The influencers 21 COOKS SHAPING SA FOOD

THE ICON

MARGOT JANSE CHEF-RESTAURATEUR, PHILANTHROPIST

During her 21-year tenure at The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Frangais in Franschhoek, Margot Janse made the World's 50 Best Restaurants list eight times. But it's the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities the job afforded, rather than the accolades, that have meant the most to her. Like the full-circle experience of paging through Thomas Keller's The French Laundry Cookbook for the first time in 1999; then doing a stage with him in California's Napa Valley a year later; and ultimately, in 2005, sharing the chefs’ VIP section with him at the World's 50 Best awards, before being called on stage to receive the award for Best Restaurant in Africa and the Middle East. She now divides her time between her Franschhoek children's charity, Isabelo, and her new restaurant, SAAM, in the Netherlands. @margotjanse

ONE TO WATCH

MMABATHO MOLEFE

CHEF-RESTAURATEUR

Since opening Emazulwini at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town at the end of 2020, Mmabatho has captivated diners with her re-contextualisation of traditional Zulu cuisine and indigenous ingredients in a fine-dining setting. And the world has taken note. Last year, she was named a hospitality pioneer on the 50 Next list, an initiative launched in 2021 by the World's 50 Best Restaurants to earmark the next generation of chefs. Emazulwini also won African Restaurant of the Year at the fourth annual Luxe Restaurant Awards in 2022. @mmab_atho