The global gastronomic landscape is being reshaped by a wave of South African entrepreneurs who have exported the country’s signature ubuntu spirit and fierce work ethic to some of the world’s most competitive culinary capitals. From the sun-drenched ports of the French Riviera to the ultra-luxury dining hubs of Dubai and London, South Africa’s visionary restaurateurs are proving that their distinctive approach to food and hospitality belongs on the global stage.
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen: South African Heritage in France
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s background is far from that of a traditional corporate restaurateur. Raised on a rural farm in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, Jan Hendrik spent his childhood cooking alongside his mother and grandmother, Ouma Maria, discovering early on that his calling was food rather than farming. Before making his name in the kitchen, he worked as a contributing food editor and photographer for Elle magazine in South Africa.
In 2013, Jan Hendrik made the leap to France, opening Restaurant JAN in Nice’s fashionable Vieux Port district. Housed in a discreet 18th-century building, the intimate dining room seats just 24 guests and offers a single multi-course tasting menu. His core strategy was to pair highly localised French Mediterranean ingredients with deeply nostalgic South African comfort food, resulting in one of the few places in Europe where diners can enjoy vetkoek alongside classic French pâté, or find Cremora, biltong, bobotie, and mosbolletjies elevated to fine dining.
Less than three years after opening, Restaurant JAN was awarded its first Michelin star, making Jan Hendrik the first South African chef to achieve the honour. Since then, he has turned his culinary prestige into a diverse, cross-continental business, bridging European gastronomy with African influences. His growing portfolio now includes the JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town and the acclaimed Le Bistrot de JAN in France, as well as his own publication, the JAN Journal.
Natasha Sideris: Boutique Hospitality, Globally
While many entrepreneurs scale through corporate franchising, Natasha Sideris built an international empire by treating multi-location casual dining as a network of bespoke, standalone boutiques.
Born in South Africa to a Greek family, Natasha represents the third generation of hospitality pioneers in her family. Her father was a well-known local restaurateur, her great-grandfather ran a bakery, and her mother and grandmother were accomplished home cooks.
In 2005, she opened the first tashas café in Atholl Square, Johannesburg, relying partly on private funding after being turned down by commercial banks. Her guiding principle was to eliminate the mechanical feel of a standard restaurant franchise. While the core menu remains consistent across the brand, each location features unique interior architecture and its own neighbourhood-specific menu additions.
Having established herself in the South African boutique café market, Natasha set her sights on global expansion in 2014, choosing the affluent and fiercely competitive United Arab Emirates as her springboard. Today, the Tashas Group has 47 restaurants across 14 concepts and five countries – South Africa, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Kingdom – employing more than 2 000 hospitality workers worldwide.
Beyond the original tashas café concept, the group’s premium portfolio includes the pastel-hued Flamingo Room by tashas, the chic beachside Bungalo34 on Dubai’s Pearl Jumeira, the sophisticated Parisian retail-dining hybrid Le Parc by tashas, and the high-energy Greek venue Avli by tashas in Dubai’s DIFC, among others.
Not surprisingly, Natasha has been repeatedly recognised by Forbes Middle East as one of the Top 20 Leaders Behind Luxury Dining in the Middle East, while her nightlife concept Galaxy Bar in Dubai secured a place on the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars list – certainly no small feat for a girl from Joburg.
Patrick Williams and Amy Corbin: The Kudu Evolution
Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, Patrick Williams grew up immersed in distinct coastal flavours. His culinary style is deeply informed by his upbringing: his father was a seasoned braai master, while his mother introduced him to complex spice profiles at local markets. At 17, he moved to Cape Town to train professionally as a chef, earning his stripes at the world-renowned La Colombe.
But it was after his move to London that he met his wife and business partner, Amy Corbin, daughter of restaurant industry veteran Chris Corbin. While she had studied interior design and initially considered opening a modest bakery or café, a chance meeting with Patrick changed her trajectory entirely.
In 2018, the couple opened their first neighbourhood bistro in Southeast London, building the business into a string of South London favourites under the Kudu Collective banner, including the original Kudu, the fire-cooking Kudu Grill, the cocktail bar Smokey Kudu, and the art-gallery-dining concept Curious Kudu. They’ve since brought all the concepts together under one roof: a polished flagship in Marylebone, built around a large open-fire braai kitchen serving elevated South African-inspired food in London’s competitive West End. The flagship’s popularity shows no sign of slowing, with the Kudu Collective becoming a regular fixture on the UK’s Top 100 Restaurants list.
Gerrie Knoetze: Resilience and Endurance
Gerrie Knoetze offers a masterclass in resilience and entrepreneurial endurance. While many founders’ stories centre on rapid scaling or Michelin prestige, Gerrie’s is defined by the sharp instincts of a classic South African hospitality hustle.
Hailing from the Free State gold-mining town of Odendaalsrus, Gerrie was already a household name in South African hospitality before he considered a move overseas. He founded and ran two well-known concepts: the famous Roxy Rhythm Bar in Melville, Johannesburg, and the upscale Brown’s of Rivonia in Sandton. Following his success in South Africa, he took his knowledge of nightlife and premium dining to London.
In the early 2000s, he launched Vivat Bacchus in the British capital. The restaurant proved an instant hit, but the business was soon dealt a brutal double blow: the foot-and-mouth ban and the 2008 financial crisis, either of which might have finished off a less determined operator. Showing characteristic grit, Gerrie restructured, adapted his menus around premium local meats paired with South African cooking techniques, and kept both outlets thriving through a decade of economic hardship, earning him a reputation as a model for surviving major external shocks.
Over the years, Vivat Bacchus has consistently been praised by major UK publications for housing one of the most comprehensive and adventurous collections of South African wine anywhere outside the Cape.
Having spent years successfully navigating London’s high-stakes market with Vivat Bacchus, Gerrie has since shifted his focus to digital commerce. Through his latest venture, Rare & Fine Cape Wines, he curates and distributes vintage and ultra-premium South African labels, including revered estates such as Kanonkop, Meerlust, and Boekenhoutskloof, directly to connoisseurs across Europe, further cementing his legacy as a leading ambassador for South African wine abroad.
Nicky van der Walt: TANG’s South African Flair in Dubai
Once a regular fixture in the South African tabloids alongside his wife, model Lee-Ann Liebenberg, Nicky van der Walt represents a modern breed of South African lifestyle entrepreneur: one who designs bold, visually striking, sensory-driven dining concepts tailored to the world’s most glamorous and competitive luxury markets.
In May 2021, amid a highly volatile climate for global hospitality, Nicky launched his boldest concept yet: TANG Asian Luxury Restaurant & Bar in Sandton, conceived as a deliberate antidote to minimalist dining. The concept blends high-energy Japanese izakaya dining with refined Cantonese cuisine and was followed by a second flagship at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.
In December 2024, he executed his most ambitious international expansion yet, opening TANG Dubai in the city’s downtown luxury hub, in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa. The group is now building on this momentum, with talks of rollouts in Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Bodrum.
Under his direction, TANG has claimed global recognition, with TANG V&A Waterfront in Cape Town being named Africa’s Best Asian Cuisine Restaurant at the 5th Annual World Culinary Awards. His disruptive approach to scaling has since made him a fixture in international publications like GQ and Caterer Middle East, where he’s been celebrated for exporting South African hospitality talent and edge to the ultra-premium Gulf dining scene.
