uh Francshhoek the village itself is actually relatively young.
Most people don't realize that it really only dates from Victorian times.
um the surrounding farms of course are a lot older those date from the late 1600s the first property
here was actually granted contrary to popular belief not to a French Huguenot, but actually to
a Swiss gentleman in 1692 and he was then shortly after joined by some Huguenots or nine Huguenot
families in fact which then made it the only area in the colony at that stage where there was
a French-speaking majority and that's of course where we ultimately get the name Franschhoek from.
My name is Siegfried Schaefer and we are sitting in the Huguenot Memorial Museum in Franschhoek.
I was raised in Franschhoek, I'm not born, I can't claim that honour but
I'm essentially considered a part of the valley's furniture.
A misconception about Franschhoek, speaking not only about the village but the valley generally is
that a lot of people seem to think because it's named after the French Huguenots that all the
French Huguenots that fled from France actually came to the Cape Colony and settled in Franschhoek
and of course in reality um it was only about 200 of more than 200 000 Huguenots that fled France
that actually settled in the Cape Colony ultimately. So that's a misperception
that we come across quite often actually.
The Franschhoek is like an orphanage. Oh my that's how my Grandmother used to explain Franschhoek, because
a lot of people came from outside areas and came to Franschhoek,
which was a very nice place to come and live at,
because everybody loved everybody. There was a lot of sharing and caring in Franschhoek,
So if you'd come here a stranger, we would welcome you as one of us,
and we would love you, as one of us.
That's how my Grandmother actually explained Franschhoek.
So my name's Wendy and we're at laBri Wine Estate in Franschhoek.
I remember the street that we grew up, for example it was
you know just a normal gravel road but that was our playground basically, you know we,
I grew up in a street called Oak Street uh a street sort of lined with oak trees um playing
till late at night uh playing rugby you know the typical Cape Town, Cape not Cape Town, it's
more like rural Cape games like "kennetjie" and these type of things we used to play I remember.
and yeah, I actually my Grandfather he had a patch of land here in
in uh just further down on one of the farms that he inherited from his from his family,
so we spent quite a lot of time there as well you know, helping him to plant onions.
He used to grow uh also onions potatoes uh mielies sometimes. He had some livestock uh pigs and
uh some goats and all these type of things so it felt like a little bit of a farm as well you know.
um and I think you know these small little things also have an impact i think how you sort of
perceive and how you engage with food in general because
we all we basically lived of the land and my, I mean my grandmother baked our breads
um even up till I was matric we still had freshly baked bread you know it was,
but I didn't see it as something quite cool and nice back then you know, but I realize that now.
My name is Ruben Riffel and we're sitting here in my restaurant in Franschhoek.
The magic thing about Franschhoek I think is that it's steeped in history,
and people who have been here and have lived here and grown up here will tell you the story
about that, and they are very proud of where we are and what is Franschhoek. From the stories
about the elephants climbing over the last of the mountains to our unique trails, diversity,
it really is an area that I think is the perfect mix of the history, and
the new life and development that has come into Franschhoek as well.
My name is Irene de Fleuriot, and you're at laBri Wine Estate in Franschhoek.
Franschhoek is I would say the prettiest
little town or one of the prettiest little towns in the Western Cape.
It's a unique town, it it has the most wonderful wine estates we have beautiful scenery
we have offerings of nature and hiking in the mountains. There's something for everybody,
we have a museum we have a wine tram which is unique to Franschhoek as well,
and we have some of the best restaurants in South Africa.
My name is Lisa and I'm at la Cabriere Country House in Franschhoek.
So in Franschhoek, the town is quite old. We have a 300 year old history.
We like doing things in a very old and vintage style, like our trams are.
My name is Cathrine Lombard. I'm the hospitality manager here at Franschhoek wine tram.
Franschhoek was always touted as being the place for the best food, the best wine,
the best restaurants, and I think people maybe thought that we were too snobby or
too expensive and too high up there, and I would like to encourage people
to come and visit us and to realize that
actually we are for the locals as well.
Those of us who live here, we enjoy what Franschhoek has to offer, so it's for everyone.