Marco Radebe , Restaurateur	Adam Mason , Winemaker, Klein Constantia
Melissa Sutherland , Wine Tourism Promoter	Mariana and Peter Esterhuizen , Owners, Mariana’s @ Owl Barn in Stanford
Grant Jansen , Radio Presenter	Aron Gcotyelwa , Dancer
Juliana Meredith , Boutique Owner	Gerald Hoberman , Renowned master photographer, author and publisher
Jan Bester , Owner of True South Travel and founder of the H.O.P.E Foundation	George Dearnaley , Football Business Manager

Mariana and Peter arrived in Stanford 23 years ago and describe it as a hippy hangover! They’d had enough of the city and decided to move to the country. In those day’s it was not the fashionable move that it is today. They have become an integral part of Stanford, have received many accolades and awards for their restaurant and culinary skills. No visit to Stanford is complete without a meal at Mariana’s! As a mistake! It all came about because we had a surplus of veggies and couldn’t bear to see all the waste. We started bottling, then had too many jars all over the house and we decided to sell them. At first we sold at markets and that just grew to the point that we wanted a shop. We owned ‘Owl Barn’ so decided we’d open a deli and somehow within a fortnight it had become a restaurant. So, say’s Peter “When I’m asked how long ago we opened the restaurant, I reply that we’ve never opened a restaurant!” Mariana say’s if it wanted to be a deli, then it would become that. Seating & eating was supposed to be a sideline, but it turned out differently. They visited all the ‘fashionable’ towns of the time with the stipulation … “if it was a windy Sunday afternoon, would we be happy here?” … and in Stanford the answer was yes! • Wealth of wines and foods and stuff to work with from a food perspective • Mix of people – English & Afrikaans – laid out by Afrikaans people, but an English name • Older people with such great stories to tell • Small village but not too small, you don’t know everyone, but you know people • Seeing a lot of young people moving back really warms my heart. Children of people in the village are returning with their young babies to bring them up here. • See children play – boys from all over Stanford come together to practice cricket on the Market Square, which is one of the few proper, historic market squares left in South Africa Mariana: “I’m a cook and a gardener who lives in a village and is very happy.” Peter: “I’m stuck with you, and loving it!” “I wish I had time to write a book: ‘A year in the life of the Stanford Market Square’. Earth Hour, go-kart races, the school fete, children dancing to theme songs from a movie; evening markets; the pony show; cricket on New Year’s Day, the criss-cross paths across the green…I’d write it all!” Since Mariana’s has been nominated as one of “SA’s Best” by House & Leisure Magazine, we feel a bit like Bafana Bafana right now – small, but up against the best and it’s really exciting! Go Bafana Bafana!