October 2, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode of Earn Your Leisure, we sit down with Chef Lorna Maseko, one of South Africa’s most celebrated culinary stars, to dive into her incredible journey from ballerina to celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and global tastemaker. Chef Lorna shares how she built her brand on the international stage, the business model behind exclusive supper clubs, and what it takes to turn food into a lifestyle experience. She also opens up about making the leap to New York City and Atlanta, and how she’s using food to build bridges across cultures while creating opportunities in the culinary world. This conversation is about more than food — it’s about business, branding, and bold moves. Whether you’re an aspiring chef, entrepreneur, or creative, Chef Lorna’s story will inspire you to think bigger and execute at the highest level. #EarnYourLeisure #ChefLorna #SouthAfrica #CelebrityChef #SupperClub #Entrepreneurship #FoodBusiness #NYC #Atlanta #EYL
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
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Speaker 2 (00:43):
All right, guys, welcome back, special episode of Earn Yalisha.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
We're back home for sure, for sure, like we haven't
met home so long.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Chef Lorna, Yes, thank you for joining.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Us, Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We're happy to have you.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Originally from South Africa, Ballerine to turn news broadcast to
turn celebrity chef.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yes, I lived a long line just starting. I'm just
getting started.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So yeah, appreciate it. Connected with us that investments.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
We appreciate you. It was amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Did you try anything?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I did have something?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
What did you enjoy?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So it's weird because I had noodles, I had I'm
not supposed to eat a lamb chop, but I did.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I tasted it.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I didn't eat it, and then there was a mixture
because there was another chef there.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, and I was like, all right, I'm not I'm
not sure who's this whose? I want to say who?
But everything was good.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
That's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
YEA tasted it, but you didn't eat it?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
No, no, no, said I didn't eat the whole lamb chop.
I tasted it. You vegetarian, pesbetarian? Yeah. Yeah, but my
wife was like, it's delicious. I gotta try it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Okay, Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So let's have this conversation. You know, as far as
you're building your yeah, chef empire, but talk about the
backstory as far as where it started. South Africa, a
country that we've we've heard so much about from so
many different angles and aspects. What was your experience in
South Africa and what made you leave to come to America.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
So South Africa's home I'm sure you guys know what
home is, like that's where your heart is. But you know,
I let's let's wind back a little. So I actually
started off as a ballet dancer for the South African
Ballet Theater, became a soloist, was the first chancer of
color to ever do a lead role, so don Q
Nightcracker Swansea, and I guess after a couple of years,
(02:43):
I was like, well, this was interesting. You know, I
kind of wanted to expand my horizons and do something
else because I was like, I mean, I'm gonna probably
do another lead role, probably get uglier toes, and I
was like, you know what, I'm done. I resigned and
went into television. So worked for one of the top
lifestyle magazine shows in South Africa. So traveled around the
(03:05):
world doing jun kets, interviewing people, eating a lot of food,
which was absolutely amazing, and I guess that's where I
kind of like fell in love with food. From there,
I remember going to Italy on a brand trip and
just like loving everything. We went to, like Palma where
they make Palma ham with the mad Palmesan. It was
just like insane and I just remember coming back going
(03:26):
I really love food and I kind of like want
to pursue it, And then did Mastershift and then got
into the top six, and then when I left the
competition dramatically crying like you know, I was like, this
is what I want to do, and this is the creer.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
We just can't like breeze over the master Shifting. I
felt like you were going to breeze out. We can't
breeze over that. So I mean, from TV to eating
the foods, what happens in between? Do you decide that
I'm going to study culinary or did you go to
school where you trained or was like some people just
naturally give it at this Well I am.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
That part, but I was just super hungry as a
ballet dance and I thought, you know, I'm just going
to eat for the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
So that's why I decided. Not kidding, that's no reason, but.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
I think I went to culinary school after Mastership all
of like three months with it. No, yeah, I went
there without it, you know, And so I decided, Okay,
well this is what I want to pursue, so let
me like hold my skill and get better. I hated
chef school, like I just I was like, I don't
want to read about how to make a soufle.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I want to go and make a sufle. And so
at the time, because I'd.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Worked in television, I had quite a few friends who
were who owned restaurants, and so I was like, Hey,
can I come to you and little chop a little onion,
do a little something and kind of hone my skills.
And that's where I kind of got my grounding and
it was a great it's still a mental tory. Was
just really great and kind of like saying, okay, cool,
(04:56):
you could come in and just learn as much as
you can. And so from there that LI into like
the TV shows and then kind of like it grew
from that.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, So when was the transition to America.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
The transition to America was always in the pipeline for me.
I think I always knew like this is you know,
if you want to particularly from an entertainment perspective, whether
it was like a cooking show, whatever it was. Media wise,
for me at the time, America was like the hot
like this is where you if you if you if
(05:27):
you want to make it big, even if it was
just one state, it's going to be much easier to
kind of you know, get into the continent, get into London,
get into the UAE, wherever you want to take your brand.
And so in twenty twenty three, I, you know, did
the great move to New York and I kicked my butt.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Oh gosh, it was so hot at the city and
it was like, you know, you either New York or
you're not.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
It took me two years to realize, brutally bruised that
I'm not in New Yorker and I'm okay with it
that I'm not in New Yorker. And then went back
to South Africa and kind of thought about like what
I was going to do with my life and kind
of rebranding. I launched a brand of condiments that are
available in South Africa and we're bringing them here to
the United States. Have a cookware line as well, which
(06:11):
is available on h sands, so here in America as well.
Kind Of like we looked at the kind of like
where you're going to go, Laura, you know, like you're
going to stay in South Africa, You're going to try
and find another home, so to speak, You're going to
try another state. And then I remember Brand South Africa
had an event that was happening in Atlanta, and it
was my first time coming to Atlanta, and when I arrived,
(06:32):
it was just like a this is it? You know.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yeah, I just felt like it felt like home, you know.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
And I guess like we're speaking earlier, just like the
black excellence, the Southern hospitality, you know in New York,
like if something happened to you, people just on.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Their phone, just keep walking, you know. In the South,
people like, hey, how you doing. I'm good, I'm great, you.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
Know, and then have a conversation. And so I love that,
you know, Luba Driv would be like, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You good?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
I'm like, whoa? People still existed some kind of humanity
in them, you know.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
And so I think for me that resonated with me
because South Africa is very similar to at Land, well
Johannesburg in particular.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
What was the lessons learned from coming to New York? Obviously,
when you think fine dining, a lot of people think
New York think you had it as your number one place,
number one. So it's a lot of okay, a lot
of competition. I mean it is the home of Michelin
stars and all these things. What did you learn coming here?
(07:30):
Before you said, yeah, I got to go back to
South Africa.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
I learned how to live smarter, smarter.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
I think like New York teaches you how to hustle,
like it's like, but it's still on another level. You know.
It's funny because Joeburgaus will go, oh, you know, if
you've lived in Joba, you can live.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
In you in the world.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Nope, that hold that thought. If you've lived in New York,
you can live anywhere in the world.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
I think if anything, you taught me to differentely live
smarter like you know, yeah, like hustle, like a hustle lifestyle,
which you.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Know, I was like, it's tough, you know, I don't
live like this like this the New York. What the
hell am I doing here? But anyway, I survived. You know,
I'm alive here right exactly exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
So you wrote a cookbook.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I wrote a cookbook. Will Celebrate with Lorna won a
couple of.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Awards, international awards.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
International Awards, Gomar World Cookbook Award, Based Lifestyle Book, and
Base something else I can't remember, but.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Yeah, that book was.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
You know, I think your first book is like a
good pr exercise because you're still kind of navigating the space.
I think as a chef, I've also kind of like changed,
so like it would be, you know, my second cookbook
would be completely different to the one that I had.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
But yeah, it was a lot of learnings.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
It was kind of like trying to find my dentity
as you know, what am I trying to say about food?
Who am I as a ship? How do I fit in?
I didn't go to the traditional route like everybody else,
did you know? I just caught you know, if one
went left, that's right, wanna if one went left and
I go right or whichever way? But yeah, I did.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I did do the cookbook, so we're propelled it to,
you know, have the international awards and that level of spotlight.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
I think for me, like I try and move away
from like what is your cuisine?
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (09:18):
Like I just want to I just want to eat good.
I want to cook good. You know, it doesn't matter
what the cuisine is. It doesn't matter, you know, if
you know, it doesn't have to be Jamaican, it doesn't
have to be obviously the roots of my food is
very South African, but like I mean, I love Japanese food,
you know, and so like my flavor profile is always
like a little mirror.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
And pond Zu you know, u zoo ginger girl.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
You know.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
So I just my thing is like, can you cook?
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So what do you specialize that?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I don't have.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Anything in my min When you said who you are
as a chef, I'm thinking, who are you as a chef?
Speaker 5 (09:53):
I think as a chef for me, I'd like to
say that I like to create food that tells a story, right,
that reminds us all how connected we are through food
and so at the base of it is very South African,
but it has a very much.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
Global appeal, you know.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
I mean, if I think about it, I always say, like,
it's a magrinya in South Africa, right, It's a baigne
in France. It's a donut in America it's puff puff
and Ghana and Nigeria, it's the same thing.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
It's a thing that you fry. It's a dough that
you fry.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
It's crunchy on the outside, it's soft and fluffy on
the inside. The methods are completely different, but it's the
same thing. We have.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We have a puff puff before, yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
Which is similar to a donut, right, in terms of
like it's crunch on the outside, it's soft on the inside.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
You open it up, it's nice and fluffy. You know.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Some people like it's sweet, some people have its savory.
So it's the same thing. And so I think for me,
who are you as a shift?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
It's just that.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
Storytelling through through food and culture, just really showing how
much was so similar in what we're eating. And I
don't know how it all affected us in the slave
trade or whatever, but it clearly.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
You know, it's linked to some somehow.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
You know, it's barabaca in Mexico, it's Charclow and South
Africa traded beef in America.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
It's the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So what Okay, we have acceded this question for different people,
but I want to ask a different twist on it
from a traditional food standpoint, because there's different places have
traditional food, like obviously some sheet that's the traditional food
in Japan, Creoles the traditional food to New Orleans. The
list goes on, what's your five places in the world
that have the best traditional food?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Okay, So definitely Thai.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
I am so into Tay food at the moment, love
the flavors, bold and saying incredible amazing. I would definitely
say South Africa, Cape Town.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
What kind of food is native to South Africa.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
So it's different. So caps is very European. I'm not
gonna lie. It's like very very European French influences. But
you have like chefs who are kind of getting finding
their identity within who they are as Africans or South
Africans and adding kind of like a French twist to
giving it that fine dining element. Right, But you'll get like,
(12:19):
maybe you know, sampan beans are very South African, but
I like how you know, they'll elevate it to something
else and it looks different, but it tastes like samp
and beans, which is what I like to do. Right,
So yeah, so I said too, Tie said South. I
(12:40):
definitely say Japanese because I love Japanese food, So that
would be the third for me.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I'd say the fourth would be.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
I don't know, it's because I'm craving it today, but
I'd say Indians. I know, but but it's really good, right,
Like Indian food in London is really good.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
You know, Indian food and Durban is very good in
New York and in New York is very good.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
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Speaker 5 (14:50):
So yeah, I'm not big on Italian foods, Like I'm okay,
you know, then eating Italian foods, you know, and then
I would probably say, sure, that's a hard one between
Nigerian just because of the diversity of the food and
(15:12):
the ingredients in Nigeria's I feel like Nigeria on its
own is like just a hub just because there's so
many different cultures and ethnicities and it's it's just wild.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
But I say that.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Between that and Ethiopian food, I definitely say those are my.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Yea, you left you left Jamaican off, but I'll forgive you.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
Well. The funny thing is that like Jamaican food is
not huge in South Africa, it's huge in America or
the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You know, you haven't had a lot.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
No, I've had no no, no, I've had like jerk chicken.
