February 6, 2006
By Lucille Davie
HE WALKS through the restaurant, his eye instinctively checking the details most people would miss – the perfect placing of a serviette, the height of a flower in a vase . . .
Michel Morand at the entrance to his restaurant, Auberge Michel
Frenchman Michel Morand's five-star Auberge Michel restaurant in Sandton was listed in November in Eat Out's top 10 Johnnie Walker Restaurant of the Year for 2005. Only one other Joburg restaurant made it to the top 10 – Yum in Greenside, which took the number one spot.
Others have also noticed Morand's meticulous attention to detail – in 2005 his restaurant was voted one of Joburg's top restaurants by Business Day, Diners Club and Wine Magazine. He's also received the first five-star rating by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, a quality-rating agency for the entire tourism industry. And all this in only two years since opening.
When asked what the secret to this success is, without hesitation Morand says, "Hard work – and being passionate about food and service."
The restaurant is in a house. An elegant room spills out on to a patio, where the soothing sounds of water trickling into a pond surrounded by a lush garden greet the diner. High-backed brown chairs slip in under white-bedecked tables, under subtle lighting and rich wood beams in the ceiling. There is a private dining room upstairs.
The whitewashed house has restored sash windows and is surrounded by plenty of large trees, a reminder of other times.
Morand rates as some of his top customers Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and his wife, Wendy Luhabe; other members of the Gauteng legislature; and Joburg's top businesspeople.
Born in France but now a South African citizen after 14 years in the country, Morand came here in the first place because he saw it as "the land of opportunity", although France is considered by many to be the land of fine cuisine.
Fine cuisine
Not so, he says; fine cuisine is now universal – almost all countries produce wonderful dishes.
He gives a quick lesson in the evolution of French cuisine – before WW2 and up to the 1950s, chefs used a lot of cream and butter in their food, garnishing it with rich sauces. From the 1950s to the 1970s nouveau cuisine was the rage – the dishes looked beautiful but diners came away hungry. "It was all about presentation."
Today the emphasis is still on presentation, but also on giving diners a decent portion of food. And cream has been banished – Morand doesn't use it in his menu, except in pastry. The essence now is on producing a quality product.
Auberge Michel is his "dream from youth", which took him 25 years of gastronomic expertise to realise. "I am now having an experience," he smiles.
He describes his mother as "a good home cook" but confesses to have learnt about cooking as a seven-year-old at the elbow of his grandmother back in France. "Cooking is a great joy, I cook a lot at home."
Morand has hotel training and has worked in the restaurant of the world's most famous chef, Paul Bocuse, in France, as well as in restaurants in America and Britain.
Like any good business person, he has the right people around him – in the form of his head chef, Frederic Leloup, who has worked in various Michelin-rated restaurants.
"Every dish is controlled by Frederic," Morand says.
The Auberge Michel website describes Leloup's style. "He believes in showcasing the natural flavours of each individual dish and his aim is for each guest to experience the actual flavour in the most natural way."
Another nine or 10 chefs work in the spotless kitchen, and there is a separate pastry chef in his own kitchen. Morand believes in training the chefs to perfection, an ongoing job. "This is the most important thing," he says.
The restaurant seats 65 people, and although he can take it up to 120, he prefers not to. "It's not how many you can seat – I would never do this – but whatever the kitchen can produce and be comfortable with."
Three times a year the menu is changed, following the seasons and the freshest ingredients, which are sourced from organic farms.
Hygiene
Morand says the restaurant has high hygiene standards. The kitchen floor is washed every day with a special detergent and a soap dispenser stands at the kitchen door. "It's like a hospital," he explains.
He is also particular about his glassware and crockery. The glassware is imported from Austria and the plates from Germany. Morand holds up a pure-white plate – it is round, with a square shape in the middle.
Leading the way through to the wine cellar, Morand explains that the best temperature for wine is exactly 14 degrees – a gentle coolness. Most of his wines are imported from France, and his top bottle of wine sells for R6 000.
And, as if all this is not enough, the restaurant is in a house with some history. Dating from 1947, it was a farmhouse, on what is known as the Mushroom Farm, with a gentle stream flowing through it. A small portion of that farm still exists – next door at Mushroom Park, where, if you're feeling particularly flush, Morand and his team will create a private picnic for you.
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