SHOWCASE: FABER at Avondale, Paarl
Sitting at a table next to the roaring fireplace I looked out across the beautiful damp gardens to the tall proud spire of the Taal Monument just visible through the light mist and low hanging clouds. We were at Avondale, a 300 year old wine estate on the Lustigan Road, Paarl, nestled against the slopes of the Klein Drakenstein Mountains. Under the ownership of Johnathan Grieve, Avondale is a certified organic wine farm practicing bio-dynamic agriculture alongside the best science, technology and knowledge that the 21st century has to offer to enhance sustainability, while producing some mighty fine, premium quality wines.
More specifically we were visiting FABER Restaurant at Avondale and were about to embark on a couple of hours of relaxed dining and chatting….and drinking wine! Something I love to do! Established in October 2016 FABER, run by Owner/Operator award winning Executive Chef Eric Bulpitt and his wife Celeste, is already making great inroads into the SA restaurant scene. FABER – a Latin word meaning creator, craftsman, worker, artisan – is a strong word that, in my mind, represents the man at the helm. With a great online “work pedigree” I was hoping that I might get the opportunity to chat with Eric for a few minutes to find out a bit about his latest venture.
FABER is situated in a refurbished gracious Cape-styled building, modern and old style beautifully integrated in the warm inviting interior with wooden box planters and elegant glass bubble planters hanging from the ceilings. After briefly meeting Chef Eric hard at work in his open kitchen in full view of guests dining in the restaurant, Celeste (GM and Front of House manager) showed us around this refined yet relaxed country establishment, giving us a bit of the history before seating us at a cozy table close to the fireside. The tables, counter tops and the wooden planters had all been crafted from ancient stone pine trees harvested from Avondale decades ago after a massive fire destroyed much of the estate. The magnificent turn-of-the-century wooden arches that grace the bar and tasting areas were collected many years ago by Mr Grieve Snr and have been loving restored to their full glory. The restaurant can accommodate 65 guests indoors. During summer and great weather days the doors are opened up and tables spill out onto the vine covered verandah and can accommodate up to 20 more guests.
The kitchen, sparkling clean and bathed in late morning sunlight, stunningly tiled with Moroccan tiles that left me coveting some of my own, was bustling with activity preparing the lunch menu and Chef Bulpitt was working his culinary magic with some delicious looking marinade he was testing for a Mother’s Day dish. He graciously left the kitchen in the capable hands of his passionate highly trained kitchen team and came and sat with me and chatted over a cup of coffee. A humble, friendly young man crazy for his family, besotted with food and the preparation of dishes, the stories that food evokes, sustainability and respect for ingredients and the earth, and a huge passion for people, Eric’s mission is simple: To offer a memorable, relaxed dining experience and for guests to leave happy! Born in Walvis Bay his earliest food memories are of catching fresh cold water snoek and wood smoking it with his dad before enjoying their meal together. His grandmother and her homely cooked meals have inspired him on his food journey since a young age.
Eric has an interesting and varied kitchen history spanning 16 years, starting in the kitchen at Winchester Mansions on the Atlantic Seaboard under the guidance of Jonathan Staley. He joined the late Bruce Robertson at The Showroom before heading over to Jardines for a time. He then went overseas and worked in some London establishments and returned to take up the position of Head Chef at Jardines. While there he had the golden opportunity of working in the great Noma Restaurant in Copenhagen for a short while. He then started up The Roundhouse Restaurant with PJ Vardas and went on from there to open up The Restaurant at Newton Johnson in the Hemel en Aarde Valley. He left there to open FABER at Avondale. His signature dish is beef tongue with homemade mustard and and a herb jus like his grandmother used to make. Major influencers in his career have been hard core chef rock stars Marco Pierre White and Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Kellar who really drove and inspired him with cooking techniques and George Jardine who taught him to cook “properly”. I have to say he did an amazing job of teaching!
The inventive, contemporary menu, using local ingredients (many from their own garden and the farm) sets FABER apart and yet dishes are reasonably priced. Chef Bulpitt focuses totally on zero wastage in the kitchen, using every part of an ingredient in a creative way to add something exciting to the menu. Food is artfully styled and served on hand thrown pottery plates, each one slightly different from the other, and wine is served in elegant crystal glassware. The menu is seasonal and small, with an a la carte selection as well as a tasting menu option consisting of 6 dishes. It offers food for the adventurous eater, beautiful food, artistically styled to perfection, yet when you bite into it, it is all too familiar and evokes memories of old homely food stories in a new way. Our food experience began with some homebaked sourdough bread made using exquisite Lowerland ground wheat and served with beef tallow and some divine Sweet Potato fritters. We slowly progressed through the six tasting menu courses, each course beautifully paired with Avondale wines. The food is sublime, every single bite of it. The beef tongue almost melted on the tongue, the flavour with the perfectly made mustard invoking memories from years ago of my mom’s corned beef.
After relaxing a while, chatting and sipping on a glass of La Luna red wine we finally were ready for the last two courses….dessert of course accompanied by a delicious Muscat Blanc dessert wine!
A truly wonderful eating experience in every way. Our grateful thanks to Eric and Celeste for hosting us and for spending some time chatting with me. A visit to FABER is highly recommended! Eric has shared his amazing beef tongue and mustard recipe with me and as soon as I have all the ingredients I will make it at home and share it with everyone.
FABER is currently running a Winter Set Menu Lunch Special which consists of 3 courses:
Smoked St Helena Bay Snoek, potato rosti, “snoek kop sop” and apricot jam. (Absolutely divine!)
Braised Free Range Beef Shin, Lowerland Organic Corn Grits, Olives and Herbs.
Coconut Panna Cotta, charred Pineapple and Pineapple Beer Sorbet.
The cost for the set menu is R250 per person and will run through till 30 September 2017. Booking is essential.
Please note: FABER will be closed from 26 June – 11 July 2017
An event to look forward to at FABER is the Field to Feast Luncheon on 11 June 2017. The experience costs R550 per person and runs from 11am to 3pm. It begins with a tour of the property by tractor with Johnathan Grieve explaining about the principles of biodynamic farming and ends with a 3 course meal and 3 glasses of Avondale wines around the feast table. Spring water from the farm and restaurant gratuity is included in the price. Eric Bulpitt will engage guests with conversations around local sustainably sourced produce that defines the menu at FABER. Seats are limited so book now if you would like to attend this fabulous day. Payment in full is required when you book.
Email for booking for the Field to Feast: wine@avondalewine.co.za
Phone 021 863 1976
FABER Restaurant, Avondale Wine Estate, Lustigan Road, Paarl.
Tel: 0212021219
Email: faber@avondalewine.co.za
Winter Trading Hours:
CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays.
Wednesday – Sunday lunch 12.00 – 15.00 Dinner 18.30 – 21.00
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