Emmual and Hester Human moved to ‘The Mountain’ from Singapore in 2017. Emmual grew up in Tzaneen and his family farm is in the Georges Valley, so their plan was always to come back home to Limpopo and settle on the farm. Hester says, ‘we love the stunning nature we have all around us, the fresh air, being able to sit on our stoep in the morning with a cup of coffee overlooking the mountains and, of course, the wonderful sense of community.’
Their main business, Stylkop Farm is located on their farm in George’s Valley, nestled between the foothills of the northern Drakensberg and the upper reaches of the Letaba River. Their certified butchery is situated on the farm from where they supply top-grade beef, chicken, lamb and pork to clients and restaurants in the area. They realised that they needed to create a retail face for their business so when premises on the doorstep of Haenertsburg became available, they jumped at the opportunity to create Stella’s Farm Deli.
When they started, they were just selling local goodies, fresh meat and biltong from their butchery but evolved from there to offering espresso coffees and a restaurant with light meals. Since December, they have a brand-new covered, outdoor deck with a state-of-the-art wood-fired pizza oven. Hester says that Stella’s Farm Deli is ‘a one-stop shop for tourists and locals alike. You can get everything you need for a weekend on ‘The Mountain’ choosing from local, homemade products grown and made by a network of local foodies.’ The best seller in the shop is the “Geelvet” Biltong from matured, top grade, farm fresh beef at Stylkop Farm but customers also love the variety of macadamia nuts, dried mango and pawpaw, honey, pesto, jam and chutney. In the restaurant, Hester says that their famous Stella’s Burgers, Bunny chow and newly introduced wood-fired Pizzas are hot favourites.
Stella’s Farm Deli is conveniently situated at the entrance to Haenertsburg on the R71 between Polokwane and Tzaneen so it is an obvious place for travellers to stop in for supplies or a bite to eat. Hester says that, due to road conditions on other routes, the dynamics have changed significantly with more tourists passing via Haenertsburg to get to Hoedspruit and the Kruger Park. Apart from tourists mainly from Germany, The Netherlands and France, there are many more South Africans exploring their own country. Hester loves to recommend local activities to visitors as Must Do’s while they are here, including the Louis Changuion walking trail, horse riding, Magoebaskloof Canopy Tours, Zwakala Brewery and to take a nice long walk through Haenertsburg town and visit all the local shops.
Hester attributes the success of Stella’s Farm Deli to various factors, saying ‘we are authentic, we pride ourselves on sourcing the most fantastic products and we love interacting with our clients. We are very proud to be part of this community and promote all of our local establishments as much as we can.’ And looking to the future? Hester is quite mysterious… ‘another Stella’s in the bush? Who knows? Watch this space.’
Connect with Hester Human at Stella’s Farm Deli on 071 736 6424 | stellasr71@gmail.com
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