South Africa’s Best Shisanyama Search, Ibuyile!
Windhoek and Chef Benny Team Up to Find SA’s Best Shisanyama
The eight finalists in The Search for South Africa’s Best Shisanyama have been identified and Windhoek, together with iconic celebrity chef, Benny Masekwameng and one of SA’s top DJ’s, Mo Flava are currently visiting each one to test out the food and the vibe.
“With R1 million in prizes to be won the stakes are high and we are looking for a perfect combination of great food and a great vibe,” said Masekwameng. “We want to see how each owner embraces and understands their clientele. The concept of opening Shisanyama’s is creating an opportunity for entrepreneurs to start small and through good marketing, as well as offering excellence, this can evolve into a medium size business and create business expansion into different areas within the hospitality and food industry thereby creating more employment openings.”
This past weekend saw the team visit two very different venues, Busy Corner Imbizo Shisanyama in Ivory Park, Midrand and Meat Meet in Soweto.
Imbizo Shisanyama was founded by Rita ‘Ma’ Zwane in 1997. From humble beginnings in a shipping container in Ivory Park with a single 2 litre pot, gas griller and display fridge, the venue, commonly known as Busy Corner, is now world renowned as an official African food cuisine, offering the ultimate Braai experience to local and international clientele. There is also a butchery adjoining the venue and they offer outside catering to corporate clients, weddings, sports events and any other event they are asked to cater for.
Cleanliness and excellence are the key core values, explained Senzo Mhlongo, Ma Zwane’s son who now helps runs the business as the financial manager and entrepreneur. “I started working in the business when I was still at school,” explained Senzo. “I would clean the floors and wait on tables before I progressed to working on the tills and then becoming one of the managers. I went on to study finance and economics in Cape Town and now I am the financial manager and business entrepreneur. I have big plan to open something completely different next year which will attract a different clientele.”
Busy Corner Imbizo Shisanyama was Chef Benny and his team’s first port of call. After an entertaining evening the team headed to Diepkloof Zone 3, Soweto, to sample the wares of Meat Meet.
Homi Mukhele opened Meet Meat in 1998 as a small butchery, assisted by her nephew, Nicolas Mulaudzi, who was proving to be a successful entrepreneur after running businesses in glazing, owning Telcom booths and importing clothing from China which he would sell door to door.
In 2008 he joined his aunt full time and opened a Bottle Store and Shisanyama after his friend, Joel Ramurai, funded his first stock.
Over the next 10 years the business has grown substantially, and it has allowed him to branch into property development as well as put his children through private education and college.
“The secret to our success is good marketing and spending money on top DJ’s playing music to attract the youth. We also ensure that our costs are in line with the economy thereby giving back to the clients that have supported us through the years,” explained Mukhele.
“We wish to thank our loyal customers for voting for Meat Meet as one of the best Shisanyama’s in South Africa. Hosting Chef Benny is daunting, but also exciting! We hope that the experience he had with us will put us in the top four to battle it out at the Nasrec Showgrounds on 9th December where the ultimate Shisanyama will be announced,” concluded Mukhele.
“The aim of the search for the best Shisanyama is to reward those who invest the same level of passion and craftsmanship into their Shisanyama as Windhoek does into their beer. After visiting two of the eight finalists we can already see that 2018 is exceeding expectations,” said Dana Katz, Windhoek Marketing Manager.
“Selecting the final winner will be no easy task judging by what we have seen so far,” said a thoughtful Chef Benny. “Each Shisanyama has its own unique selling point, business objective, customer base and they all serve excellent cuisine. I am excited to see what the final four nominees have to offer.”
Ibuyile! Great Food, Great Vibe, Perfect with a Windhoek.
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About Windhoek Beer
100% Pure Beer, brewed to the purity standard of the Reinheitsgebot (the original German Beer Purity law) for nearly 100 years: malted barley, hops, water…that’s all. This is what makes Windhoek 100% Pure – and it is a brewing ethos that Windhoek brew masters stick to, without compromise. It’s an ethos that stands for an unwavering commitment to quality in Windhoek Draught, Windhoek Lager and Windhoek Light.
About HEINEKEN South Africa:
HEINEKEN South Africa is a key player in the beer and cider industry in the country, with an impressive portfolio of brands, including Heineken®, Sol, Windhoek, Miller Genuine Draft, Amstel, Strongbow, Soweto Gold, and Tafel. HEINEKEN South Africa is a joint-venture between HEINEKEN N.V. and Namibia Breweries, employing around 1500 people directly and through its dedicated third-party service providers.
Visit www.heinekensouthafrica.co.za
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