I've had like great oxtail. I've had you know, rice
and beans. No, no, no, I'm good beans, peas and peas,
you know what I mean. So from that perspective, you know, yeah,
actually Jamaican, I thought the energy. Yeah yeah, I was like, oh,
(16:07):
you know, I've had some really good oustale in actually
New York.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
New Orleans, creo.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
I've never been to New Orleans. That needs to.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I that has to That's on my bucket list, you know,
along with Tokyo. But you know, let's also travel the continents.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Travel with you.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So you said one of the things you learned being
in New York was to be smarter. Right, we're smarter.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
So I want you to to talk to us about
laundress pantry because it's all about being budget friendly. I
know when you go out, it's tough. New York City
is to be a budget friendly. But talked to us
about lunches pantry.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
It's funny because that shows stemmed from me living here
for two years and then having to be savvy about
my food and how I ate and what I bought
and where I bought it, and how I you know,
because I still like to eat good, but like I'm
not spending you know, I don't go out. Well, when
I lived here, I didn't go out like every night,
you know. Now that I'm here on like a little holiday, I'm.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Like, where are we going? Which miss do we try?
Speaker 5 (17:05):
You know, it's like completely different, right, But like when
I was here, it was just like, how do you
take basic ingredients and like elevate them? Because I still
want to eat good, but I don't want to spend
too much money, right, And so Lorna's pantry was literally
birth from that. Yes, it's showcased in South Africa and
I guess it's on different airlines across the continent. But
(17:27):
it was just like, how do I maximize my ingredients
with a very small budget? And so literally that show
was a product of how much I suffered in this city.
I'm kidding, I mean just attached, just a little sufferer,
you know. And yeah, and it did really, really well
and we're working on season two, so super excited about that.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
How receptive were people to it? Right?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
A lot of people try to find restaurants that they like,
but they can't afford how do people.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Responsible the money?
Speaker 5 (17:56):
You say, budget friendly people are like sign me up,
you know, yeah, because you know food is expensive, good
quality food is expensive. But you want to be able
to feed your family. You want to be able to
feed yourself, and you wanted to make financial sense, you know,
like not all of us can have like Cavier every Saturday,
you know, or every month or every week, and we
(18:17):
like it.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
But yeah, so what's the business of being a celebrity chef? Like,
how okay, what's the business behind it? I know, you
can have a restaurant, you can do catering, you can
write a book, but from your your pathway that you're
on right now, right building a business? Like, what's your
pathway that that you followed so far?
Speaker 5 (18:36):
So I like to say I'm creative, but I'm very
entrepreneurial at the same time, like I love them.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
You know, back then.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
You were either just a creative or you're just an entrepreneur.
And I feel like for me and for most entrepreneurs
or some I guess and you guys may understand that.
But I'm creative and I'm very entrepreneurial. So kind of
building a celebrity brand for me or celebrity chef brand.
It's kind of owned the ecosystem completely. So it started
(19:04):
with you know, you do private events, launching the Subba
Club in November, So that's one avenue, and then that's
obviously the Cookway line that's another. You know, I want
you to get into your kitchen and have everything launer.
So whether you're chopping that's a Launa product, or a
cutting board that's a Launa product. It's a little spice
that you're using, it's a Lona product. And so for me,
(19:25):
you know, I kind of look at it holistically like that.
And you know, as you know, my brand continues to
go in the US, it's you know, hopefully that all
those ecosystems will kind of be filtered in you know,
and then obviously everybody wants a good TV show, which
I'm already doing in South Africa.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
I just need just let a manifest within this country.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Show.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
Yeah TV shows, you know, yeay.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I mean I'm already doing like stuff with like b
Bobby Flay and Chopped and all these other things and
you know, cooking segments on the Today Show. But you know,
you want, you want to own your own stuff, and
I think you know, even when I got back from
New York. One of the things was like, Okay, how
do I start owning my own stuff? So Laura's pantry
was through my production house, and we produced it, we
(20:09):
packaged it, and we sold it to a SABC. You know.
But I think more than anything, I think that's it's
just about building a sustainable brand that would live long
beyond me being alive. But yeah, I think it's it's
really just owning the different ecosystems when it comes to
(20:31):
the culinary arts.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
What I mean, obviously successful in South Africa, the US
obviously makes a.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Were there other parts of the world that you said,
okay before I go to the US, or maybe other
countries in Africa, like hey, let's spread the brand here,
or it was hey, once we become big here and
we've established some of the things we want, we're going
back to us. Was that always the mindset?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
It was always just America?
Speaker 5 (20:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
I think I dabbled within the UK for a while
because you know.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
The pound is nice, you know, but then but it
was just it was just it's always been America for me.
You know, maybe for somebody else that might be something else.
You know, and you know, I guess I've been carving
at this journey slowly, and you know, you start seeing
like a few things that start happening, and you're like, okay,
maybe you know the sacrifice is starting to pay off somewhat,
(21:21):
you know, because it is. It's a sacrifice for me
from your family and anyone's like, so you don't have
a single family member in the US.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I'm like, no, I don't, you know.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
It's literally just me and myself and I just carving this.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
You are the team that part. Really Yeah, So I mean.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Even if I don't have a cousin, I don't have.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Really no one. That's pretty impressive.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
I don't know. It's stupid, it's stupid and crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
All those things can be true. So how are you
How are you navigating? Right?
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Obviously we obviously you were part of the investments. How
are you finding out about these events? How are you
finding about openings for restaurants? Like you're navigating this all
about yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Yeah, I think for me.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
One of the things that you know, my friends always
say Lorna's ambition knows no boundaries, Like I will ask,
you know, until you tell me to leave you alone.
Or stop an like stop irritating you.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
But I don't.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
I don't have the fear to ask a question, you know,
or ask for not so much. I guess help or
you know, I don't mind putting myself out there, you know,
because I have nothing to lose. Right.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
You could either be like, no, we.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Don't want a friend vest versus course not readly our vibe,
or yeah it sounds like something.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Cool, you know, we could feature her.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
And then you know, you go out and you deliver
your best, and you do over and above what you
are required to do right, and then you hopefully get
back and you know, the check is a little bigger,
you know, this trustworthiness because you know, one of the
things that I'd learned, I guess from New York as
opposed to South Africa and South Africa, like there are
people that.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Can call like to get stuff done like real.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Quick here, like every emails hi, by way of introduction,
my name is she flor you know, every email. But
you know, that's that's how you build a brand, that's
how you start, you know. And yeah, and I'm still navigating,
but I you know, I think I'm on the right
path club. Yeah, so I'm very very excited about the
supper club. It's called akaya dining. Ekaya means home and
(23:21):
for me, that's what I want food to feel like
that you're coming to my home and we're having a
great conversation. Maybe we'll do another one next year, you know,
when you guys do invest fits, no pressure because now
it's live, you know, and I love intimate food spaces,
you know. I want you to pass the dish to
the next person, have a conversation about it. I want
(23:42):
you to go, oh, this reminds me of my Auntie's
colored greens, but she's just added a little cream, you know,
it's a little different. And so the whole concept of
akaya is bringing people around a table and wanting them
to feel.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Like they're in my home.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
It's a restaurant, it's a supper club. What is the
supper club?
Speaker 5 (24:01):
A supper club is just, I guess the cooler way
of saying, you're running like a pop up experience or
a restaurant that feels like home, like a little intimate,
more intimate more what's the word?
Speaker 4 (24:15):
Not every day.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
So it's a start, it's something that you becomes what's
the English word, Like you want to go to you know,
like I think if you had Investmas every single weekend,
it would lose.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
It's like, so, how all right, so when it opens,
how long is it going to be open for?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
So basically, when it opens, you go the supper club
is open for these dates, book out these dates. And
then I also think, like, you still have a life
because you're not because restaurants are tough, right, And I
think for me, as I'm building my brand in the city,
well in Atlanta, it just made sense to start with
a supper club, build up the brand, build up the name,
(24:54):
and also that kind of like, oh my gosh, it's
coming back.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
You know, it's you.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
We had such a great time, we want to go back.
As opposed to it's open constantly and it's just a machine,
which I guess some people, for some people works well,
but for me that's not what I'm Is it.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Limited time as far as one week or is it
limited as far as it's only open on weekends.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
So you'll say for this month, let's say when the
month of We'll just use any month.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
The month of May.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
The super Club is open Friday Saturdays for the month
of May. These are the dates people book it's only
like limited to twenty thirty people, so it's really a
small number. It's a premium price, so you know it's
a little pricey, but it's an experience, right, and then
you do another one, so you know, May, then you
go June, I'm gonna do These are the days that
(25:39):
they're open.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Are you changing cities East time?
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Definitely changing cities.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
US time, So it could be in La.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Could be Miami, it could be definitely coming back to
New York because you know, feel a little stronger, like, you.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Know, I'm ready to so let's stay. Let's stay on
this if you've got your repsent for a while. Right,
this is a business model chef Calvin. You heard him before?
Speaker 4 (25:59):
No?
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Uh he won?
Speaker 4 (26:02):
What did he wins?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
He won? No, like the one of these TV shows Chopped.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah, I think he was on Chop and.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I interviewed him early, early, early, but that was his thing.
And this was like even during the before, the before
he was doing weekend pop ups in the Bronx actually, and.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
That's why he started in the apartments.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
And then it was like an elevated experience in the Bronx.
It was the whole thing. But okay, so this is
a business model. So you're renting out what kind of
venues is this?
