Khanya Mzongwana, 27, has worn many aprons and hats, among them; head chef, restaurant owner and organiser of the pop-up restaurant Off the Wall.
Mzongwana has worked in kitchens since she was in high school, eventually taking the plunge into ownership with her first restaurant, Aztec Kitchen. She ran it for three years in her native Port Elizabeth before moving to Gauteng to immerse herself even deeper in the food world. In 2014, Mzongwana hosted the first Off the Wall in Pretoria before taking the concept on the road to diners in Joburg and Cape Town.
With themes like “Brazil,” “North Korea” and “Egypt,” the curated culinary journeys were supported by great music and conversation at a long, 50-seater table. Mzongwana has also found her passion for food styling which she says “allows me to be my most creative and expressive”. This 2016 Eat Out Awards panellist is a regular contributor to Woolworth’s Taste, and House and Leisure magazines.
If you’ve ever eaten at +27 Cafe or the African Beer Emporium in Pretoria, you will have tasted menus that Khanya helped create. Mzongwana describes her latest project, Undignified, as a social intervention through food. Undignified aims to dispel the idea that quality fare is only for certain classes by serving it in fun and easy social spaces.
|If you want to be successful, you must stop quitting.|
