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Restaurant Business magazine is the leading B2B magazine for South Africa's restaurant, hospitality and foodservice industry.
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S I ������ �� � � ��� �� ��
dynamic rate of growth and innova-
�on in the restaurant industry—and
2015 has been a red le$er year in
this regard.
It is no secret that our economy
is in the doldrums, and that the
world economy is not faring much
be$er—with both emerging and de-
veloped economies seeing growth
rates slumping, including China. A
worrying scenario.
And yet, this year we have seen
launch a+er launch of new restau-
rants, new concepts—homegrown
and interna�onal—and we have seen
our local restaurant groups expand-
ing their footprint overseas and into
other African countries.
Make no mistake, I know that
there are many restaurant failures and
many struggling franchisees—we don’t
get the press release about these.
But when well-established restaurant
groups introduce new concepts to the
market, they are doing so on the basis
of calculated risk—and on the expecta-
tion that they will make money.
Reliable statistics for the industry
are hard to come by—a few market
research surveys don’t tell us much.
But it would seem that the story at the
lower end of the market is the same—
from groups like Chesa Nyama, to the
grassroots informal sector to food
trucks and food markets.
Is it simply the case the old chest-
nut holds true—even in troubled times
people always need to eat? And that
the foodservice industry offers oppor-
tunities for entrepreneurs to create
jobs that otherwise aren’t there.
Or can we take from all this a glim-
mer of hope that while economists may
have given up on 2016, the rest of us
simply have to make it happen?
CAN WE RELY ON THE GROWTH
IN THE RESTAURANT SECTOR?
Restaurants 4
Restaurants in the news.
Cover Story 6
Our guide for chefs and restaurants on how to
publish your own cookbook in South Africa.
Chef 22
Lucas Carsten and Pete Goffe-Wood transform the
menu at Makaron restaurant.
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Hilary Ward
082 330 1981
ADVERTISING SALES
Hilary Ward
082 330 1981
Nick Ferris
0717858732
CONTACT
PO Box 1346 Cresta 2118
Johannesburg
+27 011 782 8636
088 011 782 8636
www.rbmag.co.za
@restaurantbusinessmag
@resbizmag
Restaurant BusinessTM
magazine is published by
Cimarron Media & Marke�ng
Co. Reg. 2011/101976/07
© Copyright reserved
ON THE COVER: Cookbooks by chefs and restaurants are
seldom big money-spinners, unless they achieve iconic status,
but they can help build your brand and communicate your
vision. See Page 6. Photo: From Babel—The Cookbook by
Babylonstoren wine farm and hotel.
TEF SGHIEFJK SHK ELMKNFKO’P LOKNFLM
restaurant–known for its delectable
buffet–has reopened its doors fol-
lowing a R3.7 million refurbishment.
The hotel’s flagship restaurant,
now boasts new furnishings, ligh�ng
and decor as well as the addi�on of a
“curry corner” to the buffet.
Lingela’s remodel has trans-
formed the restaurant into a contem-
porary environment,” says GM, Sa-
mantha Cro+. Lingela is one of Dur-
ban’s renowned tradi�onal buffet
restaurants and its impressive fare in-
cludes succulent meat cuts, seafood,
stir-fry, carvery, curries and casseroles.
The restaurant is headed by ex-
ecu�ve chef, Shaun Munro, who says:
“Two exci�ng addi�ons include our
tandoori oven and curry corner,
which offers tradi�onal Durban cur-
ries beau�fully presented in import-
ed copper chafing dishes.”
Lingela has also revitalised “live
ac�on cooking” to give guests a taste
of food theatre.
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So,youwanttopublish
yourowncookbook…COOKING THE BOOKS
A BOOK CONTRACT IS A WAY TO MEET THE
COSTS OF GETTING A VISION INTO PRINT...
A���)��* � ���+���+ �, � �)�
for many chefs and restaurants, who
produce a product and experience
that is ul�mately as a transient as
the �me it takes to eat it—which is
o+en not even as long as the �me it
takes to prepare it.
Pueng that vision in print gives
the chef’s art a permanence that it
otherwise doesn’t really have—
besides being a great way to estab-
lish a celebrity brand and personal
food philosophy. Having developed a
signature style, built up a thriving
restaurant, been profiled in print and
on TV and generally become estab-
lished in the culinary industry, many
chefs and restaurateurs are turning
from the kitchen to the keyboard to
stamp their food visions on paper.
Unlike traditional recipe books,
chef-authored cookbooks are as much
a celebration of the author’s passions
as instructions for preparing dishes.