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So the current venue we're looking at as.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
An existing restaurant that's vacant. No, so it operates from
Wednesdays and.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Then the restaurant is not open on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
It's no, it's opened Wednesdays to Sundays from seven am
till three so the so in the evening, So you're.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Going to take over the existing restaurant at night. Yeah, okay,
So it's like when say Less went to they go
to the All Star Games and it's to say Less
pop up pretty much.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Yeah, and your overheads are lower, so you're not paying
staff all the time, but you know.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
You're able to.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
So that's a business model that you all Right, So
you like that business model because it's less pressure as
far as having a lease and you have to stay
here no matter what. And it's a scarcity model too, right,
where it's like you got if you don't get in
these couple of days, then it's over as opposed to
I got all a month to go to the rest
of Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
And I think once you build it around like good branding, marketing,
all that stuff, it is it's I mean they supper
clubs that I think we're talking offline. That's like it's
fully booked till next year January, and I'm trying to see,
like somebody canceled if I could go, and they have
a Michelin, you know, and so it just makes sense
(27:47):
and you're able to get I think for me as
a ship, you're able to you know, get the recognition
you want, whether it's a Michelin or a James Beard
or you know.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
And you come in off of the like they hit
the lake a license.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
You use their legal license, so you don't need necessary
because you're not selling liquor.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
You know, it's almost like an.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Event, so it's kind of complimentary in a sense. So
this is a almost like a pop up model that
just runs continuously.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
So how how do you choose the menu?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Because that obviously can cut into profits, right if you
have different menu items. It's already a premium ticket, but
you want to make sure that the margins and how
are you choosing it?
Speaker 5 (28:27):
I think the menu has to be different every time
because you're you know, you're selling a different experience. I
think getting a Somali air or a wine partner who
comes on and it's a wine pairing. I think that's one.
But differently, the menu has to be different. You know
that's that's a selling point, right you. Whether you're saying
(28:47):
you're doing a fusion between southern Southern African food and
and food from the South, you know that's a play
on something. I think if you said if I I
would love to do one that was like South African Japanese,
I think that would be like an interesting fusion and
so and then also collaborate with other shifts, right do
you kind of like experiences where you're both curating something
(29:10):
really delicious and amazing and and you're still gathering.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
People, but it's set. It's a set menu of like changes. No, no, no,
what I'm saying, Like, you have this pop up on Saturday, right,
you're doing the Japanese Jamaican fusion.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Okay, look at you, we're just speaking.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You're going to cook three different dishes. But those are
the three different dishes. It's not like you could just
go whatever. It's not like a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
No, no, the six course meal.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Course, the next prop.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Until the next pop up where you're selling a different
kind of experience.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
And then if you have a wine partner, and then
it's like okay, like tonight we're going to be drinking this.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Wine my best my best friend of the show.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Yes, Ingrid exactly. I love Ingrid and that.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Wine is good, airline is good.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
So the price associated with this is it just the
venue and obviously you get in the food and then
hopefully we can get sponsorships and yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
So in the past when I used to do it
in New York, these were funded by Brand South Africa,
and so it would be like Brand South Africa and
Ammarula for example, I'm living a liqueur that's South African
and so you know that model works because you know,
you all your costs are covered essentially, right, And I
(30:32):
think once you've built up the brand, you've got great marketing,
everybody kind of.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Wins, you know, and then how much do they pay
to get it?
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Yeah, it's weird. And in Atlanta they've been one eighty five.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
In New York two fifty for.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
A ticket for one ticket one ticket. Okay, yeah, so
if you too, that's five hundred, five hundred dollars day.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Shouty stop it, let's not start this.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
What are we starting now?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
We got a lot of flag over this.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Let me hear it.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
What do you think that? What do you think a
reasonable amount of money is to spend on a first date?
Speaker 4 (31:06):
On a first date, on the first date.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
You are spending what do you think I mean, I'll
probably like do caviar. I'll probably do like the best
wine I got, like eight hundred.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Dollars pounds not rands.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
In caviar in the first date. Yes, yes, that's che
if you go to a restaurant that does not have cavea.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
If I'm picking the restaurant, I'm going to make sure
that the restaurant is caveat.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh you picked the restaurant, Yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
Mean you'd say, oh, what kind of cuisine do you like?
Then I'd be like, oh, you know, is it Michelin?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
You know michel that playing you know.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
So one of my favorites are X y Z and
what I love about restaurants in Atlanta the caviar service
and most of them.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
So, so eight hundred dollars, So you're saying eight hundred
dollars is a reasonable amount of money.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
I mean, like a really good bottle of wine, it's
like two fifty off the rip.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Yeah, we can go Cokie that shout, I mean they
got caveat on the nuggets?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Does that? It does come okay in there, But it's
really good cookie.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Is it here?
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, I gotta try it out. Popper caves like the
fake stuff.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It's real that ship than cave.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
I love. I love. I love good food.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
All types of food, all types of Are you a
food snob A bit? Yeah, I was gonna say I'm
a food snob, but I appreciate hole in the walls.
That's good. Like I can go to a random Indian
reference as a hole in the wall.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
That is my vibe.
Speaker 5 (32:43):
That is I will never go to the place that
everybody goes to, you know, just it's not it's not
for me. But I love holding the wall as much
as I love a good little little.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Hole in the world.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Might not have the cavia, they might not have carry out,
but they got they're gonna have.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
A lot of time. Like holding the war spots.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Indian spots are sometimes holding the world, but they're like
an Indian.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I went to a few Indian restaurants in New York
that randomly just walked in. Yeah, and it was like
the best of the best. I said five hundred dollars
that was your inflation, and people they got really mad
about that, kind of.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
About five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I mean, like they're really mad about that.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I mean, if you think about it, like a tasting menu.
I was looking at some tasting menus today in New
York it's like two eighty five.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
You know, you also have to take in mind that
you're speaking from an experience of New York City. I
guess America. Most of the people in America don't live
in New York City. That is true Miami.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I mean, and have never tasted Jesus.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
I mean they've had like other things.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yeah, chicken nuggets, fries, fried chickens. It's great. Things of
that sort is important.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
No, I love them.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
It's like it's like in South Africa, it's like seven colors, right,
seven colors is like seven different elements on a plate.
Or some people, young people call it several colors, but
you know, I'm an eighties baby.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
We call it.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
Seven colors, and it's seven different elements on a plate
and reminds me of Southern food because it's like a
rice protein, whether it's like a stew or it's like
grilled chicken. And then we have spinach that we cream,
spinach that we love. You guys have colored greens. Then
you guys have yms. We have butternut or what's the
(34:27):
other thing, or pumpkin, but it's.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Not as sweet and syrupy. I've never had food hands.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
They gave me the South Africa as well.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Eat with your hands, I mean, that's that's what's up.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
You know, I didn't know because I'm left handed, so
I was eating with my left hand, so I got
the education on that. But they told you, they told me.
But you know, I'm left handed, so everything I do
is with my left hand. But when I was on Instagram,
the Instagrams call me apart in the comments.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Really, what's your lift?
Speaker 3 (35:04):
I told them stop going on that.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Funny enough sushi you can eat with your hands, really, yeah,
if you don't, if you don't know how to use
chop stick. So when you go to an all my
cass spot, right, which is like basically my cast, you
know what is So basically the chief gives you what's available, right,
so whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Yeah, it's called an all my case. It's usually called
my case, but it's a whatever the chif has that's available.
That's the sushi.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
You're getting all the fish and whatever whatever it is,
and you don't they don't give you chopsticks for some
of the dishes.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
You actually pick the sushi, eat it with your hands.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I know people like that, you know, I like I
eat the opian food.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Oh yeah, how you're gonna have in with get out
the restaurant.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Was there a city?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
First?
Speaker 1 (35:55):
I want to know how the audience are responding to
the food, and then I want to know if there's
a city in particular that you were like, Wow, they
really get it because when they first think maybe South
African cuisine, and then they taste the food, obviously it's
enlightening and it's like wow, I have to get more.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Of this work. Is there a city in particular New York?
Speaker 5 (36:13):
I feel like this so much that I want to
say New York is definitely has always had my best
pop ups because it's just the food seene here so vibrant,
it's so energetic, so diverse, and so even when you
come in and you maybe made up an island that
doesn't exist, people will come and try it, you know
what I mean? Where I think in other parts it's
education constantly and it's finding the you know, the way
(36:39):
both cuisine meet each other and kind of finding that midline,
kind of like saying, okay, well, you know it's color
greens in the South, but you know, how do I
take color greens and give it a South African twist?
And maybe it's cream spinach because we eat a lot
of spinach, but we add a lot of cream through it,
you know. And so for me, it's about finding those
(36:59):
similar so that it's a little familiar, you know, and
it's not like, well I don't I don't know what's
going on. But at the same time, when you go
to a supper club or a pop up, you're going
for a different experience, you know, because if if, if,
if it was just a normal restaurant, you know exactly
what you're getting.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
It's the things you like.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
But when you when you do a supper club where
you go to a pop up experience, it's for that
different experience because you want something else.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
You don't want the regular regular.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Stuff that you have an elevated experience.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
An elevated experience, it's it's a beautiful date night, you
know that you might.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Put so what is Zania so oh?
Speaker 4 (37:36):
Is that you all did a lot of I mean, I.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Mean, we've been known to do a thing into a
research because I mean New York. Obviously we're here. It's
diverse Atlanta fool seeing a little different has gotten better?
Speaker 4 (37:48):
Yeah, growing?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
So what is Zaniya? How do we plan to take
over this market?
Speaker 4 (37:53):
So?
Speaker 5 (37:54):
Zania is a concept that I'm working on back in
South Africa. It's a private members club members only phones,
no no, no phones. But it's not a gentleman's cause
it's a food it's a food space, you know, where
you can have your meetings. And so that's a concept
that's you know, and it's baby Steps soon to be
launched in twenty twenty six and.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That's coming to Atlanta as well, or just.
Speaker 4 (38:18):
In South Africa. South Africa.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
So talk about social media. How has social media helped
the brand? And how are you using social media to
create awareness?
Speaker 5 (38:28):
To be honest, I feel like a lot of social
media is like smoking mirrors a lot because it's all perception. Right,
maybe it's not smoking mirrors, but like it's perception. You're
going to create the brand. It's like how do you
how do you? What did someone say the other day?
Speaker 4 (38:43):
How you show up? Is how people are going to
receive you.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
And so I think as I've shown up, I guess
partnering with you guys for investments with the brand South Africa,
those are the things.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
That go Okay, cool, she's.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
Doing some stuff, you know, because you know your brands
are very well known estab and so when you're partnering
with those kinds of things, I think for me, it
plays a part because people are watching.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
You know, they may not engage, but they are watching.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
And so I think social media is are as as
much as exhausting as it is, it's it's a really
good medium to use.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Can you explain the difference between a food scene in
Atlanta and New York City?
Speaker 5 (39:29):
No, you know what I think for me, the food
scene in Atlanta is growing and it has potential to
be amazing. And so I mean New York is a beast,
Miami is a beast.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
London.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
From an educated standpoint, because when I say that New
York is the top city in America for food, a
lot of I'm educated on food, but a lot of
people that may not be as educated as I am,
they give me pushback on this. They're like, no, New
York food is nasty, and I'm explaining to him as
far as how many Michelin star restaurants do we have?
How many diversity in the food? So, yeah, can you
(40:08):
just explain that trying?
