Franschhoek has just welcomed a breathtaking new dining destination: Arum. This culinary gem – which recently opened its doors – is the latest project from acclaimed chef Peter Tempelhoff and his award-winning team. Set on the historic Boschendal Estate, Arum is a contemporary, produce-driven restaurant shaped by fire, seasonality and the natural rhythm of one of South Africa’s most beautiful working farms.

A Modern Take on Farm-to-Table Dining

Led by Executive Chef and Partner Travis Finch, Arum blends global culinary influences with deeply rooted South African heritage. The restaurant takes its name from the arum lily, a flower native to the Cape and a symbol of the valley’s seasonal rhythm – growth, bloom, retreat and renewal.

“When I think of the valley, I think of lilies,” Tempelhoff says. “They mirror the rhythm of Boschendal itself – a constant cycle of growth, rest and return.”

Finch brings a world of experience to the kitchen at Arum, having worked at international culinary destinations such as The Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort, London’s The Connaught, Chapter One, and Melbourne’s Vue de Monde before spending several years as a private chef aboard luxury yachts. His cooking philosophy is anchored in precision, flame, clarity and restraint and he expresses it through whole-animal butchery, fermentation, preservation and a close connection to Boschendal’s gardens, orchards and pastures.

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What’s on the Menu at Arum Restaurant?

Arum’s menu shifts with the seasons and celebrates the farm’s abundance. Expect wood-fired breads with farm-churned butter and vegetable-driven crudites that arrive straight from the soil. Boschendal’s own Duroc herd also make for the ideal charcuterie, while starters include Stracciatella with fire-roasted beetroot; Cape octopus with guanciale, smoked corn and brown butter; and Rooibos-smoked duck with squash and mango atchar. Mains accentuate the produce reared on the farm – from lamb and pork to South African Wagyu and grass-fed Angus cooked over open flame.

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For dessert, the menu pays homage to the estate’s orchards and vineyards with dishes like baked pineapple pelargonium mousse, cherries steeped in Shiraz, caramelised-honey pain perdu, and a signature Dalewood cheese concept course that celebrates Tempelhoff‘s favourite cheesery in the valley, through varying temperatures. Aptly titled Three Degrees of Cheese, this course is a recreation of a famous Greenhouse signature.

A Wine and Cocktail Programme Rooted in the Estate

Naturally, the beverage programme is led by award-winning Group Sommelier and Service Director Jennifer Hugé. She has collaborated closely with Boschendal’s winemakers to craft a bespoke collection of estate-grown, single-varietal wines exclusively for Arum. This includes Semillon from the iconic La Colline vineyard, Alicante Bouschet, Marselan, Cinsault and Mourvèdre.

At the Arum Bar, Hugé transforms farm-grown fruit, herbs and botanicals into ferments and tinctures, presenting refined interpretations of classic cocktails alongside their counterparts.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: BEHIND THE DRINKS WITH FYN GROUP’S JENNIFER HUGÉ

Arum Restaurant: A Space Inspired by Nature, Time and Craft

Arum is housed in Boschendal’s beautifully restored 1812 Werf building, redesigned by MR. Studio‘s Rotem Shachar and Megan Bond, and architect, Jacques Mouton, overseen by the FYN Group‘s long-time collaborator, Tristan du Plessis of Studio A. The project was managed by Adrian Kuyper of ANK Projects and the interiors unfold as a journey through mineral, vegetable and animal realms, featuring sculptural fireplaces inspired by vegetables, a dramatic dry-ageing vitrine, a striking bone-inspired bar designed by artist Driaan Claasen, mohair textiles and grow-tunnel structures. Not to mention the Zambezi-stone sundial basin in the restrooms, complete with a true-north-pointing gnomon!

Ultimately, the result is an immersive dining space that feels both contemporary and intrinsically connected to the farm’s history.

Arum at Boschendal Estate is now open for lunch and dinner from Wednesdays through to Sundays, offering an elevated yet grounded farm-to-fork experience that celebrates the best of Franschhoek’s food, wine, nature and heritage.

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