Celebrity chefs have made cooking
sexy, although achieving great flavours
still takes time and effort.
Linda de Villers, Publisher at Stru-
ik Lifestyle, says: “A few years ago,
I would have said that consumers
buy cookbooks by chefs and res-
taurateurs because they want to
cook like the professionals. But
now I believe buyers have had
their fill of TV cookery shows—
they are no longer a novelty. It’s
�me-consuming and expensive to
cook like a chef. Now, I think,
these books are bought as a me-
mento of a great meal or favour-
ite restaurant rather than be-
cause the buyer actually wants to
cook from them.”
GETTING STARTED
For the most part, wri�ng a cook-
book comes from an enthusiasm for
food and lifestyle. For Seline van der
Wat, who with her sister and co-
author Leandri got her break into the
industry in the 2013 season of Mas-
terchef South Africa, wri�ng their
book Two was the culmina�on of a
lifelong dream.
“We wanted to do it since we
were kids. We watched cooking
shows and collected recipe books
from a young age. We wanted to
write something that we could be
proud of, and that told our story.”
Michael Broughton of Terroir in
Stellenbosch authored his epony-
mous cookbook with a twofold mo�-
va�on: “Why did I write it? Part per-
sonal fulfilment. The idea was to cre-
ate a memoir, recalling a passion for
food. The other part was for mar-
ke�ng and branding – hence the �tle
of the book. The book also served to
co-brand us with Kleine Zalze, where
we’ve been for the past 11 years.”
Great recipes remain, of
course, central to the project. And
the cookbooks that become classics
contain recipes that don’t just look
good, but which have been carefully
and thoroughly tested to succeed.
Recipes also need to be careful-
ly selected to provide the right mix
of inspira�on, aspira�on and do-
ability. They must also adhere close-
ly to the concept of the book. Are
they aimed at consumers wan�ng to
spice up family dinner�mes, for the
sophis�cated home cook or to
showcase the skills of the chef? For
restaurants, the ul�mate aim of a
cookbook might be geeng bums on
seats rather than inspiring guests to
cook at home.
GETTING IT DONE
To get the publica�on process under
way, the aspirant author typically
approaches a publisher, although it
is not unknown for this to happen in
reverse if the chef has made an
impression on the right people.
Libby Doyle of Quivertree Publi-
ca�ons says a lot hinges on having a
strong concept that publisher can buy
into. “You can’t just get away with a
selec�on of recipes,” she says.
Even so, as impressed as a pub-
lisher may be, the concept will s�ll
need to be worked through with an
eye to what is viable in the market.
Jackie Cameron of the Jackie Cam-
eron School of Food and Wine, says: “I
went to Johannesburg and sat with the
publishers. We discussed what the mar-
ket needs. I recognised that I was inex-
perienced in this field and needed their
help; they were the professionals. The
hardcover sold out in three months.”
This might mean a significant re-
engineering of the author’s original
ideas. Broughton approached his pub-
lishers with a dra+ manuscript, but
had to adapt it to their requirements.
“Publishers look at from a com-
pletely different perspec�ve,” he says.
“It’s their job to understand what peo-
ple will read and how to make that ap-
pealing.”
All of this will be governed by a
contract. This will specify the royal-
�es to be paid, and the obliga�ons of
the publisher and author. Probably
the most important s�pula�ons are
the deadlines it sets; these are the
lifeblood of the publishing industry
and are seldom nego�able. For
someone who is not a trained writer,
and who is working full �me, this can
be very taxing.
Publishers offer support to writ-
ers, although to what extent and
how effec�ve this is varies from case
to case—it helps to be self-
mo�vated and draw on formal and
informal support from colleagues
and friends to provide alterna�ve
perspec�ves on the work.
Says Cameron: “Have a team – a
lot of people who can help you. It’s
quite easy to make the mistake of
taking on too much by yourself. Lis-
ten to people with open ears.”
Photography is another crucial
part of the work. Spreads of colour
photos are an essen�al requirement.
Cookbooks are inspira�onal—the
reader needs to see the finished
dishes beau�fully styled and present-
ed. Fortunately, there is a wealth of
local talent available in food styling
and food photography, and publish-
ers are able to arrange this.
AND THE MONEY?
One of the biggest challenges in
geeng a book published is the deci-
sion about whether it will make an
acceptable profit in an environment
of shrinking print runs, according to
Linda de Villiers. Book publishing is
not a lucra�ve field in South Africa.