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Are you trying to let the people in Atlanta kill me?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
We love it, We love it Atlanta, We love Atlanta.
Speaker 5 (40:16):
I think the food scene in Atlanta is growing. I
think there's a lot of education that's needed. You know,
It's funny because when I when I came to Atlanta
in twenty twenty four, was it in twenty twenty four?
It was like a lot of like the Libanese Persian
type restaurants were like I still are like a big
thing like Homer's Kebab. And it's like, there's more to
(40:39):
cuisine than just that it's great. Mediterranian food is amazing,
it's delicious, it's healthy, it's but there's more too.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Well, Actually, this is a better question, what what what
city in America do you think has the best food?
Speaker 4 (40:50):
Okay, so I've never been to New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
The places that you've places that you've.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Been to absolutely New York.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
So explain why New York is the number one city.
Speaker 5 (40:59):
I would say it's hard to go to New York
and find a bad restaurant, even if you would just
walk down the street and turn right like it is.
It really is hard, right, and it depends on your
level of also expenditure, what you want to spend. There's
a lot of competitions that's very hard. So if you
know that a restaurant has been open for a while,
(41:19):
you know they are fighting for their lives and they probably.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Been at it for a while.
Speaker 5 (41:25):
And also just the diversity, like you can you can
come to New York and find every cuisine known to
man potentially, you know, And I think that that's what
makes New York just such a great place to eat.
I don't think there's anywhere in the world. Actually maybe
London can potendially be that too, But you know.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Everything, Okay, guys, I appreciate that message. I'm glad you
said it.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
But we can get there, I think, I mean, it
is on the rise.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
And I think that Atlanta in order to compete, you
just gotta know.
Speaker 4 (42:03):
Yeah, you've got to know.
Speaker 5 (42:05):
And I think for me, what excites me about Atlanta
is that whenever I've had a pop up, it's not
it's not that it's not well received, Like people buy
tickets and they want to be at it. So there's
clearly a market for something different. You know, if you
look at the Michelin Star restaurants in Atlanta, they are
fully booked for at least like two three weeks in advance,
(42:26):
so you can't just walk in. So that for me says, Okay,
it's growing and there's still an interest. There's a group.
Maybe it's a small group of people, but there are
people that are going in and paying five hundred, eight
hundred dollars for dinners.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
They clearly because how do those other restaurants survive.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
Do you feel the pressure to be a Michelin Star?
Speaker 5 (42:45):
Do I feel the pressure? I think I would like
to be. I am working towards that. You know, I
think you know, as a black female chaf from the continent,
it would be like insanely epic.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
So I just feel like, as I'm listening to you talk,
obviously we've tasted some of the food, I just feel
like there's this trail blazing that's happening with you. I
wonder if you're looking at it and saying seeing it yourself,
saying I'm set in a path for so many women
from my country from here to travel down this path.
That's why I wonder if Michelin is a goal.
Speaker 5 (43:17):
No, it is, I mean for any shift, right, Michelin,
James Beard. You know none of those things exist on
the continent, which is crazy to me.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
But hey whatever, we we did.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Eat at a Michelin star chef's restaurant in.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
Beni. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:34):
Oh he probably trained.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Oh she she probably trained at a Michelin spot and
then came to Benin and opened a restaurant in Benie.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
Because there's no Michelin on the continent.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
She's a Michelin star chef, but she was Michelan. It
was a Michelin.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
She worked the first one to come back.
Speaker 4 (43:52):
Yeah, probably came back.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
It's French, so she came from Paris.
Speaker 5 (43:57):
Yeah, she probably worked at a Michelin spot in Paris
and want a mission and while she worked there.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
So so there's no Michelin star restaurants. But why do
we why does why? Why does that validation matter?
Speaker 5 (44:09):
The same validation when you guys hit ten years of
investments or twenty years or thirty years.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
No, but I find prestigious.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
It's not prestigious.
Speaker 5 (44:17):
It's just like it's like good and faithful servants. You
have done the work for sure, Some people means nothing
right they.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
Don't care because I feel like they.
Speaker 4 (44:26):
Don't care for that.
Speaker 5 (44:27):
But I have, you know, I have a lot to
lose because because of how much I've sacrificed and how
much I've put in. And so for me, that is
the ultimate goal, because what are we doing if we're
not like wanting to achieve excellence and perfectionism does not exist.
But if we're not striving for it, what do.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
We know for sure? But I think that sometimes it
can be dangerous if we set our expectations based on
outsider's approval.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
That is very true.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
And sometimes for me, I'm like, you know, maybe I
might never get the mischionine because it's a difficult thing
to get right, But I think I have a good
chance to get it. And because I have a good
chance to get it, I might as well try.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
What's the process?
Speaker 4 (45:04):
I have no clue.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
The worst then you don't need it. I think if
your work is going to speak for.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
Itself, the work will speak for itself. And so for me,
I'm like, if I don't get it.
Speaker 4 (45:15):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
But it's like Bob Maul never won a.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
Grand that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Now that Christopher Wallace.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
But that doesn't take away exactly he didn't need He
didn't need the Academy to validate for.
Speaker 5 (45:29):
Me either way from the township that I'm from, to
be able to open a space and say I have
a restaurant or a supper club in America. I have
products in different grocery stores across the US. I have
a cocol that's already on its own, like.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
You did something, you already.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
Those things exist in South Africa now.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Those things exist in South Africa now, and some of
them exist in the US.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
But you know, so before we leave, I do want
to talk about South Africa. Okay, South Africa. We've hearst
hold many stories about this, and growing up, I feel like,
you know, when we saw South Africa receives aparthid in
Nelson Mandela, all this stuff and then he gets elected
the whole story and then you know, even now, it's
just whenever people talk about South Africa, they always say
(46:19):
like it's just so different from every other part of Africa,
right for a variety of different reasons, as far as
how they categorize race, how dominated it is, as far
as like a European influence, how it's just it's just
it's always categorized as like just different from the rest
of at least Sub Saharan Africa. What can you say
(46:40):
to people that's never been to South Africa as far
as like what is what's the real deal with South Africa?
Speaker 5 (46:47):
South Africa is beautiful. I'm not going to say it's
a hidden gym, because it's not hidden. It's an incredible,
vibrant country. I think one of the things that resonated
with Atlanta for me was how similar to Johannesburg it is,
you know, the black excellents, the you know, every country
for me has difficulties, you know, they that you can't
(47:08):
run away from. But I think what makes South Africa
beautiful is just the people.
Speaker 4 (47:13):
The people are.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
Absolutely incredible, kind, amazing. There's just so much to do
as well, at a fraction of the price, you know,
because the dollar's around, you know, seventeen to one. You know,
you're not going to spend five hundred dollars on a mail,
you know, And and.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It's it's you. You couldn't.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
You couldn't you could experience in one country the best
of the best. So when I say the best, it's
still you know, you could go to I don't know,
you could go to Cape Town for example, just use
Cape Town as an example and and enjoy luxury whatever.
And you can go to Doeburgh and experience just you know,
you know, street culture and and township culture. And you
(48:00):
can go to Villagazzi Street where you know, the only
two Nobel Prize winners lived across well down the road
from each other, Desmond Teacher and Nelson Mandela, you know.
And so for me, that diversity is amazing. And these
places only two hours away from each other by flight,
you know. And I don't think there's a country that
you can experience the difference that are so close in
(48:21):
one in one spot in one country. You know, I
think the business opportunities in South Africa are insane. And
you know, me being here does not mean there's there's
no business opportunities. It's like the machine is still operating
itself down south. It's just you know, we've got to
expand because you know, people want to grow their brands
and be bigger and et cetera. But yeah, you just
(48:44):
have to go. I'm yet to meet anyone that goes
to South Africa and hates it.
Speaker 4 (48:47):
Like genuinely.
Speaker 5 (48:51):
Moving to South Africa, and funny enough, there's so many
Americans moving.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
We haven't been to the country yet.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
You need to go.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
We definitely there's somebody.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Who was the executive chef for South American Airlines, I
believe South Africa South African. So I was wondering, Oh, okay,
I see.
Speaker 3 (49:12):
Well, how did you get the position?
Speaker 1 (49:14):
And then let's talk about how we can make I
was like, that's me, it's you, one of the roles.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
And how did you get this position?
Speaker 4 (49:22):
I asked?
Speaker 5 (49:25):
Literally, you know, It's funny because I went to them,
probably was like four years ago, and I was like, hey,
you know, I'd love to work with you guys, and
they were like, no, we're not. You know, it's not
the time, you know, we're not. That's not our focus
at the moment. And I actually emailed them about something else.
I was actually emailing them about getting my product into
the airline, you know, and they were like, you know what,
(49:46):
actually we think we have we have something even better
for you, you know.
Speaker 4 (49:50):
And so that's basically what happens.
Speaker 5 (49:52):
Like most of the things I've ever gone is because
I just asked a question and I was like, hey,
do you think we could do something with investments in
Brents all that forget I could have gotten a know,
I could have gotten a maybe it could I could
have gotten you know, maybe next time. But most of
the things I've ever done is because.
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I just asked, what kind of perks come with that?
Speaker 5 (50:11):
The hurts, the disappointment, there's no perks. You gotta work hard, yeah,
you know, it's just it's hard work. And then it's
you know, it's hard work, and it's hard work. And
I guess you have to have thick skin because you're
not always going to get a yes, or somebody is
not going to reply because.
Speaker 4 (50:27):
I'm not necessarily known.
Speaker 5 (50:29):
But there was someone who once said, like, you are
five people away from getting to the people you want
to know.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
So and I'm a believe of that.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
So it would have been asked, this person who's going
to ask this person? You know, and you will get
to the answer that you want, you know, So just ask.
Speaker 2 (50:46):
Asking, you shall receive. Well you have, thank you for
your time, Thank you telling people how to follow you
on social media and everything.
Speaker 5 (50:54):
Yeah, so you could follow me on Instagram which is
Lorna my circle. I'm sure it'll pop up somewhere. But yeah,
so Lona my circle and then on Twitter or x
is at Lorns underscore my circle, TikTok is Lona myco eats.
But yeah, you know, stay in church, follow the Ikaya
dining experience because it's going to be.
Speaker 4 (51:16):
We don't be there, you know the number.
Speaker 3 (51:20):
When I get there, I should the caviar should be
ready of course. Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (51:25):
All right, God, thank you for see you next week.
Speaker 3 (51:27):
Please please
This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank.
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Speaker 2 (00:43):
All right, guys, welcome back, special episode of Earn Yalisha.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
We're back home for sure, for sure, like we haven't
met home so long.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Chef Lorna, Yes, thank you for joining.
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Us, Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
We're happy to have you.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Originally from South Africa, Ballerine to turn news broadcast to
turn celebrity chef.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yes, I lived a long line just starting. I'm just
getting started.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
So yeah, appreciate it. Connected with us that investments.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
We appreciate you. It was amazing.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Did you try anything?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I did have something?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
What did you enjoy?
