Master baker Markus Farbinger likes nothing better than surfing the waves — longboarding is his style — and does it every day when he can. He’s also passionate about bread, and sharing his skills. It is his religion, the time honoured tradition of making it using the best ingredients. And, he's also damn difficult to interview.
Not because he’s unpleasant or unwilling to share. Quite the opposite. It’s his philosophical approach to life that litters his conversations. You can listen to him for hours, soaking up the energy, leaving you feeling as high on life as the master baker is, my questions losing their shine and relevance in the context of the emerging conversation. I came away having fed my soul and my appetite with more than mouthwatering breads and pastries.
Farbinger, much revered, is considered the father of artisanal wood-fired bread baking in South Africa. He was the co-founder with his life partner chef Liezie Mulder of the famed Il de Pain bakery on Thesen Island in Knysna, opened in 2002. Il de Pain is still there, but Farbinger and Mulder sold it recently and today I find him among the comforting smell of freshly baked bread at La Motte Estate Artisanal Bakery & Garden Café, a project he was asked to take under his wing.
This is not a cafe for a quick takeout. Instead, it is a journey of deliciousness and one to savour and linger over. Set outside Franschhoek and owned by Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg, the estate has a long driveway and getting to the bakery is a short walk through the historic oaks. I loved the whimsical, oversized wooden sculptured acorns scattered across the lawns. Catching sight of the venue is a an Alice Through the Looking Glass moment; the floor to ceiling glass structure emerges like a mirage, a hive of activity, and on a cold and rainy Cape winter day is packed to capacity. The modern structure joins seamlessly to the Jonkerhuis built in 1752 and houses the cafe's up-to-date kitchen and hub.
Over a steaming cappuccino I sit down to chat to Farbinger. A waiter delivers one of their signatures, a basket of Cultured Daily Bake for Two, R130, laden with slices of different breads. You can have them fresh or toasted — there's their classic sourdough, their crustique (the predecessor of the baguette), thick yummy slices of dark malty rye, the best I’ve tasted, and beautiful croissants perfectly crescent-shaped, almost too perfect to eat. On breaking the pastry, the even layers are impressive, a sign of excellent baking.
Farbinger equates the structure of the layers to the long and short waves he encounters in the sea — perfect as in nature, he says. I won't easily forget the gorgeous hot-out-of-the-oven mosbolletjies that come with lashings of farm butter — each rectangle individually wrapped like a present and served with pretty handmade ceramic dishes of their blueberry conserve and raw honey to sweeten the deal.
Bread may be a simple dough of flour, water and salt raised by the action of yeast, but the drive here is to make everything with the best ingredients. You can taste it. And part of the ongoing plan is to bring the old mill on the farm, a short walk from the bakery, back to life.
As we walk down to the mill I witness the uprooting of the nearby vineyards to be planted with organic wheat, so watch this space.
The bakery and cafe are a happy place. It is a treat to be in the centre of the baking hub watching the expert team making the breads and sumptuous pastries. The service is friendly, and beyond breads and cakes the cafe offers daytime meals and great breakfasts — eggs prepared in a myriad ways to please all, including their famous eggs “La Motte” Benedict with free range eggs, hollandaise, wood-fired bacon on toasted brioche, R135. There is a range of gourmet sarmies, salads and meaty cafe dishes with different bread accompaniments.
And if you don't have time you can pick up goodies to enjoy at home. The beauty of the position on an award-winning wine farm is the extensive list from its cellar available by the glass and bottle, and beers from local breweries.
Meet three the team who share their thoughts on Father's Day
Ricardo Slawers — Head baker, La Motte Artisanal Bakery
Slawers has three children, a daughter of 22, a son of 18 and a girl of nine whom he calls his baby. Baking bread is what makes him tick and he loves sharing his passion with his family. Luckily for him, they love bread, and the sourdough loaves that he takes home usually don’t make it to breakfast. “My children challenge me to bake and debate — even on my days off! It has become our family tradition now — and here’s where all the 'what', 'why' and 'what if' questions come in. Through this I can see how we’ve grown closer to each other. The baking debates sometimes develop into meaningful conversations,” said the head baker.
Marisa Botes — Pastry chef, La Motte Artisanal Bakery
Botes says because her dad doesn’t have a sweet tooth, she can’t treat him with her talent for all that is sweet and delicious. He does love biltong, however, so perhaps she can bake him some scones for Father's Day.
When asked to pick her favourite bake she says: “Like with your children, I can't pick a favourite,” though the Basque cheesecake is up there as it has the toasted flavour you get when braaiing marshmallows. The chocolate caramel cake is what she’d choose for a last meal and the pretty lemon meringue tartlets always bring a smile to her face with the unexpected pink peppercorns on the top.
Lizel Blanckenberg — La Motte Garden Café
Lizel has two boys aged 20 and 16. The younger likes to join her in the kitchen and has tried his hand at baking. He is a whizz with breakfast, making the fluffiest scrambled eggs and omelettes — always a good thing for Father’s Day celebrations. The eldest one just loves to eat, she said.
Blanckenberg grew up in the Franschhoek Valley and has fond memories of her father, who is ill. She says he was a busy man, strict but loving, and he loves good food. He used to have his own vegetable garden and Blanckenberg loves treating him to comfort food and familiar flavours such as her chicken pie, malva pudding, vetkoek or a generous bowl of hot soup.
bakery@la-motte.co.za
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