The Peech Boutique Hotel's Basalt Restaurant Is Ending 2020 With Gourmet Bang

Great news for gourmet enthusiasts in Johannesburg! 2020 has not been kind to the restaurant industry, but James Peech, owner of The Peech Boutique Hotel in Melrose, JHB, is sending the year off with a culinary treat. The Basalt Restaurant at The Peech is a chic jewel in the heart of Jozi, offering the best foodie experience in town. Now they are collaborating with top Chefs for the ultimate in food experiences.

BASALT & LA PETITE MAISON

Firstly, a collaboration between Basalt’s recently appointed head chef Feni Malebye-Lutalo, teamed up with Tyeye Ngxola and Tim Stewart (the duo previously at the helm of Melville’s La Petite Maison). The three chefs, all having graduated from Italy’s prestigious ALMA La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana, will be serving up a stellar five-course tasting menu paired with a selection of local, boutique wines presented by Clive Hlabathi from Toasted Barrels.
When: 29-31 October & 5-7 November

FARRO FOOD & WINE

Farro Food & Wine is a husband and wife duo Alex and Eloise Windebank the team behind Illovo’s now -closed, and much-loved, Farro restaurant - will offer modern European cooking and fine wines to the table. Their contemporary five-course tasting menu will have the option of a pairing by one of South Africa’s foremost premium wine distributors, Great Domaines.

When: 19 and 21 November

CHEF CANDICE PHILIP

Chef Candice Philip, well known for her award winning position as the executive chef of Grei at The Saxon,will bring her ultra-fine approach to modern cuisine to Basalt with a five-course fine-dining menu paired with cocktails prepared by one of Joburg’s top mixologists.

When: 26-28 November

For enquiries and bookings:

WhatsApp The Peech Hotel concierge on 072 594 8116 or email: concierge@thepeech.co.za. Bookings are essential.

About The Peech Hotel:

Since 2004 when it opened, this boutique hotel has been a favourite of international and business travellers. Near Sandton business centre, Gautrain and Joburg’s shopping areas, this is an oasis of calm and style - with emphasis to feel like home, “only ten times better”, as James Peech the owner explains. There is something different to a property when the owner is ever present, we even saw James and son watering the garden at sunset. That hands-on attitude always means excellent service and that things will be in line. James’s lovely wife Vicky also has her eyes on the details.

In 2018, Peech went to great lengths to assemble a dream team of architects, landscapers and interior designers to work with him to realise his vision of a “grown up” Peech, while retaining its unique atmosphere as a residence - adding 16 suites and last year opening Basalt.

Architect Catherine de Souza of Meshworks, interior designers Aparna Ramani and Taryn Kallie of Design Republic and landscapers Deirdre Canston of Inspirations Garden Design worked closely with Peech to develop his vision. “We placed a lot of emphasis on elements such as natural light and fresh air, considering how guests like to recover and recharge after they’ve been travelling,” says Peech. 

De Souza explains that, in keeping with the residential feel of The Peech and its gardens, the additional rooms were conceived along lines that reject outdated notions of traditional hospitality, with its bulky structures and sterile corridors. Instead, Meshworks designed the new rooms as pavilions “floating in the garden”, sensitively integrated with extensive landscaping to make them feel as if they’ve always been there. 

She planned a “miniature urban design” – a garden-path-meets-village-high-street that guides guests to their rooms punctuated by a series of moments of discovery. 

Johannesburg is known as the world largest man planted urban forrest, and De Souza took that concept of “garden urbanity” to the aesthetics and materials of the pavilions to reflect the steel concrete and wood of urban infrastructure, while the sculpted landscaping brings the largely indigenous vegetation right up to the rooms. 

Each of the pavilions, with upstairs and downstairs rooms, has been designed as a flexible space with stackable glass doors that open onto private patios or terraces, allowing each room to connect with its surroundings while offering guests the opportunity to customise the degree of privacy or openness they prefer. 

Many of the interior details were bespoke or meticulously customised and crafted. Ramani included multifunctional furnishings and spaces to makes for the highly efficient and flexible use of space. While the toned-down palette and soft layering is partly inspired by the gardens in which the rooms nestle, the rooms also feature carefully curated selections of furnishings and designs by local designers including the likes of Houtlander and W Squared, paying homage to Jo’burg’s talented designers and artists. 

“The beautiful screens between the beds and desks were hand woven by the talented women at Bethany House here in Joburg, a shelter for abused women,” adds Peech. “Through a special programme, they are being taught crafting skills such as sewing, weaving and beading to develop skills that empower them to do what they love and proudly support themselves.”

Peech’s love of Johannesburg is extended with “custom curated groupings of artworks” in each room. A combination archival images, drawing on maps and early drawings and prints with playful historical references to local plant life and fauna. Contemporary references to the city, such as Shaun Gaylard’s detailed sketches of architectural landmarks, weave in a contemporary element of the city’s narrative. 

Peech says the ultimate satisfaction of working closely with his “dream team” has been that his vision was uncompromised.

Of course, if you are based in Johannesburg, the combination of dinner and just sauntering to a spacious suite, a dip in the pool, personalised service makes for a stress free mini holiday.

The hotel is located in Melrose, a popular and upmarket suburb within 10 minutes of the business and shopping nodes of the city. Sandton is ten minutes away, whilst Rosebank and Melrose Arch are only five minutes away by Gautrain and Johannesburg International airport is 45 minutes by car.  The Peech is also situated opposite the James Gray Park and adjacent to the Wanderers International Cricket Stadium.

For reservations and more information contact The Peech hotel on (011) 537 9797

email reservations@thepeech.co.za or visit www.thepeech.co.za #thepeechgrowsup