Speaker 1 (01:19):
So it's weird because I had noodles, I had I'm
not supposed to eat a lamb chop, but I did.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
I tasted it.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I didn't eat it, and then there was a mixture
because there was another chef there.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Yeah, and I was like, all right, I'm not I'm
not sure who's this whose? I want to say who?
But everything was good.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
That's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
YEA tasted it, but you didn't eat it?
Speaker 3 (01:43):
No, no, no, said I didn't eat the whole lamb chop.
I tasted it. You vegetarian, pesbetarian? Yeah. Yeah, but my
wife was like, it's delicious. I gotta try it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Okay, Well, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So let's have this conversation. You know, as far as
you're building your yeah, chef empire, but talk about the
backstory as far as where it started. South Africa, a
country that we've we've heard so much about from so
many different angles and aspects. What was your experience in
South Africa and what made you leave to come to America.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
So South Africa's home I'm sure you guys know what
home is, like that's where your heart is. But you know,
I let's let's wind back a little. So I actually
started off as a ballet dancer for the South African
Ballet Theater, became a soloist, was the first chancer of
color to ever do a lead role, so don Q
Nightcracker Swansea, and I guess after a couple of years,
(02:43):
I was like, well, this was interesting. You know, I
kind of wanted to expand my horizons and do something
else because I was like, I mean, I'm gonna probably
do another lead role, probably get uglier toes, and I
was like, you know what, I'm done. I resigned and
went into television. So worked for one of the top
lifestyle magazine shows in South Africa. So traveled around the
(03:05):
world doing jun kets, interviewing people, eating a lot of food,
which was absolutely amazing, and I guess that's where I
kind of like fell in love with food. From there,
I remember going to Italy on a brand trip and
just like loving everything. We went to, like Palma where
they make Palma ham with the mad Palmesan. It was
just like insane and I just remember coming back going
(03:26):
I really love food and I kind of like want
to pursue it, And then did Mastershift and then got
into the top six, and then when I left the
competition dramatically crying like you know, I was like, this
is what I want to do, and this is the creer.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
We just can't like breeze over the master Shifting. I
felt like you were going to breeze out. We can't
breeze over that. So I mean, from TV to eating
the foods, what happens in between? Do you decide that
I'm going to study culinary or did you go to
school where you trained or was like some people just
naturally give it at this Well I am.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
That part, but I was just super hungry as a
ballet dance and I thought, you know, I'm just going
to eat for the rest of my life.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
So that's why I decided. Not kidding, that's no reason, but.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
I think I went to culinary school after Mastership all
of like three months with it. No, yeah, I went
there without it, you know, And so I decided, Okay,
well this is what I want to pursue, so let
me like hold my skill and get better. I hated
chef school, like I just I was like, I don't
want to read about how to make a soufle.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
I want to go and make a sufle. And so
at the time, because I'd.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Worked in television, I had quite a few friends who
were who owned restaurants, and so I was like, Hey,
can I come to you and little chop a little onion,
do a little something and kind of hone my skills.
And that's where I kind of got my grounding and
it was a great it's still a mental tory. Was
just really great and kind of like saying, okay, cool,
(04:56):
you could come in and just learn as much as
you can. And so from there that LI into like
the TV shows and then kind of like it grew
from that.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Yeah, So when was the transition to America.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
The transition to America was always in the pipeline for me.
I think I always knew like this is you know,
if you want to particularly from an entertainment perspective, whether
it was like a cooking show, whatever it was. Media wise,
for me at the time, America was like the hot
like this is where you if you if you if
(05:27):
you want to make it big, even if it was
just one state, it's going to be much easier to
kind of you know, get into the continent, get into London,
get into the UAE, wherever you want to take your brand.
And so in twenty twenty three, I, you know, did
the great move to New York and I kicked my butt.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Oh gosh, it was so hot at the city and
it was like, you know, you either New York or
you're not.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
It took me two years to realize, brutally bruised that
I'm not in New Yorker and I'm okay with it
that I'm not in New Yorker. And then went back
to South Africa and kind of thought about like what
I was going to do with my life and kind
of rebranding. I launched a brand of condiments that are
available in South Africa and we're bringing them here to
the United States. Have a cookware line as well, which
(06:11):
is available on h sands, so here in America as well.
Kind Of like we looked at the kind of like
where you're going to go, Laura, you know, like you're
going to stay in South Africa, You're going to try
and find another home, so to speak, You're going to
try another state. And then I remember Brand South Africa
had an event that was happening in Atlanta, and it
was my first time coming to Atlanta, and when I arrived,
(06:32):
it was just like a this is it? You know.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Yeah, I just felt like it felt like home, you know.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
And I guess like we're speaking earlier, just like the
black excellence, the Southern hospitality, you know in New York,
like if something happened to you, people just on.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Their phone, just keep walking, you know. In the South,
people like, hey, how you doing. I'm good, I'm great, you.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
Know, and then have a conversation. And so I love that,
you know, Luba Driv would be like, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
You good?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
I'm like, whoa? People still existed some kind of humanity
in them, you know.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
And so I think for me that resonated with me
because South Africa is very similar to at Land, well
Johannesburg in particular.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
What was the lessons learned from coming to New York? Obviously,
when you think fine dining, a lot of people think
New York think you had it as your number one place,
number one. So it's a lot of okay, a lot
of competition. I mean it is the home of Michelin
stars and all these things. What did you learn coming here?
(07:30):
Before you said, yeah, I got to go back to
South Africa.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
I learned how to live smarter, smarter.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
I think like New York teaches you how to hustle,
like it's like, but it's still on another level. You know.
It's funny because Joeburgaus will go, oh, you know, if
you've lived in Joba, you can live.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
In you in the world.
Speaker 5 (07:48):
Nope, that hold that thought. If you've lived in New York,
you can live anywhere in the world.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
I think if anything, you taught me to differentely live
smarter like you know, yeah, like hustle, like a hustle lifestyle,
which you.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Know, I was like, it's tough, you know, I don't
live like this like this the New York. What the
hell am I doing here? But anyway, I survived. You know,
I'm alive here right exactly exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
So you wrote a cookbook.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I wrote a cookbook. Will Celebrate with Lorna won a
couple of.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Awards, international awards.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
International Awards, Gomar World Cookbook Award, Based Lifestyle Book, and
Base something else I can't remember, but.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
Yeah, that book was.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
You know, I think your first book is like a
good pr exercise because you're still kind of navigating the space.
I think as a chef, I've also kind of like changed,
so like it would be, you know, my second cookbook
would be completely different to the one that I had.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
But yeah, it was a lot of learnings.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
It was kind of like trying to find my dentity
as you know, what am I trying to say about food?
Who am I as a ship? How do I fit in?
I didn't go to the traditional route like everybody else,
did you know? I just caught you know, if one
went left, that's right, wanna if one went left and
I go right or whichever way? But yeah, I did.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I did do the cookbook, so we're propelled it to,
you know, have the international awards and that level of spotlight.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
I think for me, like I try and move away
from like what is your cuisine?
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (09:18):
Like I just want to I just want to eat good.
I want to cook good. You know, it doesn't matter
what the cuisine is. It doesn't matter, you know, if
you know, it doesn't have to be Jamaican, it doesn't
have to be obviously the roots of my food is
very South African, but like I mean, I love Japanese food,
you know, and so like my flavor profile is always
like a little mirror.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
And pond Zu you know, u zoo ginger girl.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
You know.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
So I just my thing is like, can you cook?
Speaker 2 (09:45):
So what do you specialize that?
Speaker 4 (09:46):
I don't have.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Anything in my min When you said who you are
as a chef, I'm thinking, who are you as a chef?
Speaker 5 (09:53):
I think as a chef for me, I'd like to
say that I like to create food that tells a story, right,
that reminds us all how connected we are through food
and so at the base of it is very South African,
but it has a very much.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
Global appeal, you know.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
I mean, if I think about it, I always say, like,
it's a magrinya in South Africa, right, It's a baigne
in France. It's a donut in America it's puff puff
and Ghana and Nigeria, it's the same thing.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
It's a thing that you fry. It's a dough that
you fry.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
It's crunchy on the outside, it's soft and fluffy on
the inside. The methods are completely different, but it's the
same thing. We have.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We have a puff puff before, yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
Which is similar to a donut, right, in terms of
like it's crunch on the outside, it's soft on the inside.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
You open it up, it's nice and fluffy. You know.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Some people like it's sweet, some people have its savory.
So it's the same thing. And so I think for me,
who are you as a shift?
Speaker 4 (10:57):
It's just that.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
Storytelling through through food and culture, just really showing how
much was so similar in what we're eating. And I
don't know how it all affected us in the slave
trade or whatever, but it clearly.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
You know, it's linked to some somehow.
Speaker 5 (11:12):
You know, it's barabaca in Mexico, it's Charclow and South
Africa traded beef in America.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
It's the same thing.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So what Okay, we have acceded this question for different people,
but I want to ask a different twist on it
from a traditional food standpoint, because there's different places have
traditional food, like obviously some sheet that's the traditional food
in Japan, Creoles the traditional food to New Orleans. The
list goes on, what's your five places in the world
that have the best traditional food?
Speaker 4 (11:43):
Okay, So definitely Thai.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
I am so into Tay food at the moment, love
the flavors, bold and saying incredible amazing. I would definitely
say South Africa, Cape Town.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
What kind of food is native to South Africa.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
So it's different. So caps is very European. I'm not
gonna lie. It's like very very European French influences. But
you have like chefs who are kind of getting finding
their identity within who they are as Africans or South
Africans and adding kind of like a French twist to
giving it that fine dining element. Right, But you'll get like,
(12:19):
maybe you know, sampan beans are very South African, but
I like how you know, they'll elevate it to something
else and it looks different, but it tastes like samp
and beans, which is what I like to do. Right,
So yeah, so I said too, Tie said South. I
(12:40):
definitely say Japanese because I love Japanese food, So that
would be the third for me.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
I'd say the fourth would be.
Speaker 5 (12:52):
I don't know, it's because I'm craving it today, but
I'd say Indians. I know, but but it's really good, right,
Like Indian food in London is really good.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 5 (13:04):
You know, Indian food and Durban is very good in
New York and in New York is very good.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
You know, earners, what's up? Look?
Speaker 1 (13:12):
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Speaker 5 (14:50):
So yeah, I'm not big on Italian foods, Like I'm okay,
you know, then eating Italian foods, you know, and then
I would probably say, sure, that's a hard one between
Nigerian just because of the diversity of the food and
(15:12):
the ingredients in Nigeria's I feel like Nigeria on its
own is like just a hub just because there's so
many different cultures and ethnicities and it's it's just wild.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
But I say that.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Between that and Ethiopian food, I definitely say those are my.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Yea, you left you left Jamaican off, but I'll forgive you.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
Well. The funny thing is that like Jamaican food is
not huge in South Africa, it's huge in America or
the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You know, you haven't had a lot.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
No, I've had no no, no, I've had like jerk chicken.
