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When Pieter Malan returned to Mount Grace Hotel & Spa as Executive Chef in March 2026, he came full circle. Having worked at the property as a student, his early experience in the Magaliesberg helped lay the foundations for a career that would take him around the world. Now, following two years of studying the region’s natural ingredients and culinary possibilities, he has reimagined the menus across the property, from high tea to fine dining.

Joining him is Chef Edwin Theron, a fellow competitor on kykNET’s Kokkedoor. Having graduated cum laude from culinary school, Edwin now works closely with Pieter on the hotel’s concept dining experiences, bringing complementary skills to a kitchen united by a shared appreciation for South African food heritage.

Cooking from the land

At the heart of Pieter’s approach is a simple question: what can the surrounding landscape offer the kitchen? The Magaliesberg provides a rich palette of indigenous plants, from Tulbaghia (wild garlic), amadumbe and wild prickly pears to confetti bush, aloe, lavender and imphepho. The team forages by hand, taking care to turn the soil afterwards to encourage natural regeneration.

According to the hotel, approximately 80% of the ingredients used are indigenous and either foraged or sourced within a 60km radius. This emphasis on provenance supports regional suppliers, including Van Gaalen Cheese in Hartbeespoort and family-run Bambini, known for its ice cream and gelato.

Seasonality is central to the kitchen’s philosophy. Ingredients are preserved and fermented when available, allowing the team to capture the character of each season and carry those flavours into menus throughout the year. The result is a style of cooking rooted in South African culinary traditions and shaped by the surrounding landscape.

The hotel’s house-made kombucha illustrates this approach. Prepared using a glass syphon, the brew combines hibiscus from a neighbouring farm and local honey with foraged botanicals, including confetti bush, lavender and aloe. The resulting hibiscus kombucha is reduced and served with tilapia on the Rambling Vine menu, bringing together complementary flavours in an unexpected expression of place.

“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 Pieter.

A seven-course culinary journey at Rambling Vine

The renewed menus celebrate South African food traditions, treasured family recipes and the nostalgia associated with familiar flavours, reinterpreted through the Mount Grace kitchen. At Rambling Vine, the seven-course tasting menu brings these influences together in a culinary journey shaped by indigenous ingredients and techniques drawn from across the country.

The experience begins in the wine cellar with canapés, including 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 offers dombolo, amagwinya and mosbolletjies, accompanied by a candle made from boerewors lard for dipping. Elsewhere on the menu, sorghum, one of South Africa’s oldest staple grains, is transformed into a risotto with braised oxtail, with sorghum popcorn adding a contrasting crunch.

Storytelling is integral to the experience. Each course and its accompanying wine is presented by a member of the culinary team, many of them young cooks trained under Pieter’s guidance. Guests are introduced to the provenance of the ingredients, the techniques behind their preparation and the cultural or culinary history informing each dish.

It is an approach that places the team, rather than a single chef, at the centre of the experience, while giving emerging culinary talent the opportunity to develop their knowledge, confidence and voice.

A refreshed setting in the Magaliesberg

The culinary transformation accompanies a refurbishment of all 121 rooms, together with reception, the lounge, Rambling Vine and the 1852 Heritage Bar. The interiors draw on the natural surroundings, combining earthy tones, sage, natural wood, cream panelling, soft furnishings and fireplaces to create a contemporary interpretation of the property's country-house character.

Accommodation is arranged in freestanding buildings throughout the gardens, while 26 suites feature their own heated pools.

The 1852 Heritage Bar takes its name from the year the land was first registered as a farm. Retaining a sense of old-world charm, it offers a welcoming retreat beside the fire in winter, while its doors open to the mountain air in summer. The menu includes comforting dishes such as slow-braised oxtail with a steamed dumpling, reinforcing the property's emphasis on familiar flavours and generous hospitality.

“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.

With its renewed interiors, reimagined menus and emphasis on the next generation of chefs, Mount Grace Hotel & Spa is placing the Magaliesberg firmly at the centre of its culinary identity — inviting guests to discover the region through its flavours, traditions and stories.