In 2010 Chef Chantel Dartnall won chef of the year. On top of that, she a beautiful woman always dressed in a black chefs uniform that fits perfectly and on every photo flaunts her big brown eyes and lipsticked smile! She is a viviacious and attractive woman and with her tiny body she perfectly runs an all girls kitchen!
I was an immediate fan and very curious about the magical dishes she whips up in her sexy girl power kitchen that won her not only number 1 chef in South Africa but also the American Express Platinum Award and Chaine des Rotisseurs International Blazon! Being, at that time, a female aspiring chef slaving away in a demanding fine dining kitchen too, it was the marshmellow centre of my chocolate sweetie pie dream to meet Chef Chantel and taste her masterpieces. And find out how she keeps on looking so groomed with a demanding career as this while I was falling apart and looking like Amy Winehouse on a bad trip after my 3rd split shift in a row!
After a 2 year wait I finally made it to Pretoria, where Restaurant Mosaic is nestled atop a hill with soaring eagles in a nature reserve, hidden away in a fairytale hotel called The Orient. I decided to book a lunch on a sunny winter Sunday, with my mother before I departed for yet another adventure. Difficult in sharing such a very long awaited experience with a person who has no interest in food and no culinary knowledge beyond knowing how to make reservations and steam veggies, but in Chantel I trusted to please any palate and made the reservation.
From the website reservation, I was already impressed. Never have I been given so much detail or offered so much just by making the reservation! Where would you like to sit? Which menu would you prefer? What time would you like to be seated? Where are you driving from and would you like a map or GPS coordinates? These people know their stuff! If website reservations had an award, this one would definitely win it! If it was a man I would date it!
I made the reservation and a couple of hours later my reservation was telephonically confirmed by a friendly lady apparently looking forward to meeting me. Well by this time I was looking forward to meeting them more and was starving myself for the occassion!
The big day finally arrived and I was nervous about the long awaited enthusiasm blowing up in my face with dissapointment. But as we approached, and all directions sent were correct and easy to follow, the sight of it was sufficient reward for my long wait...
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| Entrance to the Orient |
The Orient Hotel is an experience to breathe in and a sight to see. It is a special place hidden away in a valley between hills and a dam and if you do not go looking for it, its magic would stay a secret to world. A good thing to keep hidden but a sad loss if hidden from you.
The hotel is a 5 star boutique love child of two talented and passionate travellers that brought the mysteries and art of the Far East home with them, filled it with love and their stories, coloured it with South African hospitality and threw in an amazing chef.
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| Artworks of Tienie Pritchard |
As we arrived, the lush gardens and Indian door greeted us, and a friendly hostess welcomed us into the dining room as though she knew us. Feeling at home already, we were offered a walk around. Of course we did not say no as we were ooh-aah-ing all the way from the entrance and so curious to see the rest. In a gallery tucked away in the garden, we were introduced to sculptor Tienie Pritchard, his work, his story and his struggle against the narrow minded leaders that prohibited free thinking, free speech and nudity in art. Inspired, bit more educated and hungry, we made our way to the Klimt Room, where I chose to have my long awaited lunch. Imagine eating masterpieces in a room decorated with the passionate paintings of dancing angels of Gustav Klimt!
Heaven!
As we took our seats in the intimate room which seats only 10 guests, Chef Chantel elegantly appeared at our million-cutlery and glasses-on-the-crispest-white-linen-table, all fresh and smiling and as beautiful as in the pictures with her flawless signature black chefs and red lips! Before I could tell her how much I admire her and make her tell me the secrets to her fabulousness, she presented her menu with wonderful enthusiasm and radiating confidence and dissapeared again into the ambient air to whip up some magic.
After all our senses have been swooned and three wonderful breads arrived to our table, accompanied by Maitre'd Butter, Lemon & Herb Butter and Anchovy Butter, each in its unique cute butter cup holder, we started our amazing journey through Chantel's wonderland:
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| Amouche Bouche |
Our Amouche Bouche: Fresh Oysters with Grapefruit Lemon Foam and a jelly base. The flavours fantastic and I love the edible flower with a lemon taste, but it lacked texture and the jelly ending was a bit too much wobbly bits in one bowl to my personal liking.
