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Jan Harmsgat Guest House
Winelands
Directions to
Jan Harmsgat Swellendam
Jan
Harmsgat Articles
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South African Country Life 2004
Treasure
of the
Overberg
Text by Sean Zintl
Pictures by Hans van der Veen,
Main Picture by Clive Rainsbury, all courtesy of
Jan Harmsgat Guesthouse
On their farm, 'Jan Harmsgat',
Brin and Judi Rebstein
are quietly starting a revolution
in the tourism industry,
and doing it with elegance and style. |
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The
saltwater pool is just the place to laze away the day,
surrounded by
splendid scenery and attentive service
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The
scullery provides an informal corner to sit and discuss
the day's menu
with the kitchen staff.
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Just outside Swellendam lies an historic farm which today
belongs to a couple who are rewriting history in their own
quiet way. What they are doing has broad implications for
the way South Africa develops its growing tourism
potential and alleviates poverty through community
development projects.
The farm, Jan Harmsgat, is located about 24km outside the
town. Established in 1723, it was originally registered as
Jan Harmanzs Schat (Jan Harman's Treasure), but over the
centuries the name has been corrupted to today's form.
Several years ago, successful businessman, Brin Rebstein
decided to swap the fast lane for country lanes. Searching
about for a likely place to settle, he and his wife, Judi,
saw an ad for a dairy farm in the Swellendam area. Further
investigation revealed that the farm had belonged to
Judi's family several generations earlier. ''Well, that
settled that,' says Judi. 'We just knew we had to have
it.'
Since taking over the farm, Brin and Judi have Lavished it
with love and care, restoring the dairy operation and
planting new fruit and nut orchards. But the focus of
their attention was to convert the ramshackle wine cellar
and delapidated labourer's quarters into a charming and
inviting guesthouse.
Part of the transformation process has resulted in an
extensive training programme to equip staff drawn from the
local community with the skills and knowledge to run a
first-class guesthouse. Earlier this year Judi and Brin
were honoured with a mayoral award for their efforts to
empower and uplift previously disadvantaged communities.
Jan Harmsgat's keynote is understated elegance, and Brin
and Judi have worked Magic to ensure that every aspect of
the farm is in keeping with this style. The old labourer's
quarters now house four stylishly appointed guest rooms,
with the reception, kitchen, dining room, and lounge found
in the main building.
Carefully chosen pieces of furniture contribute to a sense
of refined simplicity. In the lounge, high picture windows
frame a pecan nut orchard and the towering peaks of the
Langeberg Mountains that rise up spectacularly behind it.
Right top:The same groomed
elegance of the interior of the house is carried through
to the gardens and the pool area
Right middle:The
reading corner of the downstairs bedroom optimises the
elegance to be found at Jan Harmsgat.
Right bottom :All the
bedrooms have been furnished with an eclectic array of
antiques that contribute to the distinctive character of
the guesthouse.
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Jan Harmsgat atmospheric surroundings contribute to the air of
tranquillity which pervades the guesthouse.
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The same attention to detail is evident when you step outside
: gravel walkaways flanked by high banks of lavender guide you
from the main house to the guest rooms; a vine-covered archway
dramatically sets off the view of a long, rectangular swimming
pool. In spring the air is filled with the sweet sent of
flowering quinces, plums, clementines, pomegranates planted in
profusion around the guesthouse. Brin and Judi greet guests
before dinner, inviting them into the cozy fire-lit lounge
where they can sink into sumptuous sofas and sample some of
Brin's fine wine selection. Brin has an extensive knowledge of
wines and over the years has made friends with many of the
wine producers in the area. He stocks a widely representative
cellar of about 3000 bottles of local and imported wines, and
his well-considered suggestions unfailingly round off the
wonderful meals that issue from the kitchen.
His informed opinions and unassuming manner
make him a most congenial host. When he took over Jan Harmsgat,
Brin also revived the dairy farm, which now produces the
first-class cheeses that are served after dinner and at
breakfast. From classic Leiden to mature Cheddars and Boeren
Kaas, the cheese are complemented by a wonderful array of
homemade preserves.
But what really sets Jan Harmsgat apart are the gourmet meals
that emerge from the double doors leading to the kitchen.
However, the high standard of food and service has not been
easy to accomplish. Judi recalls that when she and Brin first
started thinking of opening a guesthouse, they knew it was
going to be difficult to find well-trained staff, but they
were committed to employing people from the local communities.
