SAFoodStories

What does it really take to build a successful restaurant business? For Alessandro Khojane, founder of Gemelli and Pantry, the answer is not just great food, it’s people, relationships, resilience and knowing when to ask for help. Born in South Africa, raised in Rome, and fluent in Italian, Alessandro’s journey into hospitality was not planned. He began as a waiter in Durban, where he discovered t...

What kind of person sells their house to buy 34 tons of salt? In this episode of South African Food Stories, Nicci Robertson chats with with Samantha Skyring, founder of Oryx Desert Salt, to unpack one of the most unusual food entrepreneurship stories in Africa. What started as a life-changing moment in the Namib Desert became a global gourmet brand distributed in more than 20 countries. Samantha...

In this episode of South African Food Stories, Nicci Robertson chats to Brenda Wilkinson, co-founder of Rio Largo Olive Estate, to unpack the unexpected journey that lead to building one of South Africa’s most recognised olive oil brands. With no background in farming, food production, or retail, the Wilkinson family learned everything from scratch, from growing olives to navigating international...

What if everything you think makes a restaurant successful… is completely wrong? In this episode, Nicci Robertson sits down with Grace Harding, the woman behind Ocean Basket’s explosive global growth, and she drops a truth most people in food don’t want to hear: - It’s NOT about the food. - It’s NOT about the price. - And passion alone? Completely overrated. From a single restaurant in Pretoria to...

In this episode of South African Food Stories, Nicci Robertson chats with Jackson’s Real Food Market founder, Gary Jackson, to explore how a personal health crisis led him to rethink everything he believed about food. From chronic illness to clarity, Gary shares how real, unprocessed food became the catalyst for change, not just in his life, but in how he sources and sells food today. They unpack...

Rejected by publishers, she backed herself, and sold out 300 cookbooks in a single weekend. In this episode of SA Food Stories, Zanele Van Zyl sits down with Nicci Robertson to unpack the real story behind her rise, from IT professional to one of South Africa’s most recognisable food voices. Zanele didn’t follow the expected path. She left corporate life as a new mom to study cooking, built a loya...

What started in 1982 as a small cooking school in a converted garage in Cape Town grew into a household name found in kitchens across the country and on shelves around the world. In this episode of South African Food Stories, Nicci Robertson sits down with the legendary Ina Paarman to explore the journey behind the brand. From teaching cooking classes from home, self-publishing her first cookbook,...

In this episode of South African Food Stories, host Nicci Robertson sits down with Kenneth Tebogo Middleton — content creator, cookbook author, and one of South Africa’s most exciting new culinary voices — to explore an unconventional journey into food. Originally trained as a graphic designer, Kenneth shares that a desire for deeper creative expression led him from agency life into social media,...

In this episode of SA Food Stories, Nicci Robertson sits down with Natasha Sideris, founder of the iconic Tashas restaurant group, for an honest conversation about what it really takes to build a hospitality empire. Natasha reflects on the early risks behind her first restaurant, from selling family property and borrowing money to working relentless 16-hour days to make the vision work. She shares...

In this episode of SA Food Stories, Nicci Robertson sits down with food creator Naqiyah Mayat to explore how food, culture, and storytelling intertwine to shape identity and purpose. What began around a family kitchen table grew into a creative journey rooted in heritage, authenticity, and everyday cooking. Naqiyah reflects on growing up between tradition and modern life, the influence of family r...

Welcome to the first episode of South African Food Stories. Today I sit down with two of the most exciting voices shaping South Africa’s food culture, J Something and Cordelia da Fonseca J Something is best known as front-man for Micasa, but behind the scenes he has built a powerful presence in the culinary world, blending Portuguese heritage, storytelling, and a deep love of food into everything...

Proudly South African and deliciously personal. Join your host Nicci Robertson as she explores the rich cultural tapestry that is South African food culture. Listen in on conversations with industry leaders while they discuss passion, perseverance and the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the food and hospitality industry. Subscribe wherever you listen to or watch your favourite podcast - off...