I've had like great oxtail. I've had you know, rice
and beans. No, no, no, I'm good beans, peas and peas,
you know what I mean. So from that perspective, you know, yeah,
actually Jamaican, I thought the energy. Yeah yeah, I was like, oh,
(16:07):
you know, I've had some really good oustale in actually
New York.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
New Orleans, creo.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
I've never been to New Orleans. That needs to.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I that has to That's on my bucket list, you know,
along with Tokyo. But you know, let's also travel the continents.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Travel with you.
Speaker 5 (16:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So you said one of the things you learned being
in New York was to be smarter. Right, we're smarter.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
So I want you to to talk to us about
laundress pantry because it's all about being budget friendly. I
know when you go out, it's tough. New York City
is to be a budget friendly. But talked to us
about lunches pantry.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
It's funny because that shows stemmed from me living here
for two years and then having to be savvy about
my food and how I ate and what I bought
and where I bought it, and how I you know,
because I still like to eat good, but like I'm
not spending you know, I don't go out. Well, when
I lived here, I didn't go out like every night,
you know. Now that I'm here on like a little holiday, I'm.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Like, where are we going? Which miss do we try?
Speaker 5 (17:05):
You know, it's like completely different, right, But like when
I was here, it was just like, how do you
take basic ingredients and like elevate them? Because I still
want to eat good, but I don't want to spend
too much money, right, And so Lorna's pantry was literally
birth from that. Yes, it's showcased in South Africa and
I guess it's on different airlines across the continent. But
(17:27):
it was just like, how do I maximize my ingredients
with a very small budget? And so literally that show
was a product of how much I suffered in this city.
I'm kidding, I mean just attached, just a little sufferer,
you know. And yeah, and it did really, really well
and we're working on season two, so super excited about that.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
How receptive were people to it? Right?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
A lot of people try to find restaurants that they like,
but they can't afford how do people.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Responsible the money?
Speaker 5 (17:56):
You say, budget friendly people are like sign me up,
you know, yeah, because you know food is expensive, good
quality food is expensive. But you want to be able
to feed your family. You want to be able to
feed yourself, and you wanted to make financial sense, you know,
like not all of us can have like Cavier every Saturday,
you know, or every month or every week, and we
(18:17):
like it.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
But yeah, so what's the business of being a celebrity chef? Like,
how okay, what's the business behind it? I know, you
can have a restaurant, you can do catering, you can
write a book, but from your your pathway that you're
on right now, right building a business? Like, what's your
pathway that that you followed so far?
Speaker 5 (18:36):
So I like to say I'm creative, but I'm very
entrepreneurial at the same time, like I love them.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
You know, back then.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
You were either just a creative or you're just an entrepreneur.
And I feel like for me and for most entrepreneurs
or some I guess and you guys may understand that.
But I'm creative and I'm very entrepreneurial. So kind of
building a celebrity brand for me or celebrity chef brand.
It's kind of owned the ecosystem completely. So it started
(19:04):
with you know, you do private events, launching the Subba
Club in November, So that's one avenue, and then that's
obviously the Cookway line that's another. You know, I want
you to get into your kitchen and have everything launer.
So whether you're chopping that's a Launa product, or a
cutting board that's a Launa product. It's a little spice
that you're using, it's a Lona product. And so for me,
(19:25):
you know, I kind of look at it holistically like that.
And you know, as you know, my brand continues to
go in the US, it's you know, hopefully that all
those ecosystems will kind of be filtered in you know,
and then obviously everybody wants a good TV show, which
I'm already doing in South Africa.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
I just need just let a manifest within this country.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Show.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
Yeah TV shows, you know, yeay.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I mean I'm already doing like stuff with like b
Bobby Flay and Chopped and all these other things and
you know, cooking segments on the Today Show. But you know,
you want, you want to own your own stuff, and
I think you know, even when I got back from
New York. One of the things was like, Okay, how
do I start owning my own stuff? So Laura's pantry
was through my production house, and we produced it, we
(20:09):
packaged it, and we sold it to a SABC. You know.
But I think more than anything, I think that's it's
just about building a sustainable brand that would live long
beyond me being alive. But yeah, I think it's it's
really just owning the different ecosystems when it comes to
(20:31):
the culinary arts.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
What I mean, obviously successful in South Africa, the US
obviously makes a.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
Lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Were there other parts of the world that you said,
okay before I go to the US, or maybe other
countries in Africa, like hey, let's spread the brand here,
or it was hey, once we become big here and
we've established some of the things we want, we're going
back to us. Was that always the mindset?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
It was always just America?
Speaker 5 (20:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
I think I dabbled within the UK for a while
because you know.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
The pound is nice, you know, but then but it
was just it was just it's always been America for me.
You know, maybe for somebody else that might be something else.
You know, and you know, I guess I've been carving
at this journey slowly, and you know, you start seeing
like a few things that start happening, and you're like, okay,
maybe you know the sacrifice is starting to pay off somewhat,
(21:21):
you know, because it is. It's a sacrifice for me
from your family and anyone's like, so you don't have
a single family member in the US.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I'm like, no, I don't, you know.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
It's literally just me and myself and I just carving this.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
You are the team that part. Really Yeah, So I mean.
Speaker 4 (21:39):
Even if I don't have a cousin, I don't have.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Really no one. That's pretty impressive.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
I don't know. It's stupid, it's stupid and crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
All those things can be true. So how are you
How are you navigating? Right?
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Obviously we obviously you were part of the investments. How
are you finding out about these events? How are you
finding about openings for restaurants? Like you're navigating this all
about yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:03):
Yeah, I think for me.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
One of the things that you know, my friends always
say Lorna's ambition knows no boundaries, Like I will ask,
you know, until you tell me to leave you alone.
Or stop an like stop irritating you.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
But I don't.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
I don't have the fear to ask a question, you know,
or ask for not so much. I guess help or
you know, I don't mind putting myself out there, you know,
because I have nothing to lose. Right.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
You could either be like, no, we.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Don't want a friend vest versus course not readly our vibe,
or yeah it sounds like something.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Cool, you know, we could feature her.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
And then you know, you go out and you deliver
your best, and you do over and above what you
are required to do right, and then you hopefully get
back and you know, the check is a little bigger,
you know, this trustworthiness because you know, one of the
things that I'd learned, I guess from New York as
opposed to South Africa and South Africa, like there are
people that.
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Can call like to get stuff done like real.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Quick here, like every emails hi, by way of introduction,
my name is she flor you know, every email. But
you know, that's that's how you build a brand, that's
how you start, you know. And yeah, and I'm still navigating,
but I you know, I think I'm on the right
path club. Yeah, so I'm very very excited about the
supper club. It's called akaya dining. Ekaya means home and
(23:21):
for me, that's what I want food to feel like
that you're coming to my home and we're having a
great conversation. Maybe we'll do another one next year, you know,
when you guys do invest fits, no pressure because now
it's live, you know, and I love intimate food spaces,
you know. I want you to pass the dish to
the next person, have a conversation about it. I want
(23:42):
you to go, oh, this reminds me of my Auntie's
colored greens, but she's just added a little cream, you know,
it's a little different. And so the whole concept of
akaya is bringing people around a table and wanting them
to feel.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Like they're in my home.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
It's a restaurant, it's a supper club. What is the
supper club?
Speaker 5 (24:01):
A supper club is just, I guess the cooler way
of saying, you're running like a pop up experience or
a restaurant that feels like home, like a little intimate,
more intimate more what's the word?
Speaker 4 (24:15):
Not every day.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
So it's a start, it's something that you becomes what's
the English word, Like you want to go to you know,
like I think if you had Investmas every single weekend,
it would lose.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
It's like, so, how all right, so when it opens,
how long is it going to be open for?
Speaker 5 (24:31):
So basically, when it opens, you go the supper club
is open for these dates, book out these dates. And
then I also think, like, you still have a life
because you're not because restaurants are tough, right, And I
think for me, as I'm building my brand in the city,
well in Atlanta, it just made sense to start with
a supper club, build up the brand, build up the name,
(24:54):
and also that kind of like, oh my gosh, it's
coming back.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
You know, it's you.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
We had such a great time, we want to go back.
As opposed to it's open constantly and it's just a machine,
which I guess some people, for some people works well,
but for me that's not what I'm Is it.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Limited time as far as one week or is it
limited as far as it's only open on weekends.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
So you'll say for this month, let's say when the
month of We'll just use any month.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
The month of May.
Speaker 5 (25:18):
The super Club is open Friday Saturdays for the month
of May. These are the dates people book it's only
like limited to twenty thirty people, so it's really a
small number. It's a premium price, so you know it's
a little pricey, but it's an experience, right, and then
you do another one, so you know, May, then you
go June, I'm gonna do These are the days that
(25:39):
they're open.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Are you changing cities East time?
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Definitely changing cities.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
US time, So it could be in La.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
Could be Miami, it could be definitely coming back to
New York because you know, feel a little stronger, like, you.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Know, I'm ready to so let's stay. Let's stay on
this if you've got your repsent for a while. Right,
this is a business model chef Calvin. You heard him before?
Speaker 4 (25:59):
No?
Speaker 5 (26:00):
Maybe?
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Uh he won?
Speaker 4 (26:02):
What did he wins?
Speaker 2 (26:04):
He won? No, like the one of these TV shows Chopped.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Yeah, I think he was on Chop and.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
I interviewed him early, early, early, but that was his thing.
And this was like even during the before, the before
he was doing weekend pop ups in the Bronx actually, and.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
That's why he started in the apartments.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
And then it was like an elevated experience in the Bronx.
It was the whole thing. But okay, so this is
a business model. So you're renting out what kind of
venues is this?
Speaker 4 (26:33):
So the current venue we're looking at as.
Speaker 5 (26:35):
An existing restaurant that's vacant. No, so it operates from
Wednesdays and.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
Then the restaurant is not open on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
It's no, it's opened Wednesdays to Sundays from seven am
till three so the so in the evening, So you're.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Going to take over the existing restaurant at night. Yeah, okay,
So it's like when say Less went to they go
to the All Star Games and it's to say Less
pop up pretty much.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
Yeah, and your overheads are lower, so you're not paying
staff all the time, but you know.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
You're able to.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
So that's a business model that you all Right, So
you like that business model because it's less pressure as
far as having a lease and you have to stay
here no matter what. And it's a scarcity model too, right,
where it's like you got if you don't get in
these couple of days, then it's over as opposed to
I got all a month to go to the rest
of Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
And I think once you build it around like good branding, marketing,
all that stuff, it is it's I mean they supper
clubs that I think we're talking offline. That's like it's
fully booked till next year January, and I'm trying to see,
like somebody canceled if I could go, and they have
a Michelin, you know, and so it just makes sense
(27:47):
and you're able to get I think for me as
a ship, you're able to you know, get the recognition
you want, whether it's a Michelin or a James Beard
or you know.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
And you come in off of the like they hit
the lake a license.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
You use their legal license, so you don't need necessary
because you're not selling liquor.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
You know, it's almost like an.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Event, so it's kind of complimentary in a sense. So
this is a almost like a pop up model that
just runs continuously.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
So how how do you choose the menu?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Because that obviously can cut into profits, right if you
have different menu items. It's already a premium ticket, but
you want to make sure that the margins and how
are you choosing it?