For starters I chose the Fantasy Forest plate paired with a glass of Lamberti Pinot Grigio Santepietre 2009. The Fantasy Forest is a secret and to this day I have no idea what I ate. It is however a very photogenic plate and definitely a show stopper, but as for the taste and texture, not impressive at all. I ended up picking the mushrooms (raw) off the over-jelled blobs on the plate and appreciated it for the cuteness. The Fantasy was that someone would actually finish the plate and say YUM!
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| Duck Terrine |
My mom made the wise choice in having the Duck Terrine with Pain de Epice, paired with Zevenwacht Gewurztraminer 2010. A pairing made in food and wine heaven and the best duck terrine I have tasted, ever! Natural texture and prominent flavours, beautifully presented and of course decorated with Chantel's signature flowers. A bit on the sweet side, showing off the chef's quintessentially South African sweet tooth.
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| Guinea Fowl Pie |
For mains, my mom decided on the Guinea Fowl Pie with Morel Sauce, paired with
Vriesenhof Vineyards Pinot Noir 2006. Now Guinea Fowl isn't a very interesting bird without its polka dots, and a nightmare to cook, and a pie is pretty much all you can do with it! This pie however, could have been chicken, pigeon, seagull for I know. No dominant flavour that said "this is a good attempt to make a smelly big bird edible". And the plate itself was a dissapointment. How can you send a gravy-soaked crust out of a kitchen Chantel? Pie 101- it must be CRISPY and gravy free! Someone did not rest their puff! And then the white, unflavoured and B.O.R.I.N.G rice blinded me in the corner of the plate. Thank goodness for the great sauce and pretty purple flower...
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| Venison Tasting Plate |
My main course choice was the Venison Tasting Plate, paired with SA's own grape varietal, a good old glass of Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve. A true South African wine with a hearty traditional dish- you cannot go wrong on this one. And Chantel, you did me proud! Esthetically pleasing and interesting at first sight, the best cooked venison (sous vide I assume) and a creamy puree of something between potato and parsnip. Furthermore Chantel impressed with a mini venison pie (this one crispy!) and a little bowl of venison liver cooked in the most amazing rich brown jus and contasted with bitter sweet Kumquat preserve. I would go back every night for this plate! An absolute winner!
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| Baked Pudding |
And now for dessert, my favourite part!
Paired with a golden sweet dessert wine, Soetkaroo Wine Estate Red Muscat d’ Alexandrie, the Jar-Baked Pudding, like Ouma made it, with Madagascan Vanilla Custard, served with an Apple sorbet and Cardamon Ice Cream was my first choice. Wonderfully cute and you feel naughty eating out of this little glass jar! The pudding is piercingly sweet but soothed with a delicate vanilla creme anglaise. The Apple Sorbet, garnished with the crispest apple disk, cuts through the sweetness and adds the much needed hint of acidity. Then the creamy Cardamon Ice Cream soothes this playground of flavours and delivers a rich and opulent aftertaste making you go back for more. The caramelised sugar dust and whole spices on the plate accentuate the aromas and make it as visually satisfying as on the palate. A perfect comfort dessert for a mid winter sunday afternoon or a broken heart!
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| Sorbet with Beetroot Jelly |
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| Macadamia and Quince Parfait |
The Macadamia Nut and Caramelised Quince Parfait, served with Pear Sorbet and Nutty Ice cream is a delicate and subtle dessert and as elegant as the dining room. The perfect balance of flavour and texture is feather light and sinfully innocent, reminicent of Klimt's angels glancing at me from the murals.
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| Petit Fours and Coffee |
Petit Fours and rich black coffee was the perfect ending to our dining adventure, and Chef Chantel did not seize to amaze!
For those of you who do not know what Petit Fours are, they are the little gifts from the Patissier, ending your meal and giving you a little reminder of what you had had. Like a little thank you gift from the kitchen. and this was a wonderful thank you! Each in their little porcelain pot, Mini Chocolate Macarons, Genoise Gateux, delicately flavoured home made Turkish Delight and the hand made Marshmellow Roll that changed my life! I will never ever eat another marshmellow from a packet! Eating these marshmellows were like taking a bite from an angel's cloud!
A sad closure to my long awaited experience as the last marshmellow dissolved in my mouth and the sun set on another South African winters day. Chef Chantel made me feel like a princess in her own castle.
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| Leaving The Orient |
Leaving this piece of paradise found, I am humbled by it's beauty and the awe inspiring talents that reside here. I wish upon every human being to discover such a special place and wish Chef Chantel all the success in the future in her little piece of heaven.
