It’s over 38 degrees when we pull up at The Stone Kitchen at Dunstone Winery outside Wellington one Sunday afternoon. Dotted amongst the vines you can spot the brownish-grey rocks that lend the farm and restaurant their names.

We are welcomed into restaurant’s cooler interior by a warm smile from both the hostess and the toddler on her hip, indicating that this is a place for family, taking it easy, and farm-style eating. But don’t assume this means plain dishes. One glance at the blackboard menus – with options like eland and cranberry phyllo parcels served with creamed potatoes, veg and shiraz jus – will swiftly set you straight.  

Opened in November 2010, the restaurant is framed around the Dunstone wine tanks, most of them empty at the time of our visit (before the eagerly awaited harvest in the next few days). Winemakers Robert Frith and Lee Wallace have been known to pop in to fine-tune while diners look on in interest. This vigilant care has earned Dunstone Wines numerous awards: the 2008 Shiraz scooped gold at the International Wine Challenge in London and the Old Mutual Trophy awards, and double gold at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards in 2010.        

After sipping on a fragrant cordial of rose and geranium, and failing to resist a basket of crusty herb bread, we dive into our starters. The calamari steaks are flawlessly done and dressed in a light lemon pepper yoghurt, lifting the richness of the seafood in its dainty phyllo basket.

Convivial chef Johan van Schalkwyk comes around to check on us while we’re trying to figure out the secret of the beetroot in the other starter. “It’s like it tastes even more like beetroot,” I muse. Johan reveals that the vegetable is roasted in tinfoil with a few key spices at a low heat for about two hours. “This brings out its natural sweetness,” he smiles. This sweetness is perfectly offset by slivers of hard goat’s cheese, slices of apple, toasted pine nuts and crunchy greens.
   
This beetroot trick is at the root of Johan’s ‘local is lekkerste’ style of cooking. The ingredients, taken from local farms and gardens where possible, really shine. Deftly seasoned and perfectly cooked, these elements of the earth show off the richness of the Wellington region. After his internship at Buitenverwachting Johan spent time working at a château in Normandy with its own organic garden. He would visit the gardener every morning and discuss what produce was begging to be eaten that day. “This is where my inspiration started,” he wistfully tells me.
 
In continuation of this philosophy, Johan has struck up a relationship with a nearby organic farm that is growing produce especially for The Stone Kitchen. In a few months the restaurant hopes to rely solely on local ingredients.  

Right now, it’s clear that some of the meat is as local as it can get. The robust wild boar burger patty (punchier than lamb and leaner than pork) with apple and sage is complemented by caramelised onions and a generous portion of creamy gorgonzola that oozes out of the panini. Home-cut fries dipped in herby mayo finish it off beautifully.

This dish conveniently (and deliciously, I might add) solves a regional problem: the boars were originally shipped from Europe in the 1920s for pest control, but have become pests themselves. They are known to ravage gardens in search of vegetables and grapes. “They prefer the pinotage, apparently,” Johan quips.

There’s a neat kiddies’ blackboard menu too, which must come in handy this Sunday as the place is full of chattering youngsters. Throughout the meal the staff are attentive: our jug of icy water is kept full and our cutlery discreetly replaced after each course.
 
After such hearty meals there’s not much room for dessert – options like dark chocolate fondant are sorely tempting – but I am eager to sample more of Johan’s creations. I go for the ice cream pavlova, simply served with a handful of gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. The fruit taste of the sun’s warmth and are served just-picked, as nature intended. Foxenburg’s variety of goat’s cheeses and a few Fairview options make up the tasty cheese platter, topped with walnuts, fig preserve and blueberry compote.

Despite it seeming a little out of the way on the Bovlei dirt road (which famously terminates at the top of the mountain), The Stone Kitchen has no shortage of business. By the time we re-emerge into the scalding sunlight after our lunch, the restaurant is full of diners there for a late Sunday afternoon snack. On the drive home I keep my eye on the vineyards, hoping to catch a pig plucking some pinotage.

By Linda Scarborough

View our Facebook album of The Stone Kitchen here.