Wild at heart: Eating off the fat of the land

03 September 2014 - 02:00 By Kim Maxwell
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FRESHLY FOUND: Chris Erasmus, with a plateful of foraged and natural ingredients, handpicked and plated
FRESHLY FOUND: Chris Erasmus, with a plateful of foraged and natural ingredients, handpicked and plated
Image: ESA ALEXANDER

Foliage is Chris Erasmus's take on forest-to-plate eating, writes Kim Maxwell

The place

Generally I find there are three types of high-end restaurant diners. The regulars, indulging in a preferred style of cooking from a favourite chef. The fashionables, most interested in the fuss around a new restaurant. And the true food lovers, enthusiasts cautious of fads who are open to educating experiences, like this one.

Chef Chris Erasmus left the heritage cooking of Pierneef à la Motte restaurant to start his own place. Foliage is his take on forest-to-plate eating. It's high on wow factor and relatively low on fine-dining prices. Despite fire engine red walls, art and smart leather chairs, there is an organic feel to the decor and Mervyn Gers tableware. Upmarket Franschhoek locals and tourists eat off bare wooden tables. You'll see family groups, although this menu isn't pitched at young diners.

The drinks

Franschhoek dominates a decent list with Reyneke's organic label as the house wine, and a few treasures from the likes of Sadie. We drank glasses of Two Dogs, a Peacock and a Horse Sauvignon Blanc (R35) and Chamonix Cabernet Franc (R60).

The food

I know diners who love Foliage, but find its menus weird. For Erasmus, foraged edible plants and mushrooms are an essential part of beautifying plates, flavouring stocks and reducing food costs on a small, seasonal menu rich in free-range meat and game. Most starters are R65 to R80, mains R115 to R135, and desserts R50 to R60.

Erasmus's chefs are coached to identify wild produce - around 70% of Foliage's fresh greens are foraged from local rivers or forests. An open kitchen means Erasmus or well-schooled waiters can also field queries.

A green soup of frothy broad beans, peas and horseradish root (R70) tasted vibrant with spring freshness against salty, puffy eisbein crackling. Fiddlehead and wild pea shoots alongside were picked outside the kitchen .

An outstanding salad combining warm sweetbread pieces with smoky, cured warthog rib rounds, potato and moist squid, with soft-cooked red pepper and tomato and crunchy hazelnuts (R75) had no mass-produced leaf packs from Woolworths. Instead, tasty forest greens (dandelions, wild watercress, goosefoot, chickweed and sweet lupin) came alongside perky beans and broccoli.

More traditionally, a main of velvet-soft Wagyu beef shortrib (R165), all shiny with jus intensity, partnered "wood greens", an open onion crispy-fried, and potato mash spiked with sour wood sorrel stalks and horseradish. Delicious.

Earthiness dominated an al dente charcoal-grilled sliced pear dessert (R50) alongside creamy fennel sabayon.

The verdict?

This is adventurous food that is also technically skilled, tasty and beautiful. Scan the menu for dishes from black pudding to wild game bird terrines alongside Asian pork belly broths, boerbok shoulder and tongue dishes, or creative tripe and trotter interpretations. Trust the chef and you'll find plenty to enjoy.

Foliage Restaurant, 11 Huguenot Road, Franschhoek. Closed for Sunday dinner and on Tuesdays. www.foliage.co.za, 021-876-2328

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