{"id":1451,"date":"2026-10-27T18:41:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T18:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1451"},"modified":"2026-10-27T18:41:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T18:41:39","slug":"from-mountain-to-table-mount-grace-hotel-spa-puts-the-magaliesberg-on-the-plate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1451","title":{"rendered":"From mountain to table: Mount Grace Hotel & Spa puts the Magaliesberg on the plate"},"content":{"rendered":"

A returning chef, a young kitchen team and a property-wide refurbishment have given Mount Grace Hotel & Spa a new look and a menu built on foraging, fermenting and the stories behind every dish.<\/em><\/p>\n

Long before he returned as Executive Chef in March 2026, Pieter Malan worked at Mount Grace Hotel & Spa as a student. That first taste of the Magaliesberg laid the foundation for a career that took him around the world. Now he is back, and following a two-year personal study of the region\u2019s natural ingredients, he has refreshed every menu on the property, from high tea to fine dining.<\/p>\n

He has not come back alone. In a reunion of sorts, Chef Edwin Theron has also joined the Mount Grace Hotel & Spa kitchen team. The two chefs were co-competitors on kykNET\u2019s Kokkedoor. Edwin went on to graduate cum laude from culinary school and now works closely with Chef Pieter on the hotel\u2019s concept dining.<\/p>\n

Cooking from the soil<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the past two years, Chef Pieter has made a personal study of what the land itself can give the kitchen. The mountains around Mount Grace are rich in natural ingredients, from Tulbaghia (wild garlic), amadumbe and wild prickly pears to confetti bush, aloe, lavender and imphepho. The team forages them by hand and turns the soil afterwards so the plants can regenerate naturally.<\/p>\n

Around 80% of the ingredients are indigenous and either foraged or sourced within a 60km radius, which means fresher produce and support for local producers such as Van Gaalen Cheese in Hartbeespoort and the family-run Bambini, known for its ice cream and gelato. Not every ingredient is available all year, so the kitchen preserves and ferments, setting aside the best of each season for later. It is a traditional, nostalgic way of cooking, and it gives the menus a sense of place.<\/p>\n

The in-house kombucha shows how far this goes. The team brews the base in a glass syphon: as the liquid heats in the lower chamber, pressure pushes it up into an upper chamber filled with botanicals. The result is a hibiscus kombucha, made with hibiscus from the neighbouring farm and local honey alongside foraged confetti bush, lavender and aloe, which reappears on the Rambling Vine menu as a reduction served with locally sourced tilapia.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything on this menu starts with one question: what does this land give us? We forage, we ferment and we preserve so that we can cook with what is local and true to the Magaliesberg all year round. I want the young chefs in this kitchen to own that story, because they are the ones who will carry it forward,\u201d says Chef Pieter Malan.<\/p>\n

A seven-course culinary journey at Rambling Vine<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new menus honour South African food, treasured family recipes and the nostalgia that comes with them, all given a Mount Grace twist. Nowhere is this clearer than at Rambling Vine, where the seven-course tasting menu draws on ingredients and techniques from across the country.<\/p>\n

The evening begins in the wine cellar with canap\u00e9s: a velvety amadumbe soup with wild garlic oil, buchu emulsion and fermented prickly pear, alongside \u201cThe Cigar\u201d, a cold-smoked wild hog coppa mousse with a honey tuille. At the table, the bread service brings dombolo, amagwinya and mosbolletjies with a candle made from boerewors lard for dipping. Later, sorghum, one of South Africa\u2019s oldest staple grains, is reworked into a risotto with braised oxtail and to add crunch as a popcorn topping.<\/p>\n

What sets the evening apart is who tells the story. Each course and its wine is presented at the table by a member of the culinary team, many of them young cooks trained by Chef Pieter. They explain where each ingredient comes from, how it was prepared and the history behind the dish. The result is a shared effort rather than a one-chef show, and a way of building skills and confidence across the team.<\/p>\n

A fresh look<\/strong><\/p>\n

The food is matched by a refurbishment of all 121 rooms, reception, the lounge, Rambling Vine and the 1852 Heritage Bar. A muted palette of earthy tones, sage and natural wood reflects the gardens and mountains outside, with panelled cream walls, soft furnishings and fireplaces throughout. Rooms are set in freestanding buildings across the gardens, and 26 suites have their own heated pool.<\/p>\n

The 1852 Heritage Bar, named for the year the land was first registered as a farm, keeps its old-school charm. Settle in front of the fire in winter or open the doors to the cool mountain breeze in summer, over hearty plates such as slow-braised oxtail with a steamed dumpling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe refurbishment gave us the chance to look at Mount Grace Hotel & Spa with fresh eyes, and food was always going to be a big part of that. The new look reflects our surroundings, and Chef Pieter\u2019s menus bring those surroundings to the table. We want Mount Grace Hotel & Spa back on the map as a destination for people who love good food,\u201d says General Manager Barend Olivier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A returning chef, a young kitchen team and a property-wide refurbishment have given Mount Grace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom mountain to table: Mount Grace Hotel & Spa puts the Magaliesberg on the plate - Stokvel Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1451\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From mountain to table: Mount Grace Hotel & Spa puts the Magaliesberg on the plate - Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A returning chef, a young kitchen team and a property-wide refurbishment have given Mount Grace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1451\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-27T18:41:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charcuterie-Board-0272.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26\"},\"headline\":\"From mountain to table: Mount Grace Hotel & Spa puts the Magaliesberg on the plate\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-27T18:41:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451\"},\"wordCount\":854,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Charcuterie-Board-0272.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1451\",\"name\":\"From mountain to table: Mount Grace Hotel & Spa puts the Magaliesberg on the plate - 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