As hostility toward migrants grows across South Africa, self-taught chef Sandile Tshabalala uses food to bridge deep social divides. Operating through the Yeoville Dinner Club in Johannesburg, the 51-year-old chef serves dishes heavily inspired by immigrant cuisines. He aims to challenge rising xenophobia and celebrate the culinary traditions of people from across the African continent and beyond.
Launched about a decade ago, the dinner club takes its name from Yeoville, an immigrant-rich Johannesburg neighborhood where Tshabalala once lived. Although he has since relocated to the suburbs, he continues to host family-style dinners around a long table that accommodates two dozen guests. Tshabalala’s approach centers on discovering ingredients, cooking methods, and flavor profiles in immigrant-run restaurants and seamlessly incorporating them into his own unique menu.
Culinary Explorations Across Johannesburg’s Immigrant Enclaves
Tshabalala’s culinary explorations take him deep into gritty, immigrant-heavy pockets of Johannesburg that many locals avoid. He regularly visits hole-in-the-wall joints with plastic chairs, hugging cooks from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as though they were family.
His menu items reflect these deep community connections. Inspiration often strikes from unexpected moments, such as when Pakistani beef nihari oozed down his fingers, inspiring him to stuff shredded beef into fried dough balls known locally as amagwinya to create what he calls an African taco. Other dishes draw from Congolese green leaf and peanut stews (*fumbua*) and Bangladeshi wood-fired tikka recipes.
“Taste the dish and then find yourself,” Tshabalala told diners over a spread of stew, chickpeas, butter chicken, and flatbread. “What does it remind you of? What have you got against the food? And then what about the people who make it? What about their story? That’s how, I think, we wake each other up.”
A Personal History Rooted in Pan-Africanism
Tshabalala’s worldview was shaped by his early life. Born in neighboring Eswatini-where his South African mother fled to escape the apartheid regime-he moved as an infant to the South African township of Soweto, where his father was killed under unclear circumstances. He was raised in part by an uncle who had spent time in exile in Zambia and Bulgaria, instilling in him strong values of internationalism and Pan-Africanism.
In the mid-1990s, after the end of apartheid, Tshabalala moved to Yeoville. There, he immersed himself in local culture, working as a radio DJ, film student, and street artist before eventually finding his true calling in the kitchen. When celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain visited Johannesburg in 2013, Tshabalala was running a Pan-African sidewalk restaurant, earning him the affectionate moniker “Gastronomic Smuggler.”
Confronting a Surge in Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
Tshabalala’s inclusive ethos stands in stark contrast to a broader, worrying trend across South Africa. In recent months, the country has experienced a severe wave of xenophobic unrest. Anti-immigrant groups, such as the March and March movement led by figures like Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, have blamed foreigners for high unemployment-which exceeds 30% nationally-as well as crime and the strain on public services. These tensions have led to protests, attacks on foreign-owned businesses, thousands of displaced migrants, and several reported deaths.
Immigrant-owned establishments, such as Chez Lydia-a Congolese restaurant run by Lydia Kenter-Tata for a decade-have seen business plummet as customers flee or stay indoors out of fear. Yet amid this climate of anxiety and government warnings, Tshabalala remains stubbornly optimistic that shared meals can foster empathy.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sandile Tshabalala and the Yeoville Dinner Club
Who is Sandile Tshabalala?
Sandile Tshabalala, known popularly as Sanza, is a 51-year-old self-taught South African chef, cultural innovator, and founder of the Yeoville Dinner Club in Johannesburg.
What is the Yeoville Dinner Club?
Launched around 2013, the Yeoville Dinner Club is a communal dining experience in Johannesburg where guests gather around a long table to enjoy family-style meals that celebrate immigrant flavors and Pan-African unity.
What inspires Tshabalala’s cooking style?
His cooking draws heavily from ingredients, techniques, and flavors found in immigrant-run restaurants across Johannesburg, including Pakistani, Congolese, Bangladeshi, and Ethiopian culinary traditions.
How is Tshabalala challenging xenophobia?
Through his dinners and storytelling, Tshabalala uses food to humanize migrants, celebrating their cultures and grandmothers’ recipes to counter negative political rhetoric and promote cross-cultural understanding.
Where was Sandile Tshabalala born?
He was born in neighboring Eswatini to a South African mother and an Eswatini father, moving to Soweto as an infant before eventually settling in Johannesburg.
