Bucketlist fine dining with Michelin-starred chef

Guest called it “the best meal I’ve had anywhere in the world”

Last updated: Tuesday, 23 December 2025

People are driving from Cape Town for this 2.5-hour lunch in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, which one guest called “the best he’s had anywhere in the world”. For just three fleeting months, you can experience Epoché, the seasonal fine-dining restaurant helmed by two-Michelin-starred Dutch chef Edwin Vinke. It might be the most unforgettable thing you do this summer. Epoché is open for lunch and dinner from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026 only.

The views are some of the best in the valley which overlook a dam, mountains and wetland valley, with vineyards and fynbos slopes. Image: Epoché

OPEN 3 MONTHS ONLY!

Your experience begins long before the first course. You drive through a canopy of trees, guided by lanterns in the evening. At the entrance with the basket full of pearly abalone shells, you get a moment to take it all in while sitting on the wicker chairs overlooking the shimmering dam. You have arrived, after all, between heaven and earth (Hemel-en-Aarde), where you will soon see the sun set on the ocean. 

Epoché is housed in a luxury lodge tent, framed on one side by a bountiful herb garden. The interior is spacious and open, so everybody gets a view of the dam and the horizon. Basket chandeliers hang above, and light rugs line the floor. The feeling is elegant and expansive, never stiff.

Epoché means a pause in time. Image: Epoché

2-MICHELIN-STARRED CHEF IN SA

The food is grounded, not showy, built on 42 years of Edwin’s technique, skill and instinct. “When I came here, I went back to my native cooking. I found beautiful herbs and spices. I went to the seaside,” says Edwin.

The protein, used from the head to the tail, is slow-cooked. The Karoo lamb is in the oven for 24 hours, the fish stock is made from scratch, and the goat cheese is infused with the herbs and flowers found on the Hasher Family Wines estate.

The result is flavour without heaviness – “no cream, no butter, and 40% is vegetables,” says Edwin – where you leave full of energy, and light. Satiated, not overfed.

Chef Edwin Vinke combines Dutch technique with the wild flavours of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, creating a cuisine both innovative and grounded. Image: Epoché

“BEST CULINARY EXPERIENCE”

Everything here is deliberate. Handmade crockery. Fynbos on the table. Stools for your bag. Before your first course arrives, a server in a crisp, burnt orange uniform washes your hands in warm water and essential oils.

During one of the lunch services, the front-of-house manager, Alex Brits, is outside picking flowers to present to a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary.

“We had a gentleman from Hermanus the night before, who had eaten at a lot of Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, who called Epoché the pinnacle of his culinary experience,” says Alex.

This is a rare chance to experience culinary mastery in one of South Africa’s most beautiful wine regions. Image: Epoché

BEST COOL-CLIMATE WINE REGION

It’s all part of the choreography, says Joke Gonggrijp, the co-owner of Ficks, Dutchies and Daan’s Bakery in Hermanus, who brought Edwin to Epoché at Hasher Family Wines. The farm, crowned Winery of the Year at the 2025 London Wine Competition, pours cool-climate wines from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, considered among the best in the world.

Hasher Wines co-owner Céline Haspeslagh says this is a successful collaboration because she, Joke and Edwin are all fastidious entrepreneurs. “Wine making is all about attention to detail.”

Guests get to taste five wines in total paired with specific courses. Image: Epoché

BEST DISHES ON THE MENU

Céline’s favourite moment since Epoché opened is her son’s reaction to having the simple potato dish, which is boiled in the filtered ocean water with kelp, until completely evaporated. “Seeing the amazement on Emile’s face when he had the dish…that is beauty to me,” says Céline.

Joke’s favourite dish? “So far,” she corrects, as the menu evolves every few weeks. “The Watermelon steak tartare. It’s baked in the skin overnight, then frozen for eight hours. Feels like you’re eating steak tartare. It’s so unbelievably different and unexpected. And I love that the fish comes in fresh every single day as well.”

Everything, from the food to the plating, is extraordinarily thoughtful and meticulously planned. Image: Epoché

BUCKET LIST FOODIE EXPERIENCE

For Joke, Epoché is a joy on many levels, especially watching the Netherlands work seamlessly with South African staff. “Local staff don’t often get the chance to work with food at this level,” she says.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both guests and staff. It’s warm and grounded. Global and rooted. Temporary, and unforgettable.

At Epoché, three key elements come together: expert cuisine, terroir-focused wines, and the people who bring them to life. Image: Epoché

BOOK EPOCHÉ NOW

Epoché: 15 dishes within 6 courses paired with Hasher Family wines and Colmont Classique bubbly. Approximately 2.5 hours
Epoché is open: 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026
Lunch: Wednesday to Sunday, from 12pm
Dinner: Wednesday to Saturday evening, from 6pm
Price: R2 150 per person. Add wine pairing, R900 per person
Find it: Hasher Family Wines, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Hermanus
Book: Epoché's website or Dineplan
Contact via: WhatsApp 067 489 0082 

By Joonji Mdyogolo

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