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.
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 after two years of personal study of the region’s natural ingredients, he’s refreshed every menu on the property, from high tea to fine dining.
He has not come back alone. In a reunion of sorts, Chef Edwin Theron has also joined the kitchen team at Mount Grace Hotel & Spa. The two chefs were co-competitors on kykNET’s Kokkedoor. Edwin went on to graduate cum laude from culinary school and now works closely with Chef Pieter on the hotel’s concept dining.
Cooking from the soil
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.
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.
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.
Everything 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,” says Chef Pieter Malan.
A seven-course culinary journey at Rambling Vine
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.
The evening begins in the wine cellar with canapés: a velvety amadumbe soup with wild garlic oil, buchu emulsion and fermented prickly pear, alongside “The Cigar”, a cold-smoked wild hog coppa mousse with a honey tuile. 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’s oldest staple grains, is reworked into a risotto with braised oxtail and, to add crunch, as a popcorn topping.
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.
A fresh look
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.
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.
The 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’s 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,” says General Manager Barend Olivier.
Stay the weekend or visit for the day
Tucked into the Magaliesberg, Mount Grace offers an escape from city life. Plan a romantic weekend around the seven-course dinner at Rambling Vine or visit for the day: start at the award-winning spa, which has 20 treatment rooms, including private thatched rooms in the gardens, then sit down to a seasonal high tea. For business groups, the property has 12 conference and function venues.
Also See: Kruger Shalati retains two MICHELIN Keys as its culinary offering evolves
Kruger Shalati retains two MICHELIN Keys as its culinary offering evolves
Words and images provided.