''When we first arrived here, we made a
conscious decision to train staff from the local community of
farm workers, '' she says.
''We started with the basics and worked our way up.''
Judi's first training programme was quite
modest. She asked a neighbouring tannie to come over and show
the staff how to make relishes and preserves, ''But I soon
realised that we could do more- much more.''
Judi subsequently contacted well-known chefs,
such as Topsi Venter, to come in and provide formal training
for several days at a time. ''The guest chef would devise a
menu and the staff would practise untill they had perfected
it, then we would move onto something new,'' says Judi. ''The
response from our staff was overwhelming.
''The women developed such confidence - their attitude to work
changed completely. Now they tell me what to do,'' she laughs.
Star of the kitchen is Lena Vergotine, who taught herself to
read by memorising Judi's menus and then matching the words to
the sounds she had remembered. Lena now heads up the five
Kitchen Staff and is supervising a visiting student who is
training for her chef's accreditation from a private college.
Jan Harmsgat is now in its third year of
operation, and is attracting an international clientele - some
of them repeat visitors.
Local visitors also frequently book for dinner.
Judi believes the secret to the success of Jan
Harmsgat lies in always trying to improve on the quality of
service and presentation, ''We always get good feedback from
our visitors, but I believe we can always improve. The
visitors we are trying to attract are used to first-rate
service in hotels and restaurants in Europe and the US. We
have to be able to compete.'' Compete they have, and in
Noveber last year South Africa took notice of their excellence
when Jan Harmsgat Country House was awarded a prestigious
Emerging Tourism Entrepeneur award.
Brin and Judi's vision has wider significance
for the country as a whole. They have shown that it is
possible to develop the potential for tourism more fully, and
at the same time use this to drive community upliftment
projects. ''Training is the key,'' says Judi. ''Training is
empowering.''
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Romantic
rooms
My visit to Jan Harmsgat was fortuitously timed as the
surrounding orchards of plum, orange and lime trees were in full
blossom; their fragrant scent and delicate petals wafting in the
breeze. My loft bedroom, complete with thatched eaves, open-plan
Victorian bathroom and a shuttered window looking onto the
orchards, was devastatingly romantic. The close proximity of the
R60 is a travesty as the traffic noise, so incongruous with Jan
Harmsgat's idyllic setting, was audible from my room. I derive
childlike pleasure from tea and coffee trays (always a Truffle
Pig's first point of inspection) proffering quality products and
nibbly bits - in this case delicious homemade rusks. Full marks
for the jug of fresh milk available at all times in the drinks
fridge in each guest barn.
Your hosts
That evening I crunched my way along the pebbled pathway that
leads through floral archways and fruit orchards, past a natural
swimming pool, to the grand old reception and dining house.
Guests gather in the lounge for pre-dinner drinks and snacks,
where socially adept hosts Brin and Judi Rebstein find points of
parity between their guests, who are soon chatting away merrily.
Brin loves wine and has an impressive stash in the downstairs
cellar. He devotes time to assisting each guest with their
choice of wines throughout the meal. Social upliftment lies
close to this benevolent couple's heart. Judi's staff were all
drawn from the local community, provided with the skills
necessary to run a first-class guesthouse, and more importantly-
mentored and encouraged along the way. Lena, who was illiterate
when she joined Judi in the kitchen fifteen-years ago, now heads
up the kitchen, is an avid Prue Leith fan and has guests begging
for recipes and advice.
Elegant dinners
In addition to being a proficient sommelier, Brin is well-versed
on classical music - a fitting choice for the elegant dining
room, where the tables are decked with white linen and silver,
and a casual jug of nasturtiums adds a vivid splash of colour. I
witnessed careful consideration being taken over guests'
extraordinary dietary requirements, and it would seem that
nothing is too much of an effort. The generous starter consisted
of a Mediterranean stack of tomato, aubergine and pesto; a salad
with lots of fresh greens and herbs; and springbok carpaccio.
Lena's duck with green peppercorn sauce and dauphinoise potatoes
was really delicious and a firm favourite of Jan Harmsgat's
regular visitors. A light yoghurt terrine with fresh
strawberries preceded the smorgasboard of sublime cheeses, many
of which are made solely for serving in the restaurant, at the
Jan Harmsgat dairy. Accompanying the cheeses were a wonderful
array of proper homemade preserves, among them green figs in
Port and Lena's famous citron. |
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