Romance at The Robertson Small
I don’t know if you do this, but I cannot help but dream when I drive through small towns, of buying a building or two, opening cafes, galleries, and bringing life to a place. I see old buildings and I can imagine a hotel, a restaurant. Nothing makes me happier than if someone does just that. Robertson might not have the pull of towns such as Franschhoek, but it is home to something very special : The Robertson Small Hotel. If my daydreams came true, I would do it just like this romantic hideaway. Rooms opening on sparkling pool, or two. Creating a space for local artists to show their talents, that is both private and intimate, yet vibey. As in a luxe experience, the food is always the hero. And the drinks flowing.
About The Robertson Small Hotel
Located in the ‘valley of wine and roses’ along the R62, the longest wine route in the world, The Robertson Small is established as Robertson’s only five-star hotel having been routinely named among South Africa’s finest luxury country hotels since it opened its doors in 2011.
In the winter of 2016, owner Tim Rands entrusted his daughter Abigail with the task of renovating the hotel from top to bottom. Curated by Studio Ashby of London, the redesign saw local designers and collaborators tasked with creating bespoke items to form part of a brand new look while enhancing the award-winning facilities.
The Victorian Manor House – built in 1909 and now a National Monument – as well as the Stable and Poolside suites, the ample gardens and wellness room were set upon by a crack team of local designers and artists including Alexis Barrel, Michael Chandler, Renee Rossouw, House of Gozdawa, Lisa Firer, Rene Botes, Bonfred Furniture among others.
Elements of the renewed design can be found in every detail of the hotel. Fashion designer and textile artist Alexis Barrell drew inspiration from local flora and fauna to design a range of textile works using techniques such as hand block printing – an intricate and laborious process of carving sketches into wood and printing on cotton with natural dyes by hand.
The art on show at The Small is an curated pop-up exhibition by Michael Chandler. All displayed art at the Robertson Small will be available for sale.
Cape Town design studio Hoick, known for their classic, offbeat and minimal style, were tasked with redesigning the in-house publications, the corporate identity, the website and all signage. The team also designed a brand new in-room publication, The Small Guide, a carefully curated list of 26 intimate experiences with the Small’s many and various neighbours in the valley.
The Small Restaurant focuses on seasonal produce sourced in the Robertson area. Legendary chef Chris Erasmus, of Foliage in Franschhoek, has come on-board at The Small Restaurant for a programme of mentorship and training—and plenty of foraging—for the team of chefs.
Meanwhile, artisanal coffee producer Terbodore collaborated with The Small to create a signature blend using 100% Arabica beans from Ethiopia, Indonesia and Brazil.
Aside from a selection of the area’s finest wines, the EM Bar has added a small range of cocktails to its repertoire, showcasing craft liquor producers such as Hope on Hopkins gin and Bain’s Cape Mountain whisky. A custom bar in blue and white porcelain by artist Michael Chandler pays homage to the bar’s last resident, the mysterious ‘Tannie Em’, who is said to have enjoyed a drink before bed.
A signature scent was invented by artisanal epicene perfume house House of Gozdawa to bring the aroma of the surrounding area into the rooms and halls of the hotel. The fragrance was concocted using essential oils extracted from flora and fauna from the Breede River valley.
Katherine-Mary Pichulik was invited to use her signature African and Middle Eastern-inspired accessories crafted from ropes and other materials to create inimitable room key chains and an installation in the Manor House entrance hall.
5 minutes with Owner, Abigail Rands
Was there a golden thread connecting the creatives you chose to work with and if so, can you identify what it is they all had in common that appealed to you?
I like to work with artists. I chose to work with people through a process of collaboration who are complimentary in some ways and opposite in others. The curation of this project came instinctively and working alongside my best friend Sophie Ashby was key. The golden thread is working with people who have a fascination with the world.
What sort of experience do you hope the hotel will inspire?
Traveling freely, taking risks, finding yourself outside often and being open to new experiences.
The menu appears inspired by fresh local ingredients. Was there any particular reason for the choice?
The principle of using great local and seasonal ingredients remains of paramount importance to Small restaurant. I started the project with research for The Small Guide and met twenty-six producers in the Robertson area. We met with farmers and winemakers who were a great source of inspiration.
What do you personally love about Robertson?
I love the beginning of the endless landscape of the Karoo and its orange pink light.
Legendary chef Chris Erasmus, of Foliage fame in Franschhoek, has come on-board at The Small Restaurant for a programme of mentorship and training—and plenty of foraging—for the team of chefs. We spent 5 minutes talking with Chris about his involvement with The Small Restaurant …
Describe your approach as a chef in a sentence…
Be true to each ingredient and know where your produce comes from.
Tell us a little bit about growing up in the Karoo.
I grew up in the Karoo in Middelburg. My mom is a keen gardener, forager and preserving expert so we had to cook, grow and pickle for pocket money!
