MAKERS LANDING has introduced the next iteration of its retail food business with a pop-up restaurant concept which invites rising stars to take up residency in a bigger restaurant space, giving them an opportunity to get a taste of running a full-scale restaurant.
First to take up the opportunity in the 100spm space is Emazulwini’s Mmabatho Molefe, one of South Africa’s most promising young chefs, who has moved from her 10-seater restaurant at Makers Landing into the 40-seater pop-up space designed in collaboration with Clout/SA, a design programme that facilitates collaboration between design makers and the hospitality sector. Interior design specialist, Walter Train, was the design lead on the project and was mentored by Clout/SA.
The award-winning Zulu-inspired restaurant which opened in 2020 and celebrates Nguni cuisine with a menu that is a tribute to the owner/chef Mmabatho’s roots, and her mother who inspires how she cooks. “We have been privileged to launch in a pop-up space in Makers Landing which is fully equipped with everything from a kitchen to tables, crockery and equipment. We just need to bring the food and alcohol,” she said.
Mmabatho has unveiled a new menu, “I am calling it ‘A letter from home’. The events of previous months have been overwhelming, in a good way, and we needed a break. I spent time with my parents Sindi and Sipho in KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg, re-discovering who I am and emerged feeling refreshed.” Her cooking, which uses offal and indigenous ingredients, will now also include a vegetarian menu, and she’s promised a few old favourites will make an appearance.
“The opening of the Makers Landing pop up kitchen is the next evolution on providing a platform for growing food businesses to scale up, as we build a community around food as a passion point and cultural connector. We hope to be a space where authentic South African food and its diversity, is shared and businesses are mentored.”
Bookings are open via Dineplan here.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ian du Toit ©