While individual cases differ, De
Villiers puts authors’ royal�es at
around 7.5% to 15% of net receipts,
varying according to their contribu-
�on. So, if an author only produces
text, earnings will be in the range of
7.5% to 10%, while handling photog-
raphy can push this to 15%. In prac�-
cal terms, with a print run of around
3 000 copies, this won’t produce
enormous returns.
Publisher Libby Doyle says the mar-
ket for buying cookbooks is rela�vely
small. A South African cookbook will
sell around 3 000 copies in a year – a
very successful one perhaps 5 000.
There are occasional exceptions
of course. The Real Meal Revolution
co-authored by Prof Tim Noakes, chef
Jonno Proudfoot and dietician Bridget
Surtees, is one of the best-selling
South African cookbooks of all time. It
has sold 250 000 copies so far, and is
the best selling digital work of all time.
Far more importantly, a book
contract can meet the costs of getting
a vision into print—something beyond
the reach of most chefs.
AND NOW IT’S HERE…
Once the book comes off the press,
it must be publicised. Launch
events, book tours and media expo-
sure are crucial. One option is to
look at major book chains to host
events. This can be effective for
reaching a large audience and get-
ting sales going.
Cameron chose to go a different
route, preferring to direct her energies
towards smaller towns and out-of-the-
way venues to mirror her commitment
to suppor�ng local suppliers.
The possibili�es of social media
are immense. Seline and Leandri van
der Wat encourage readers to send in
pictures of their a$empts at the dish-
es in Two – both successes and flops.
This gives their fans an opportunity to
interact with them and with others,
making people’s food journey fun.
THE NEXT BIG THING?
So what’s next? Predic�ng trends is
always specula�ve (“I wish I knew!,”
jokes De Villiers), but there are some
robust trends that could catch on with
the foodie public.
Health and environment aware-
ness opens up some interes�ng op-
�ons, such as cookbooks based on lo-
cally-sourced or home-grown ingre-
dients, or on reducing carbon foot-
prints. Interest is growing in par�cu-
lar culinary lifestyles, such as the low
-carb high-fat diet, as is interest in so
-called superfoods.
Ul�mately, whatever the idea,
the key ingredient in the process is
the author behind the project: being
proac�ve, deadline driven, willing to
take advice and the ability to work
well independently and in a team are
all important assets for producing a
book. You also need to take the long
view: a book begins with an idea that
continues long after it is in the stores.
Says Seline van der Wat: “To get
your book no�ced, you need to be
dedicate a lot of �me and effort to
marke�ng it, and giving it the publici-
ty it needs. And don’t expect the re-
ward to be in money; it’s in seeing
your dream realised.”
THE AUTHORS WHO SELL ARE THE ONES WHO
ARE PREPARED TO GET BEHIND THEIR BOOKS
AND DO THE HARD WORK OF MARKETING THEM.
COOKBOOK TAKEOUT
1. A chef-authored cookbook tends to be less about cooking than
about the lure of celebrity and lifestyle;
2. You won't make money off it;
3. That said, it helps with reputa�on and branding and is o+en largely
about personal goals;
4. Beau�fully-styled professional food photography is essen�al;
5. It's a rela�vely simple process, but demands commitment, as it is
�me-consuming and hard work in terms of the quality of conceptu-
alisa�on required.
CEF]P PFIF GG]]F-WGG_ MK_ LHYMP
Carstens have been working in close
collabora�on to bring an invi�ng,
and altogether more approachable,
direc�on to dining at Makaron res-
taurant at Majeka House hotel .
As newly-appointed head chef,
Carstens is tasked with revamping
the menu and style of food, with
Goffe-Wood in a consul�ng role.
“With its loca�on in one of Stel-
lenbosch’s most desirable resi-
den�al areas, Makaron lends itself to
being an invi�ng neighbourhood lo-
cal, rather than a fine-dining des�na-
�on,” says Goffe-Wood, who is well-
known for his no-nonsense approach
to delicious, fuss-free food
The idea is to make Makaron’s
lmenu more substantial, and to devel-
op a common thread linking the lunch
and dinner menus. Above all, there
will be a shift in emphasis to special,
rather than special-occasion dining.
“We’re into food that’s more
about origin than process. If you take
a beau�ful braised shoulder of lamb
as an example, it definitely won’t be
manipulated in seven different ways.
The aim is not to dazzle or in�midate
diners, but to create a relaxed, in-
vi�ng environment in which to enjoy
a delicious plate of food that relies
on excellent sourcing.”
AT MAKARON
LUCAS CARSTENS & PETE GOFFE-WOOD