DESPATCHES Food
THE ORANGERIE, LE LUDE, FRANSCHHOEK
Le Lude will always be a favourite wine farm among Cap Classique lovers, and it's in their chic restaurant where you'll feel exquisitely French. The Orangerie specialises in fine French cuisine, and chef Nicolene Barrow uses traditional recipes with a modern twist to elevate locally sourced sustainable ingredients.
The a la minute baked Gruyere souffle with crisp celery and apple salad is deliciously indulgent and delightfully fresh. The souffle, one of the lightest I've had in South Africa, has a sharper flavour than I anticipated – a welcome surprise. And coupled with crunchy apple and celery – with just the right amount of sweet and bitter – it's a revelation in soft, hard, creamy, sweet and savoury. A must-have.
And no one should leave without ordering the quintessential cheese platter, which the French love at the end of a meal. At The Orangerie, they grow and preserve their own quinces