Speaker 5 (28:27):
I think the menu has to be different every time
because you're you know, you're selling a different experience. I
think getting a Somali air or a wine partner who
comes on and it's a wine pairing. I think that's one.
But differently, the menu has to be different. You know
that's that's a selling point, right you. Whether you're saying
(28:47):
you're doing a fusion between southern Southern African food and
and food from the South, you know that's a play
on something. I think if you said if I I
would love to do one that was like South African Japanese,
I think that would be like an interesting fusion and
so and then also collaborate with other shifts, right do
you kind of like experiences where you're both curating something
(29:10):
really delicious and amazing and and you're still gathering.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
People, but it's set. It's a set menu of like changes. No, no, no,
what I'm saying, Like, you have this pop up on Saturday, right,
you're doing the Japanese Jamaican fusion.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Okay, look at you, we're just speaking.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You're going to cook three different dishes. But those are
the three different dishes. It's not like you could just
go whatever. It's not like a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
No, no, the six course meal.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Course, the next prop.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
Until the next pop up where you're selling a different
kind of experience.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
And then if you have a wine partner, and then
it's like okay, like tonight we're going to be drinking this.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Wine my best my best friend of the show.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Yes, Ingrid exactly. I love Ingrid and that.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Wine is good, airline is good.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
So the price associated with this is it just the
venue and obviously you get in the food and then
hopefully we can get sponsorships and yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:11):
So in the past when I used to do it
in New York, these were funded by Brand South Africa,
and so it would be like Brand South Africa and
Ammarula for example, I'm living a liqueur that's South African
and so you know that model works because you know,
you all your costs are covered essentially, right, And I
(30:32):
think once you've built up the brand, you've got great marketing,
everybody kind of.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Wins, you know, and then how much do they pay
to get it?
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Yeah, it's weird. And in Atlanta they've been one eighty five.
Speaker 4 (30:44):
In New York two fifty for.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
A ticket for one ticket one ticket. Okay, yeah, so
if you too, that's five hundred, five hundred dollars day.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Shouty stop it, let's not start this.
Speaker 4 (30:56):
What are we starting now?
Speaker 3 (30:58):
We got a lot of flag over this.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Let me hear it.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
What do you think that? What do you think a
reasonable amount of money is to spend on a first date?
Speaker 4 (31:06):
On a first date, on the first date.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
You are spending what do you think I mean, I'll
probably like do caviar. I'll probably do like the best
wine I got, like eight hundred.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Dollars pounds not rands.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
In caviar in the first date. Yes, yes, that's che
if you go to a restaurant that does not have cavea.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
If I'm picking the restaurant, I'm going to make sure
that the restaurant is caveat.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
Oh you picked the restaurant, Yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
Mean you'd say, oh, what kind of cuisine do you like?
Then I'd be like, oh, you know, is it Michelin?
Speaker 3 (31:42):
You know michel that playing you know.
Speaker 5 (31:47):
So one of my favorites are X y Z and
what I love about restaurants in Atlanta the caviar service
and most of them.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
So, so eight hundred dollars, So you're saying eight hundred
dollars is a reasonable amount of money.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
I mean, like a really good bottle of wine, it's
like two fifty off the rip.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Yeah, we can go Cokie that shout, I mean they
got caveat on the nuggets?
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Does that? It does come okay in there, But it's
really good cookie.
Speaker 4 (32:16):
Is it here?
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (32:17):
Yeah, I gotta try it out. Popper caves like the
fake stuff.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
It's real that ship than cave.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
I love. I love. I love good food.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
All types of food, all types of Are you a
food snob A bit? Yeah, I was gonna say I'm
a food snob, but I appreciate hole in the walls.
That's good. Like I can go to a random Indian
reference as a hole in the wall.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
That is my vibe.
Speaker 5 (32:43):
That is I will never go to the place that
everybody goes to, you know, just it's not it's not
for me. But I love holding the wall as much
as I love a good little little.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Hole in the world.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Might not have the cavia, they might not have carry out,
but they got they're gonna have.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
A lot of time. Like holding the war spots.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
Indian spots are sometimes holding the world, but they're like
an Indian.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I went to a few Indian restaurants in New York
that randomly just walked in. Yeah, and it was like
the best of the best. I said five hundred dollars
that was your inflation, and people they got really mad
about that, kind of.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
About five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
I mean, like they're really mad about that.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I mean, if you think about it, like a tasting menu.
I was looking at some tasting menus today in New
York it's like two eighty five.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
You know, you also have to take in mind that
you're speaking from an experience of New York City. I
guess America. Most of the people in America don't live
in New York City. That is true Miami.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I mean, and have never tasted Jesus.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
I mean they've had like other things.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yeah, chicken nuggets, fries, fried chickens. It's great. Things of
that sort is important.
Speaker 4 (33:54):
No, I love them.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
It's like it's like in South Africa, it's like seven colors, right,
seven colors is like seven different elements on a plate.
Or some people, young people call it several colors, but
you know, I'm an eighties baby.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
We call it.
Speaker 5 (34:06):
Seven colors, and it's seven different elements on a plate
and reminds me of Southern food because it's like a
rice protein, whether it's like a stew or it's like
grilled chicken. And then we have spinach that we cream,
spinach that we love. You guys have colored greens. Then
you guys have yms. We have butternut or what's the
(34:27):
other thing, or pumpkin, but it's.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Not as sweet and syrupy. I've never had food hands.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
They gave me the South Africa as well.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
Eat with your hands, I mean, that's that's what's up.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
You know, I didn't know because I'm left handed, so
I was eating with my left hand, so I got
the education on that. But they told you, they told me.
But you know, I'm left handed, so everything I do
is with my left hand. But when I was on Instagram,
the Instagrams call me apart in the comments.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Really, what's your lift?
Speaker 3 (35:04):
I told them stop going on that.
Speaker 5 (35:08):
Funny enough sushi you can eat with your hands, really, yeah,
if you don't, if you don't know how to use
chop stick. So when you go to an all my
cass spot, right, which is like basically my cast, you
know what is So basically the chief gives you what's available, right,
so whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Yeah, it's called an all my case. It's usually called
my case, but it's a whatever the chif has that's available.
That's the sushi.
Speaker 5 (35:31):
You're getting all the fish and whatever whatever it is,
and you don't they don't give you chopsticks for some
of the dishes.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
You actually pick the sushi, eat it with your hands.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I know people like that, you know, I like I
eat the opian food.
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Oh yeah, how you're gonna have in with get out
the restaurant.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Was there a city?
Speaker 2 (35:55):
First?
Speaker 1 (35:55):
I want to know how the audience are responding to
the food, and then I want to know if there's
a city in particular that you were like, Wow, they
really get it because when they first think maybe South
African cuisine, and then they taste the food, obviously it's
enlightening and it's like wow, I have to get more.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
Of this work. Is there a city in particular New York?
Speaker 5 (36:13):
I feel like this so much that I want to
say New York is definitely has always had my best
pop ups because it's just the food seene here so vibrant,
it's so energetic, so diverse, and so even when you
come in and you maybe made up an island that
doesn't exist, people will come and try it, you know
what I mean? Where I think in other parts it's
education constantly and it's finding the you know, the way
(36:39):
both cuisine meet each other and kind of finding that midline,
kind of like saying, okay, well, you know it's color
greens in the South, but you know, how do I
take color greens and give it a South African twist?
And maybe it's cream spinach because we eat a lot
of spinach, but we add a lot of cream through it,
you know. And so for me, it's about finding those
(36:59):
similar so that it's a little familiar, you know, and
it's not like, well I don't I don't know what's
going on. But at the same time, when you go
to a supper club or a pop up, you're going
for a different experience, you know, because if if, if,
if it was just a normal restaurant, you know exactly
what you're getting.
Speaker 4 (37:15):
It's the things you like.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
But when you when you do a supper club where
you go to a pop up experience, it's for that
different experience because you want something else.
Speaker 4 (37:22):
You don't want the regular regular.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Stuff that you have an elevated experience.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
An elevated experience, it's it's a beautiful date night, you
know that you might.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Put so what is Zania so oh?
Speaker 4 (37:36):
Is that you all did a lot of I mean, I.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Mean, we've been known to do a thing into a
research because I mean New York. Obviously we're here. It's
diverse Atlanta fool seeing a little different has gotten better?
Speaker 4 (37:48):
Yeah, growing?
Speaker 3 (37:49):
So what is Zaniya? How do we plan to take
over this market?
Speaker 4 (37:53):
So?
Speaker 5 (37:54):
Zania is a concept that I'm working on back in
South Africa. It's a private members club members only phones,
no no, no phones. But it's not a gentleman's cause
it's a food it's a food space, you know, where
you can have your meetings. And so that's a concept
that's you know, and it's baby Steps soon to be
launched in twenty twenty six and.
Speaker 3 (38:15):
That's coming to Atlanta as well, or just.
Speaker 4 (38:18):
In South Africa. South Africa.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
So talk about social media. How has social media helped
the brand? And how are you using social media to
create awareness?
Speaker 5 (38:28):
To be honest, I feel like a lot of social
media is like smoking mirrors a lot because it's all perception. Right,
maybe it's not smoking mirrors, but like it's perception. You're
going to create the brand. It's like how do you
how do you? What did someone say the other day?
Speaker 4 (38:43):
How you show up? Is how people are going to
receive you.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
And so I think as I've shown up, I guess
partnering with you guys for investments with the brand South Africa,
those are the things.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
That go Okay, cool, she's.
Speaker 5 (38:54):
Doing some stuff, you know, because you know your brands
are very well known estab and so when you're partnering
with those kinds of things, I think for me, it
plays a part because people are watching.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
You know, they may not engage, but they are watching.
Speaker 5 (39:09):
And so I think social media is are as as
much as exhausting as it is, it's it's a really
good medium to use.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Can you explain the difference between a food scene in
Atlanta and New York City?
Speaker 5 (39:29):
No, you know what I think for me, the food
scene in Atlanta is growing and it has potential to
be amazing. And so I mean New York is a beast,
Miami is a beast.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
London.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
From an educated standpoint, because when I say that New
York is the top city in America for food, a
lot of I'm educated on food, but a lot of
people that may not be as educated as I am,
they give me pushback on this. They're like, no, New
York food is nasty, and I'm explaining to him as
far as how many Michelin star restaurants do we have?
How many diversity in the food? So, yeah, can you
(40:08):
just explain that trying?
Speaker 4 (40:10):
Are you trying to let the people in Atlanta kill me?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
We love it, We love it Atlanta, We love Atlanta.
