In the culinary world, restaurants come, go and come back. The environment is tough, but these chefs are tougher. Their legacies have created a long-lasting impact on the industry, the people who run it and the culture of dining. In honour of Heritage Month, we celebrate some of those luminaries who have put local cuisine on the global map. Here are five South African chefs who are shaping the culinary landscape.

Anwar Abdullatief

Image source: The Happy Uncles

Chef Anwar Abdullatief is changing the local culinary landscape, as he brings halaal food into the fine dining space. Based in Salt River at The Spice Yard, the restaurant is growing and has quickly gained popularity. Awarded ‘African Restaurant of The Year’ at the 2024 Luxe Awards and Eat Out Valpré Rising Star Award, chef Anwar combines his love for Cape Malay flavours and African ingredients at his restaurant, The Happy Uncles. Having worked at some of the country’s finest restaurants — including Cavalli, Siba – The Restaurant, Rupert & Rothschild, Clos Malverne, and Jordan — Abdullatief and co-owners, Riedaa Manie and Fuad de Vries, closed their catering business to start the praised establishment.

Since its launch in 2022, The Happy Uncles has provided patrons with a long-awaited concept: halaal-friendly fine-dining cuisine. From malva pudding with ‘melktert’ crémeux, koe’sister crumble, boeber ice cream, mebos jelly and crème anglaise to ‘ou mense onder die kombers’ reimagined, Abdullatief’s menus celebrate Cape Malay cuisine and local flavours, presented creatively and delicately. To entice patrons, The Happy Uncles have various set menus, with the largest having up to eight courses; the menus also change regularly.

Charné Sampson

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Chef Charné Sampson has racked up numerous awards in her illustrious career. The talented chef was previously named one of the Cape’s Top Ten Female Chefs in 2021 and her restaurant earned two stars at the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.

As head chef at Epice, and previously pastry chef at La Colombe, chef Charné is well-versed in the world’s spices as she brings them to life in her dishes at the Franschhoek restaurant, based in the Le Quartier Français Hotel. Her menu is inspired by the many flavours of Bo-Kaap and global cuisine; it’s truly a feast for the senses. Mentored by executive chef James Gaag of La Colombe — one of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants — chef Charné Sampson is changing South Africa’s culinary landscape, as she celebrates local flavours and merges her culinary skills with exceptional creativity.

Mmabatho Molefe

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Chef Mmabatho Molefe of the renowned Emazulwini celebrates Zulu and Nguni cuisine by paying homage to her fondest childhood food memories, indigenous African ingredients and the concept of nose-to-tail dining.

Honoured by The World’s 50 Best, 50 Next edition, the talented chef was recognised as one of ‘The Young People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy’ in 2022. While the award-winning restaurant — previously situated at Makers Landing, Cape Town — has since closed its doors, the chef continues to shape South Africa’s culinary landscape. Molefe recently collaborated with chef Ryan Cole at Salsify for a ten-course feast and brought back her famous pop-up dining experience, Long Table with Friends. We can’t wait to see what she cooks up next.

Vusi Ndlovu

Image source: EDGE Group

Chef Vusi Ndlovu ignites taste buds with the flavours of the African diaspora. The owner of MLILO ‘Fires of Africa,’ a restaurant by EDGE Group, Ndlovu highlights the complex flavours of African cuisine. From Ghanaian shito to Senegalese maafe sauce to South African shisanyama, Ndlovu’s appreciation for indigenous ingredients and the primitive yet innovative concept of cooking with fire is brilliantly executed.

Previously crowned ‘Young Chef of Africa and Middle-East’ at the S.Pellegrino Awards in 2018 and awarded ‘Best New Restaurant’ at the Eat Out Awards for Boma on Bree (which he is no longer part of), chef Ndlovu continues to take the local culinary scene by storm with exceptional African cuisine.

Wandile Mabuso

Image source: Les Créatifs

Chef Wandile Mabuso has built a steady reputation in the industry, creating one of the most recognised restaurants in the country. The Soweto-born chef has previously worked at some of the top restaurants in New York and Michelin-starred French restaurants before coming back home to South Africa to open his establishment, Les Créatifs.

Situated in Bryanston, Johannesburg, the renowned restaurant merges fine dining with world-class wines and visual art, and has delighted patrons since 2019. Everyone from world ambassadors to Hollywood’s best have dined at the institution. The menu celebrates local produce combined and French culinary techniques, and features dishes like Midlands beef tongue with madumbe atchar mousse, caramelised onion and impepho-smoked beef jus; and Karoo lamb loin with bulgar wheat, umfino and jus. Chef Wandile won the ‘Culinary Innovation Award’ at the 2024 Luxe Restaurant Awards, and Les Créatifs earned a star at the 2023 Eat Out awards and was given ‘two plates’ by the JHP Gourmet Guide, last year.

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