Aligning myself, and my businesses, with other brands is about relationships.
Aligning myself, and my businesses, with other brands is about relationships.
PARTNERSHIPS
Marble is a celebration of quintessential South African fare and cooking on fire. Marble embodies South Africans’ love of cooking with fire, a quality that makes our food culture different from the rest of the world.
I opened Marble together with my business partner Gary Kyriacou in 2016. We set out for it to be the ultimate dining experience - something like Johannesburg had never seen before.
And we've achieved just that.
Jo'burg has an unbelievable energy - it's why I love this city so much. Our location for Marble really harnesses that. Marble is situated in the Keyes Art Mile, an art and food hub in Rosebank.
The centrepiece to our space is our grand wood-fired grill imported from Grill Works in Michigan. It's the focal point of the restaurant and brings our concept of live fire cooking to life - it's an international level experience, with distinctive South African flair.
We also have the best sunset view - so come for a cocktail or a glass of wine in the evening, and then stay for a meal.
Saint is all about the energy that a beautiful room and simple food brings. It’s not poncy and hushed. Instead, it’s expressive and simple and so are the surroundings, the music and the people. But, it’s a big place and it fills with energy, both in the kitchen and on the floor.
Saint is based on the concept off “Pazzo Italiano” – which loosely translates to crazy fun Italian.
Gary and I gained the original inspiration for Saint’s concept during our visit to New York in early 2016 – as part of our planning and research for Marble.
We visited a restaurant in Manhattan which had an unbelievable feel and atmosphere.
And when Alexander Wang walked in with a troop of models and started ordering pizza and champagne, we knew this was a combination we wanted to bring home with us.
We chose Sandton because it's a business hub for Johannesburg. It is the go-to pizza and Champagne destination for Sandton’s trendy, up-and-coming business crowd.
It’s not your local pizza take-out. So, come with an open mind.
Restaurants are about relationships. I’ve been working with the team from Mercedes Benz SA for a few years now, and we really look after one another.
It’s been a great association for our restaurants, but also for my personal brand.
I enjoy cars – in fact, anything with wheels – and so I’m so grateful for my longstanding relationship with them.
I enjoy partnering with brands where I can offer authentic support. Breitling is a new brand to me as a representative, but the quality speaks for itself. I love their association with cycling, which is a massive part of my life, and an important one. Plus, who doesn’t love a quality product… it’s a no brainer.
Restaurant Ikarus, located in Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport in Austria, was one of the most incredible experiences, and a highlight of my career. The year that I was there René Redzepi, the Roca brothers (Joan, Josep and Jordi) and Sergio Herman.
Every chef gets to cook in this beautiful hangar for a month. I got the invitation from them while I was at Rust en Vrede. My team and were sitting together having lunch when the email came through. It turned out to be the most incredible thing.
The Ikarus team came to South Africa and spent a few days travelling around the Cape, and then they spent time with my team and I in the kitchen to develop the menus.
My Sous Chef and I then flew over and were welcomed by a huge media contingent (driven by the Red Bull marketing machine) and spent a week there. Opening night was unbelievable, and it was an amazing experience.