Speaker 5 (40:16):
I think the food scene in Atlanta is growing. I
think there's a lot of education that's needed. You know,
It's funny because when I when I came to Atlanta
in twenty twenty four, was it in twenty twenty four?
It was like a lot of like the Libanese Persian
type restaurants were like I still are like a big
thing like Homer's Kebab. And it's like, there's more to
(40:39):
cuisine than just that it's great. Mediterranian food is amazing,
it's delicious, it's healthy, it's but there's more too.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
Well, Actually, this is a better question, what what what
city in America do you think has the best food?
Speaker 4 (40:50):
Okay, so I've never been to New Orleans.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
The places that you've places that you've.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Been to absolutely New York.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
So explain why New York is the number one city.
Speaker 5 (40:59):
I would say it's hard to go to New York
and find a bad restaurant, even if you would just
walk down the street and turn right like it is.
It really is hard, right, and it depends on your
level of also expenditure, what you want to spend. There's
a lot of competitions that's very hard. So if you
know that a restaurant has been open for a while,
(41:19):
you know they are fighting for their lives and they probably.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Been at it for a while.
Speaker 5 (41:25):
And also just the diversity, like you can you can
come to New York and find every cuisine known to
man potentially, you know, And I think that that's what
makes New York just such a great place to eat.
I don't think there's anywhere in the world. Actually maybe
London can potendially be that too, But you know.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Everything, Okay, guys, I appreciate that message. I'm glad you
said it.
Speaker 4 (41:54):
But we can get there, I think, I mean, it
is on the rise.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
And I think that Atlanta in order to compete, you
just gotta know.
Speaker 4 (42:03):
Yeah, you've got to know.
Speaker 5 (42:05):
And I think for me, what excites me about Atlanta
is that whenever I've had a pop up, it's not
it's not that it's not well received, Like people buy
tickets and they want to be at it. So there's
clearly a market for something different. You know, if you
look at the Michelin Star restaurants in Atlanta, they are
fully booked for at least like two three weeks in advance,
(42:26):
so you can't just walk in. So that for me says, Okay,
it's growing and there's still an interest. There's a group.
Maybe it's a small group of people, but there are
people that are going in and paying five hundred, eight
hundred dollars for dinners.
Speaker 4 (42:40):
They clearly because how do those other restaurants survive.
Speaker 3 (42:43):
Do you feel the pressure to be a Michelin Star?
Speaker 5 (42:45):
Do I feel the pressure? I think I would like
to be. I am working towards that. You know, I
think you know, as a black female chaf from the continent,
it would be like insanely epic.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
So I just feel like, as I'm listening to you talk,
obviously we've tasted some of the food, I just feel
like there's this trail blazing that's happening with you. I
wonder if you're looking at it and saying seeing it yourself,
saying I'm set in a path for so many women
from my country from here to travel down this path.
That's why I wonder if Michelin is a goal.
Speaker 5 (43:17):
No, it is, I mean for any shift, right, Michelin,
James Beard. You know none of those things exist on
the continent, which is crazy to me.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
But hey whatever, we we did.
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Eat at a Michelin star chef's restaurant in.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
Beni. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:34):
Oh he probably trained.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Oh she she probably trained at a Michelin spot and
then came to Benin and opened a restaurant in Benie.
Speaker 4 (43:43):
Because there's no Michelin on the continent.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
She's a Michelin star chef, but she was Michelan. It
was a Michelin.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
She worked the first one to come back.
Speaker 4 (43:52):
Yeah, probably came back.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
It's French, so she came from Paris.
Speaker 5 (43:57):
Yeah, she probably worked at a Michelin spot in Paris
and want a mission and while she worked there.
Speaker 2 (44:01):
So so there's no Michelin star restaurants. But why do
we why does why? Why does that validation matter?
Speaker 5 (44:09):
The same validation when you guys hit ten years of
investments or twenty years or thirty years.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
No, but I find prestigious.
Speaker 4 (44:17):
It's not prestigious.
Speaker 5 (44:17):
It's just like it's like good and faithful servants. You
have done the work for sure, Some people means nothing
right they.
Speaker 2 (44:24):
Don't care because I feel like they.
Speaker 4 (44:26):
Don't care for that.
Speaker 5 (44:27):
But I have, you know, I have a lot to
lose because because of how much I've sacrificed and how
much I've put in. And so for me, that is
the ultimate goal, because what are we doing if we're
not like wanting to achieve excellence and perfectionism does not exist.
But if we're not striving for it, what do.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
We know for sure? But I think that sometimes it
can be dangerous if we set our expectations based on
outsider's approval.
Speaker 4 (44:50):
That is very true.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
And sometimes for me, I'm like, you know, maybe I
might never get the mischionine because it's a difficult thing
to get right, But I think I have a good
chance to get it. And because I have a good
chance to get it, I might as well try.
Speaker 3 (45:02):
What's the process?
Speaker 4 (45:04):
I have no clue.
Speaker 3 (45:06):
The worst then you don't need it. I think if
your work is going to speak for.
Speaker 5 (45:10):
Itself, the work will speak for itself. And so for me,
I'm like, if I don't get it.
Speaker 4 (45:15):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
But it's like Bob Maul never won a.
Speaker 4 (45:17):
Grand that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (45:19):
Now that Christopher Wallace.
Speaker 2 (45:20):
But that doesn't take away exactly he didn't need He
didn't need the Academy to validate for.
Speaker 5 (45:29):
Me either way from the township that I'm from, to
be able to open a space and say I have
a restaurant or a supper club in America. I have
products in different grocery stores across the US. I have
a cocol that's already on its own, like.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
You did something, you already.
Speaker 3 (45:50):
Those things exist in South Africa now.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Those things exist in South Africa now, and some of
them exist in the US.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
But you know, so before we leave, I do want
to talk about South Africa. Okay, South Africa. We've hearst
hold many stories about this, and growing up, I feel like,
you know, when we saw South Africa receives aparthid in
Nelson Mandela, all this stuff and then he gets elected
the whole story and then you know, even now, it's
just whenever people talk about South Africa, they always say
(46:19):
like it's just so different from every other part of Africa,
right for a variety of different reasons, as far as
how they categorize race, how dominated it is, as far
as like a European influence, how it's just it's just
it's always categorized as like just different from the rest
of at least Sub Saharan Africa. What can you say
(46:40):
to people that's never been to South Africa as far
as like what is what's the real deal with South Africa?
Speaker 5 (46:47):
South Africa is beautiful. I'm not going to say it's
a hidden gym, because it's not hidden. It's an incredible,
vibrant country. I think one of the things that resonated
with Atlanta for me was how similar to Johannesburg it is,
you know, the black excellents, the you know, every country
for me has difficulties, you know, they that you can't
(47:08):
run away from. But I think what makes South Africa
beautiful is just the people.
Speaker 4 (47:13):
The people are.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
Absolutely incredible, kind, amazing. There's just so much to do
as well, at a fraction of the price, you know,
because the dollar's around, you know, seventeen to one. You know,
you're not going to spend five hundred dollars on a mail,
you know, And and.
Speaker 4 (47:34):
It's it's you. You couldn't.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
You couldn't you could experience in one country the best
of the best. So when I say the best, it's
still you know, you could go to I don't know,
you could go to Cape Town for example, just use
Cape Town as an example and and enjoy luxury whatever.
And you can go to Doeburgh and experience just you know,
you know, street culture and and township culture. And you
(48:00):
can go to Villagazzi Street where you know, the only
two Nobel Prize winners lived across well down the road
from each other, Desmond Teacher and Nelson Mandela, you know.
And so for me, that diversity is amazing. And these
places only two hours away from each other by flight,
you know. And I don't think there's a country that
you can experience the difference that are so close in
(48:21):
one in one spot in one country. You know, I
think the business opportunities in South Africa are insane. And
you know, me being here does not mean there's there's
no business opportunities. It's like the machine is still operating
itself down south. It's just you know, we've got to
expand because you know, people want to grow their brands
and be bigger and et cetera. But yeah, you just
(48:44):
have to go. I'm yet to meet anyone that goes
to South Africa and hates it.
Speaker 4 (48:47):
Like genuinely.
Speaker 5 (48:51):
Moving to South Africa, and funny enough, there's so many
Americans moving.
Speaker 3 (48:56):
We haven't been to the country yet.
Speaker 4 (48:58):
You need to go.
Speaker 3 (48:59):
We definitely there's somebody.
Speaker 1 (49:01):
Who was the executive chef for South American Airlines, I
believe South Africa South African. So I was wondering, Oh, okay,
I see.
Speaker 3 (49:12):
Well, how did you get the position?
Speaker 1 (49:14):
And then let's talk about how we can make I
was like, that's me, it's you, one of the roles.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
And how did you get this position?
Speaker 4 (49:22):
I asked?
Speaker 5 (49:25):
Literally, you know, It's funny because I went to them,
probably was like four years ago, and I was like, hey,
you know, I'd love to work with you guys, and
they were like, no, we're not. You know, it's not
the time, you know, we're not. That's not our focus
at the moment. And I actually emailed them about something else.
I was actually emailing them about getting my product into
the airline, you know, and they were like, you know what,
(49:46):
actually we think we have we have something even better
for you, you know.
Speaker 4 (49:50):
And so that's basically what happens.
Speaker 5 (49:52):
Like most of the things I've ever gone is because
I just asked a question and I was like, hey,
do you think we could do something with investments in
Brents all that forget I could have gotten a know,
I could have gotten a maybe it could I could
have gotten you know, maybe next time. But most of
the things I've ever done is because.
Speaker 3 (50:08):
I just asked, what kind of perks come with that?
Speaker 5 (50:11):
The hurts, the disappointment, there's no perks. You gotta work hard, yeah,
you know, it's just it's hard work. And then it's
you know, it's hard work, and it's hard work. And
I guess you have to have thick skin because you're
not always going to get a yes, or somebody is
not going to reply because.
Speaker 4 (50:27):
I'm not necessarily known.
Speaker 5 (50:29):
But there was someone who once said, like, you are
five people away from getting to the people you want
to know.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
So and I'm a believe of that.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
So it would have been asked, this person who's going
to ask this person? You know, and you will get
to the answer that you want, you know, So just ask.
Speaker 2 (50:46):
Asking, you shall receive. Well you have, thank you for
your time, Thank you telling people how to follow you
on social media and everything.
Speaker 5 (50:54):
Yeah, so you could follow me on Instagram which is
Lorna my circle. I'm sure it'll pop up somewhere. But yeah,
so Lona my circle and then on Twitter or x
is at Lorns underscore my circle, TikTok is Lona myco eats.
But yeah, you know, stay in church, follow the Ikaya
dining experience because it's going to be.
Speaker 4 (51:16):
We don't be there, you know the number.
Speaker 3 (51:20):
When I get there, I should the caviar should be
ready of course. Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (51:25):
All right, God, thank you for see you next week.
Speaker 3 (51:27):
Please please
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