Matthew Gordon was a quiet but confident 25-year-old when I first met him and his mom Penny Gordon in 1992. It was one of the first stories I wrote as Editor of Top of the Times in The Cape Times, and they had just opened a restaurant together, Le Ballon Rouge, back when Le Quartier Francais was already the main show in town, but before Franschhoek turned into the ‘food capital’ it was to become.

I can’t deny the pleasure now of being able to look back, and forward again, to find that Matthew and I are both still flying, though in a rather different way. He flies planes and helicopters; I fly economy.

Aviation was a childhood passion for Matt, who spends his time away from work mountain biking, flying aeroplanes, helicopters and commercial drones and discovering new places in what he calls his “ancient Land Cruiser bakkie”. He’s licensed to fly planes, helicopters and commercial drones, having obtained his licence in 1998. Perennially a modest man, he pays a retainer for use of a friend’s plane.

Matthew enjoying his passion for flying, in a Vans RV-9. (Photo: Supplied)

Matthew came from a family of newspaper people, his giant of a dad, Dennis Gordon, having been a true “Africa hand” who was head of the Morning Group’s Africa bureau and later Foreign Editor for the group. The Cape Times (where I started my career), Natal Mercury and Rand Daily Mail were members of the group, and all, in their day, were highly regarded newspapers.

Dennis wrote with depth and nuance. Penny, who had worked at the old Rand Daily Mail (at the same time as The Foodie’s Wife Diane Cassere worked there), went on to open a chocolate factory, sending prospective young Franschhoek youths to Belgium for proper training. Dennis Gordon left us in 2017. Penny is now retired, at 81, having handed over the Huguenot Fine Chocolates business she started to the chocolatiers she mentored.

Matthew, meanwhile, has maintained a consistent presence as a restaurateur in the valley, while many other chef-restaurateurs have come and gone. But before he moved to Franschhoek, he had already worked in London, Vancouver, Johannesburg and Cape Town, and had had stints as guest chef in New York at the James Beard House (the first South African invited to cook there), and in Houston, Moscow and Tokyo.

He and his wife Nicky owned the fine dining Haute Cabrière Cellar restaurant for 16 years, after Cabrière owner Achim von Arnim, who used to pop into Le Ballon Rouge, asked him to lease and operate the restaurant at Haute Cabrière. 

There was even a helipad on the roof of Haute Cabrière. “When the Blue Train launched,” he says (meaning the newer version), “we had a fly-in of 12 helicopters all parked on the dam wall.” He subsequently had many adventures with the pilots, including landing on a moving oil tanker.

The French Connection

Matthew Gordon in his kitchen at The French Connection in Franschhoek. (Photo: Supplied)

But it was his bistro, The French Connection, that was to turn out to be his longest commitment and a demonstration of how grounded he is as a restaurateur in ‘the valley’, cooking chiefly for the locals, although they do have foreign visitors who return year after year.

“The Bistro has a strong local following and has been trading for 23 years,” he said this week, “the longest time with the same owner of a restaurant in this town, I believe. There has been a general trend to healthier eating, and we have gradually started to increase our vegetarian and vegan offerings, which sell well. 

“The restaurant has always been about being similar to an authentic Parisian Bistro (but not nearly as expensive) — the look, the feel and the experience. There are a wide variety of excellent high-end restaurants in Franschhoek, but French Connection is one of the few that is informal and well-priced.”

He added: “Our staff are all local, from the pot washer to the general manager. Most have been with us for more than 15 years, with a good handful of senior staff that have been with us from the very beginning. How fortunate we are to have these wonderful people working with us and ensuring our high standards of food and service are maintained.”

The recipe Matthew chose to share with us is for one of the new dishes from the French Connection Bistro.

“This dish is actually vegan; we use vegan puff pastry with no butter. If you wanted to elevate the experience even more, full butter puff pastry could be used.

Matthew Gordon’s Beetroot and Red Onion Tart Tatin with paprika-roasted chickpeas, crispy onion and beetroot hummus dressing

(Recipe for 4 individual tarts)

Ingredients

For the tarts:

500 g vegan puff pastry

550 g beetroot, small to medium in size, scrubbed but peel on

150 g red onions, peeled and sliced

20 ml olive oil

Pinch ground cumin

10 g fresh oregano

Maldon salt flakes

20 g chopped fresh chives

Method

This tart is baked upside down so start with the filling. Rub the beetroot with olive oil and roast whole for 30-40 mins at 180℃ or until cooked but not too soft (roast beetroot for the hummus at the same time and set 200g of it aside).

Peel and then slice into even-sized wedges to fit your tart moulds.

In a pan cook the red onions and the cumin slowly in a little olive oil until they start to caramelise and release their natural sugars and then season with Maldon salt. Remove from the heat and add the chopped oregano. 

Brush the inside of four small tart moulds with a little olive oil. Divide the red onion mixture at the base of the moulds. Arrange the beetroot in a fan around the sides — remember, this tart is baked upside down.

Roll out the pastry and cut out the tops slightly larger than the bases, because it will shrink. Bake in the oven at 180℃ until the pastry has risen and is cooked inside (20-25 mins). Turn out carefully onto a tray making sure it doesn’t collapse.

For the chickpeas:

Ingredients

100 g cooked chickpeas (can use canned)

½ tsp smoked paprika

Maldon salt

Black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Roll the chickpeas in a little olive oil and season with paprika, Maldon salt and pepper. Roast in a cast iron pan on the stovetop for a few minutes and then place in the oven for 15 mins at 180C.

For the hummus:

Ingredients

200 g of the roasted beetroot you set aside

200 g cooked chickpeas (can be canned)

20 g tahini

1 clove garlic, peeled

Juice of 1 lemon

Maldon salt

Ground black pepper

Method

Purée the chickpeas in a blender with the garlic until smooth. Add all the other ingredients except the seasoning and puree, but maintain some structure. Season to taste.

For the crispy onions:

Ingredients

1 white onion, sliced evenly

2 cups sunflower oil

3 tbsp cake flour

Salt and pepper

Method

Dust the onions in seasoned flour and deep fry in hot oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

To serve:

Spoon some hummus on the centre of the plate and spread evenly with the back of a ladle. Place the tart on top of the hummus, place crispy onions on top of the tart and sprinkle the roasted chickpeas around the side of the plate. Garnish with olive oil and chopped chives. DM

French Connection Bistro | https://www.frenchconnection.co.za/ | 48 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek | 021 876 4056