Pete Goffe-Wood’s food truck, Fire & Smoke, comes with a lovely story.

Some time in 2018, his wife Elize was trying to track down a certain someone who had a certain, somewhat dilapidated, truck. She asked everyone she knew how to find this person. Thing is, when someone doesn’t want to be found, even within a relatively small circle, it’s a challenge.

Fast-forward to February 2019, and the announcement of Fire & Smoke was made on social media, as a birthday gift from Elize to Pete. Turns out, this is in fact the very same old vehicle Elize had been trying to track down, which she then had fixed up and fitted out as a roadworthy surprise for her hubby.

“I knew she was up to something,” Pete told me over lunch one day, “but Elize is terrible at keeping secrets, so I didn’t push her for more.”

That is just the sweetest thing, and if you can’t see the mutual romance in it then I’m sorry but we can’t be friends.

The truck has been to some markets since then, and is available for hire as well. We finally caught up with it at an event in the East City (Cape Town CBD), where we all tucked into sticky ribs which left us with sauce up to our eyebrows (and by “our” I mean “my” since apparently I still eat more messily than a three-year-old) because if that doesn’t happen, did you even have ribs? Fire & Smoke was also serving aged rump on roosterkoek, and giant cheese, bacon and chilli burgers; when you see the chef tucking into his own food with such gusto, you know it’s good.

Pete eats his own burger while William drools.

When it comes to cooking with fire and smoke, Pete is an expert. We know this partly because he is a judge on TV’s Ultimate Braai Master, and also because he conducts events and masterclasses using his vast collection of Webers. I invited myself to one of these, which was otherwise exclusively for members of Marriott Bonvoy, the international hotel group’s loyalty programme. With enough points, guests can book for a variety of experiences, one of which was a braai masterclass with Pete, on the pool deck of the Protea Fire&Ice! on the outskirts of Cape Town’s CBD.

It was a small, intimate affair, and I was particularly impressed by the guest who had popped into Cape Town for the weekend… from Canada. She was at the other end of the table so I didn’t speak to her directly, but the whispers were that she claimed to love flying. Clearly business class; there is no other way.

Cooking on the roof of Protea Fire&Ice.

The event began in the late afternoon, when Pete set up several Weber grills for the various courses, all of which would be cooked over coals. At each point of the evening, he explained what he was doing and why, and at the same time, imparted lots of valuable wisdom for us who like to braai at home. For example, I now know I should build a massive fire for longer before bringing it down to a bed of coals that will be sufficient for cooking lots of meat. As if I need an excuse to fan the flames.

We nibbled on canapes as the sun set, casting a golden glow over Table Mountain, before sitting down for the first course of tuna with roast garlic and parsley dressed fennel salad. It was paired with Iona Sauvignon Blanc.

The tuna.

The second course was my favourite – pork belly with pickled cabbage, and new potato and bacon salad. The wine was DeWetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay. Third up was rib eye steaks with red wine and thyme butter, and a simple pile of leaves. Simonsig in Stellenbosch is famous for being the producer of the award-winning Kaapse Vonkel – our country’s first MCC – but it also makes some rather lovely red wines; we had the Mr Borio Shiraz. Quite a lot of it, as it turned out.

Rib-eye.

The pork.

Dessert was banana bread and fresh bananas (slice them lengthways and leave the skin on while grilling – genius), drenched in toffee sauce, with Allesverloren Old Vintage Port to accompany.

After dinner, and more wine, Pete and I sat down to chat about his new and exciting venture as chef patron of the restaurant at Grande Roche in Paarl.

In case you missed it, the hotel has new owners and Pete will be running the restaurant – Viande – as chef patron, which means it’s all his. All food and beverage operations have been outsourced to Pete, so he’ll be responsible for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners as well as conferencing, weddings and functions. The most important part, however, is that for the first time, the hotel will be open to day visitors to come eat, drink and make merry.

“It’s the first time in 30 years the hotel has been owned by locals – locals who have grown up in Paarl – and the whole idea is to open up this heritage building to people who live in the area, as well as hotel guests,” says Pete.

“And in order to do that, we have to make the food more accessible.”

Viande is the French word meaning simply meat, a statement of culinary direction, embracing Pete’s philosophy of nose to tail eating. “For me, Grande Roche has always been about – and they’ve done a magnificent job of it – a fine dining atmosphere and we want to move away from that.

“We are going to celebrate the beast and we’ll have ears and snouts and cheeks, all the way to the tail. It’s only city dwellers who have prime cuts and nothing else; out in the farmlands they use the entire animal. I think there’s an affinity for that when you’re on a farm, and this hotel is on a farm which happens to be in a major town, which makes it appropriate.”

Renovations, decorating and building will continue through June 2019, until the reopening in July.

“We’re building a magnificent cocktail bar where we’ll do canapes, drinks, and tapas,” says Pete.

“There will be a major overhaul in the restaurant. No more starched napkins and tablecloths. Instead, beautiful raw treated wood tables, and wooden chairs. Francois du Plessis is doing our interior. I’ve worked with him before on various projects and he gets the functionality of it. We have come up with a feel and a concept that people will get and enjoy, and we aren’t dumbing it down.”

For example, the majestic chandeliers will be retained, as will the grandeur and elegance.

“The offering will be more accessible, with an element of something special. The biggest change will be that it’s open to the public,” says Pete.

Of the mammoth task, Pete admits to some trepidation because it’s a landmark hotel that needs a certain amount of respect shown to it.

“You can’t willy-nilly turn it into a meat Disneyland,” he comments. “I think I have great respect for the fantastic chefs who have cooked there before me and we want to do the legacy proud. There will still be phenomenal food, but a different style.

“It’s a daunting prospect but in the same breath, a hugely exciting one.” DM

For more information about Grande Roche, go to www.granderoche.com, email [email protected] or call 021 863 5100. The Grande Roche Hotel is at 1 Plantasie Street, Paarl. Follow the journey to rebirth on Twitter @Grande_Roche, Facebook (GrandeRoche) and Instagram (Grande_Roche)