La Motte Artisanal Bakery and Garden Café

Tuesday, April 29th, 2025

Reviewed by Cindy Walker

Discriminatory and Unacceptable Experience at La Motte Bakery, discriminatoryfranschhoek I am writing to express my profound disappointment and frankly, disgust, at the discriminatory treatment we experienced at the La Motte Bakery in Franschhoek this past Saturday, 26 April 2025. We were visiting Franschhoek for the long weekend, invited by friends who have a holiday home in the area. On Saturday, we decided to start our day with brunch and chose La Motte, drawn in by the beautiful setting we had heard about. Upon arrival at La Motte, we were greeted by a receptionist who informed us that the bakery was fully booked. While this was not entirely unexpected given the long weekend, we were told we were welcome to browse the takeaway menu and look around the premises. We walked through your lovely gardens to reach the bakery restaurant. As noted, the bakery restaurant was indeed busy. Upon entering the bakery, another lady reiterated that they were fully booked. Standing right behind us were three other groups of people who also did not appear to have reservations. We informed the lady that we were simply hoping to grab a coffee and a pastry, and she said she would see what she could do. At this point, the hostess intervened, seemingly signaling negatively towards us. This lady then abruptly told us she couldn't assist us, so we decided to look at the takeaway options. However, what transpired next was deeply disturbing. The hostess then approached the three groups directly behind us – both of whom were white, a mix of what appeared to be foreign and local individuals. She informed them of a 30-minute waiting period and proceeded to take their details, inviting them to wait in the garden area. Our group, the only people of colour present, had arrived before these other two groups. Yet, we were not offered the same option of being placed on a waiting list. The hostess noticed that I had observed this blatant disparity in treatment. She then moved her conversations with the new arrivals outside the bakery entrance, where I witnessed her adding more newly arriving individuals to the waiting list. At this point, my friend and I confronted her about what we had witnessed. Her response was NOT an apology, but rather an attitude-laden question asking if we now wanted to be put on the waiting list. This was after the groups who had arrived after us had already been accommodated with a waiting time. We, the only people of colour in the initial group without reservations, were the only ones denied this option from the outset. The fact that we, a group of colour, were not even offered the courtesy of a 30-minute wait, while others who arrived after us were, is deeply offensive and indicative of blatant unfairness. In this day and age, it is utterly disappointing and frankly disgusting to witness such behaviour from what is supposed to be a reputable establishment in Franschhoek. My friends and I are regular patrons of fine dining establishments and enjoy experiencing beautiful places. This was the first time we have ever encountered such overt unfairness based solely on the colour of our skin. La Motte in Franschhoek, your bakery was the biggest disappointment of our weekend. The lack of even a simple apology for this discriminatory behaviour is appalling. We left feeling angry and deeply disappointed. This experience has undoubtedly tarnished our perception of La Motte and its values.