HHearth & GrainRequest a tasting
Heritage catering · Johannesburg

Home food.
Hotel standards.

Hearth & Grain is a heritage South African catering studio led by MaMkhwanazi. We bring the soul of Mogodu and the discipline of a fine-dining kitchen to weddings, boardrooms and ceremonies — from 50 plates to 500 guests.

12,400+
Guests served
8–12
Events / month
98%
On-time SLA
Plate 01 · Oxtail & Samp
No. 047 / 2026
"Cooked the way Gogo would. Served the way the room deserves."
— Standard Bank Eastgate— The Maslow, Sandton— Mbeki Family Wedding— Soweto Heritage Day— Nedbank Off-site— Mokoena Lobola— ABSA Regional Training— Khanyile-Dlamini Wedding— Standard Bank Eastgate— The Maslow, Sandton— Mbeki Family Wedding— Soweto Heritage Day— Nedbank Off-site— Mokoena Lobola— ABSA Regional Training— Khanyile-Dlamini Wedding
Our standard

Heritage,
systematised.

Clients have historically had to choose between authentic flavour with unreliable service, or sterile industrial catering with no soul. We built Hearth & Grain to close that gap with four non-negotiables.

01

Cultural authenticity

Recipes carried through generations — Mogodu, Samp & Beans, Tripe, Dombolo — built into a menu engineered for scale.

02

Documented SOPs

Standardised recipes, plating guides, temperature logs and pre-event checklists. The same dish for 50 or 500.

03

Transparent contracts

Clear per-guest pricing, written deposits, signed SLAs. No "approximate" quotes, no surprises on invoice day.

04

Founder sign-off

Every menu item is tasted and approved by MaMkhwanazi before service. The buck stops at the head chef.

What we do

Four ways to eat
with us.

From a Tuesday-lunch office order to a 500-guest wedding, the kitchen runs the same playbook. Pick the surface that fits — we'll match the standard to the room.

Corefrom R 150 / guest

Event catering

Weddings, traditional ceremonies, private celebrations. Buffet or plated, 100–500+ guests.

  • — Setup & breakdown
  • — Trained service crew
  • — Custom menus
  • — Hire stock managed
Recurringfrom R 2,500 / month

Corporate retainers

Monthly office lunch programmes, board meetings, training days. Formal invoicing & SLAs.

  • — Net-30 invoicing
  • — B-BBEE compliant
  • — Dedicated account lead
  • — Dietary tracking
Cash flowfrom R 80 / plate

Daily plated meals

Pre-order "plate of the day" via WhatsApp. Picked up or delivered within 10km of HQ.

  • — WhatsApp ordering
  • — Weekly menu drop
  • — Group order discounts
  • — Office delivery
Add-onfrom R 50 / item

Desserts & specialty

Celebration cakes, malva stations, dessert tables, Amarula bar. Sold solo or attached to events.

  • — Wedding cakes
  • — Dessert tables
  • — Coffee & tea bar
  • — Live carving station
Transparent pricing

No “we’ll get
back to you.”

Every quote is written, every deposit term is documented, every SLA is signed. Prices below exclude VAT. Custom proposals issued within 48 hours of brief.

Pre-order via WhatsApp

Daily plated meal

R 80per plate
  • · One main + two sides
  • · 24-hour pre-order window
  • · Delivery within 10km: R 35
★ Most booked
Weddings · ceremonies · funerals

Buffet event

R 150–250per guest
  • · 3 mains, 4 sides, 2 desserts
  • · Basic staffing & setup
  • · 100–500+ guests
  • · Hire stock co-ordinated
Multi-course with table service

Plated fine dining

R 250–450per guest
  • · 3 or 5 course tasting
  • · Full waiter brigade (1:10)
  • · Bespoke menu development
  • · Linen & glassware optional
Recurring contract

Corporate retainer

R 2.5k–15kper month
  • · Weekly office lunches
  • · Net-30 invoicing
  • · Quarterly menu refresh
  • · Dietary tracking

All event bookings require a 40% deposit at sign-off and balance 7 days before the event. We’ll never invoice you outside the agreed terms.

VAT excluded · Prices valid through Dec 2026

Founder · 2014–present
“Cook home food, like a hotel cooks.”
Meet the chef

MaMkhwanazi
— Founder & Head Chef.

A culinary custodian blending generational recipes with modern gastronomy. Over a decade in heritage cuisine — first at her grandmother’s table, then in commercial kitchens across Gauteng — MaMkhwanazi owns menu R&D, quality control, and the cultural integrity of every plate that leaves the Hearth & Grain kitchen.

12+
years cooking heritage cuisine
HACCP
food safety certified kitchen
38
recipe-cards in the master book
1
head chef who tastes every plate
From inquiry to debrief

How a booking
actually works.

We refuse to operate the WhatsApp-and-pray way. Six steps, written down, every time — from a corporate Tuesday lunch to a 400-guest lobola.

01

Inquire

Send us your event date, guest count, and rough vibe. We respond within one business day.

02

Tasting

Free tasting at the kitchen for events over R 25k. Bring up to 4 people and a notebook.

03

Proposal

Within 48 hours: written menu, full per-guest cost, staffing plan, signed SLA.

04

Deposit & lock

40% deposit holds the date. Final menu and dietary tracker due 14 days out.

05

Service day

On-site setup. Trained crew. Founder sign-off before guests arrive.

06

Debrief

Post-event call within 7 days. NPS check. Final invoice. Glass back to you.

Plan your event

Let’s build
your menu.

Five short steps and you’ll have an estimate in front of you. We’ll follow up within one business day with a tasting invitation and a written proposal.

What are we cooking for?

Pick the closest match — we'll tailor from there.

Step 1 of 6