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NOVEMBER 2015

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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

hilary@rbmag.co.za

ADVERTISING SALES

Hilary Ward

082 330 1981

hilary@rbmag.co.za

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...

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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.

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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