POPULAR celebrity chef Siba Mtongana has not only broken through industry barriers, she has also proved that if you build it, people will come.
Despite achieving global success with her own televised food show and internationally acclaimed cookbook, by 2020 the multiple award-winning chef had yet to open her own restaurant. At the outset of the pandemic Siba bucked the trend by opening Siba The Restaurant as a pop-up in the 5-star Table Bay hotel in Cape Town. Earlier this year she concluded a contract with Sun International for a permanent presence at the hotel, and construction is underway to expand the existing facilities.
To further crown her success, the Luxe Restaurant Awards honoured her by naming her as its Culinary Icon. Speaking about the award and the success of Siba’s fine dining restaurant, The Table Bay hotel general manager Joanne Selby said, “Siba is extraordinarily talented and we are extremely proud that she has chosen to partner with us for her first restaurant venture.”
The new lightweight steel and glass structure will expand the floor space of the restaurant by 95m2, and will not detract from the views. Selby said, “Our outdoor patio space has only ever been functional in favourable weather, so with the growing popularity of Siba’s restaurant we decided to incorporate this space into the restaurant. Diners will now be able to enjoy an extraordinary fine dining experience while taking in views of the jetty and boats moving in and out of the V&A Waterfront.”
Siba, who hails from Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, has described her food as a fusion of her African roots and her world travels which she combines to create an authentic and unique fine dining experience, “I wanted to elevate African cuisine to a world-class standard and classics such as our dombolo steamed buns have become firm favourites with our patrons from all around the world” she said.
To date, Siba has won five US Film and Television Awards and her televised food programmes reache a global audience across 135 different countries. Her first cookbook, titled Welcome to my Table, has won two awards at the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in China.
