Sundowners on #FestiveFriday at La Petite Ferme

Seeking to avoid run-of-the-mill and showcase the farm and its own produce, La Petite Ferme set about creating a menu of handcrafted #FestiveFriday cocktails:

• The Pretty Lisa was inspired by a La Petit Ferme legend with service of three decades and who still shines. Made with vodka and amongst others strawberries, lime juice, lemonade and fresh basil, The Pretty Lisa is as vibrant and welcoming as the real Mona Lisa’s smile.

• The Mariano is La Petite Ferme’s very own exotic cocktail with Latin pizzazz. A vodka-spangled blitz of berries adorns this drink along with mango and lime juice and fresh mint.

• The Spa is the cocktail to slow-sip while taking in nature’s most magical spectacle. Named for the restorative fresh cucumber juice that is its main ingredient, The Spa uses a base of gin along with lime juice, fresh mint and just a touch of sugar for balance.

• The Garden breaks the cocktail mould. In addition to grapefruit and lime juice and mixed peppers, this beverage extravaganza includes coriander - fresh from the farm’s new herb garden. All you need to decide is: vodka or gin?

An upgraded restaurant

In addition to the deli area amidst towering trees, The Delicatess, the property also features a newly revamped restaurant which is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

Lebanese interior designer Claudia Chahine oversaw décor and design. Talented Cape Town ceramicist Mervyn Gers handcrafted a collection of unique dinnerware specifically for the restaurant that reflects attributes of the farm and its location. Likewise, special recycled glassware was made for the restaurant by Ngwenya Glass.

La Petite Ferme’s new summer menu has been launched and remains true to form. It features a variety of polished dishes, earthy yet urbane, from small plates and light bites to hearty entrees and indulgent desserts, all inspired by the season and paired with fine local wines. Well-known for using local produce in creative dishes with a global twist, executive chef Neethling du Toit has headed the La Petite Ferme kitchen for eight years. He says guests can still look forward to the same heart-warming fare and elegant styling, but with fresh flair.

“Some of our dishes are so popular and ‘set in the history’ of the estate that we’ll always look to retain them in some shape or form,” he says. “The smoked trout and the aubergine-wrapped lamb are perennial favourites, for example, and we’ll never disappoint those customers who’ve come to savour these signature dishes.”

While the restaurant has always incorporated local and sustainable food, the addition of the new herb garden to the newly landscaped gardens is not only a nod to its historical past, but has also brought greater balance with nature.

La Petite Ferme is well-known for its premium boutique range of reds and whites that express their unique Franschhoek terroir. In addition to its restaurant and deli area, La Petite Ferme offers a range of accommodation with vineyard suites and rooms in its grand Manor House. It also offers a location for weddings, events and functions.

www.lapetiteferme.co.za