Describe your involvement with The Small Restaurant:
I’m acting as a mentor for the chefs as well as training them up, with the idea to promote from within. I regularly train the chefs and create new dishes with them at The Small Restaurant. We go on foraging expeditions, and the chefs are even showing me new places in the valley. Additionally each one of The Small chefs do a week training at my restaurant Foliage in Franschhoek on a rotation system to learn our ethos and to build on their knowledge.
What drew you to this project?
My grandfather lived in McGregor for years, and I love the valley! There is a certain sense of food innocence connected to the town of Robertson that appeals to me.
What Robertson produce excites you and the team?
I love the waterblommetjies! Also recently we’ve found some foraged gems such as soutslaai and goosefoot.
Tell us about some of the foraging you and the team are doing in the Robertson Valley?
Every week we find some new things as we’re getting to know the area. We have found white clover, wood sorrel, chickweed, nettle, goosefoot, a few different edible flowers, maroggo—just to name a few.
How exactly are you influencing the dishes being made at The Small?
We are keeping it as local as we can by sourcing, and foraging produce from the area.
Can you elaborate on some of the changes in the menu?
A few South African favourites have made it on the menu such as bokkoms, Karoo lamb and waterblommetjies.
What can guests expect from the dining experience now at The Small?
Lots of wild herbs and flowers!
What has it been like mentoring the chefs—what has stood out for you?
That passion and willingness is sometimes stronger than just experience.
Any advice for young chefs starting out?
Stay humble. Treat every day as a new beginning.
Creative Collaborations
In the winter of 2016, the hotel underwent a major renovation curated by Studio Ashby of London. Local designers and collaborators were tasked with creating bespoke items to form part of a brand new look while enhancing the award-winning facilities.
Renee Rossouw
Cape Town-based architect and artist Renee Rossouw is committed to exploring African identity. Collaborating with the Small, she produced an abstract tapestry weave acknowledging the surrounding landscape. Her colourful, geometric, bold work has been showcased at the Venice Biennale, Madrid Art Fair and locally at the Design Indaba.
“My work is always quite graphic or bold, and symbolic so I already had a lot of art that fits this genre of man connecting to nature. I took one of those works and and developed it to fit the weave piece.
I work quite intuitively and wanted to make a South African nature scene that reminded one of that type of landscape in Robertson, an area that I often drove past on my way to my grandmother and the Karoo.”
Rene Botes
Rene Botes lives and works on a farm in Paarl, where she grows fresh organic flowers and draws daily inspiration from her beautiful surroundings.
For the Small Hotel installations, Botes tapped into the bounty each season has to offer. Using a combination of seasonal produce – herbs, fynbos, flowers, and even fruits and vegetables – great care was taken to create an end-product that is as close to nature as possible.
“I have a deep love for nature and all living creatures. For me, it's important to style each item so it shines in its own way. The idea is to honour our natural surroundings, but with a modern twist. "
Lisa Firer
Ceramicist Lisa Firer produces hand-rolled, hand-embossed and hand-printed works out of her busy studio in Woodstock, Cape Town. Firer’s ceramic light fittings in The Small Restaurant playfully deal with the malleability inherent in the process of producing ceramic work.
“Our organic soft lights explore the journey that clay takes through the firing process – it's a movement from soft clay to hard ceramic. Constructed from wet slabs of clay, the works seek to retain, in its fired form, something of the soft, folded, gestural quality of their malleable former selves.”
Hoick
Cape Town design studio Hoick were charged with redesigning the in-house publications, the corporate identity, the website and all signage.
“With so many talented collaborators involved in the redesign, we wanted to create a lot of room for each artist to be recognised. We kept the design clean, quiet, spacious and kept our focus on the small things, the details to make sure the depth and thoroughness of the makeover was easily apparent. It was about less creating an identity than providing a canvas upon which these various creatives could collectively express what the hotel is about.” Dale Lawrence.
Bofred
Bofred Feature Furniture created a custom chair named the ‘Occasional Chair’ in collaboration with Greyroom.
The Occasional Chair was upholstered in a hand-loomed wool weave and cotton velvet fabric. The hand-woven wool and acrylic weave was created on a table loom and hand sewn to a black, powder-coated steel frame.
The chair was inspired by original hand woven wall hangings by Bofred.
“We worked with a colour palette of soft neutrals with raw, earthy tones and textures found in African landscapes.” Carla Erasmus
Featured Collaborator: Kat Pichulik
Katherine-Mary Pichulik uses locally manufactured ropes and interesting paraphernalia to create bespoke accessories inspired by African and Middle Eastern ornamentation from her Cape Town Studio. For The Small, Pichulik designed inimitable room key chains and an installation in the Manor House.
‘‘The key chains are of a playful riff on the “Small Hotel” idea. They are conspicuous, oversize and thus unexpected. We avoided all traditional ideas associated with these items, even down to the way it attaches to the keys. Every aspect of has been hand made too. That goes for the hats in the corridor, too, each of which is completely different. The quote ‘I am, I said’ is from a Neil Diamond song of all places, but has some cryptic existential undertones. It is all very playful mind you.” Kat Pichulik
