over the Franschhoek Valley. We piled into the VW Kombi and returned to La Motte Manor House. I left Veepos and JAN Franschhoek Season III sated, and travelling home, I couldn’t help but think of Swiss cheese carnations and fynbos pickled butternut.
Secure your seat at the table
JAN Franschhoek Season III is open for bookings from Wednesday to Saturday until 30 April 2025. The experience starts at the La Motte Manor House at 6.30 pm, followed by dinner, promptly at 7 pm. On Sundays, the dining experience is an extended lunch that commences with a welcome at 12 pm and lunch at 12.30 pm.
For more information, visit la-motte.com/pages/jan-franschhoek
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