Tunde Akintan has taken his love of chillies and hot food and turned it into an urban farming project near Gordon's Bay. We chatted about how the new product stand at OZCF Market has introduced Tunde and his 42 varieties of chillies to a broader market, with an introduction to Silwood Cookery School where he recently chatted to 1st year students about Yellow Wheelbarrow. This was a fantastic and informative chat with someone who is actively building a niche market gardening business by collecting and sharing as much information about chillies as he can.

The Yellow Wheelbarrow

russel@rwm2012(dot)com

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Huge supporters of this show, the team from Zuney Burger has brought an entirely fresh perspective to both livestock farming, and the farm-to-table movement. Their pasture-reared Wagyu beef makes it's way direct to consumers in the form of an astonishingly good burger. Henk Klopper and Denys Wells farm the cattle on lush pasture in the Eastern Cape, their sons Henk and Devon handle the sales and set up the burger operation. This was as much about ensuring that a certain podcaster had access to the best possible burger as it was about sustainability and an ingenious way to use up the mince and trim the results from people only ordering the prime cuts from Wagyu beef. It also means that top quality, locally farmed produce comes straight from the farm to the consumer by way of a squidgy brioche bun. This was a great chat with Henning Klopper who drives the burger brand.

Learn more about Zuney Burgers

Zuney Wagyu online shop

russel@rwm2012(dot)com

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

It is a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Brad Armitage. Not for lack of trying, but it's taken 120 episodes to convince an operator I admire tremendously to pop in for a chat on the show. Not one to blow his own trumpet, along with Rui Esteves, Brad created Vida e Caffè and followed it with Brewers & Union, the craft beer legend. There have been other bangers, but we confined our chat to those and to his current project with the City of Cape Town and other role-players bringing new life and fresh perspectives to downtown Cape Town with The Mission for Inner City Cape Town. We chatted about the early days, and about giving back to a city that has been so good to many local businesses.

russel@rwm2012(dot)com

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

I snatched a rare chance to connect with Kobus van der Merwe of Wolfgat and sit down for a chat. He was taking a break in Yzerfontein - halfway from Paternoster to Cape Town, and we met at Rosmead Bakery to record a show. I long ago joined the legion of his fans, when my wife and I enjoyed the tasting menu at his parents’ general dealer store 'Oep ve Koep' around the time we were running The Table at De Meye. Kobus is easy to admire - his laser-focus on the simple preparation of hyper-local ingredients and a commitment to telling local food and origin stories have launched him (rather reluctantly it turns out) onto a global stage. I so enjoyed our conversation, yet there was so much more to unpack. Perhaps we can continue gabbing about food and heritage and C Louis Liepoldt and Eat Out Award criteria and the double-edged sword of acclaim another time soon.

Wolfgat website

russel@rwm2012(dot)com

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

This is possibly the most fascinating episode I've recorded to date. Tapiwa Guzha was on my first ever list of guest. There were 10 or 12 people on that list, and had I spoken to Tapiwa way back then, it may well have changed the shape of the show. He is an incredibly engaging person, and to say he 'thinks out of the box' is to misunderstand him completely. He was never in a box, nor indeed was he ever anywhere near a box of any sort. I really loved talking to him and he raised some issues about food ways, modern food service and the way we consume that still have my head spinning. If you want to engage with him over a scoop of ice cream, you'll need to hurry. He's shuttering Tapi-Tapi for a year or so from the end of May this year.

Tapi-Tapi Ice Cream

Food Indaba Tickets

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

I'm following my curiosity about people who make a living from food outside of formal restaurants again. This time I'm chatting to Dean Roux who owns and operates a food truck called Truck Norris. Apart from the fact that his truck has a legendary name, he's a really good operator who understands the landscape in which he operates and offers a straightforward product. Truck Norris does burgers. That's it. Burgers. (And there are fries.) His team is slick and the truck is popular. We chatted about running food trucks, what it costs to get involved, the bloom in operators and the merits (or otherwise) of that. 'Deano' took some time on his birthday to chat to me, for which I was particularly grateful, but it was also a great chat.
Note for listeners: This episode was recorded in a busy coffee shop, so there's a hubbub of activity in the background. Hopefully you'll bear with us to get to the nub of a very interesting conversation.

Truck Norris food truck

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

The FOOD INDABA is an annual programme of talks and events that focus on the local food system. Running from 7-20 July this year, it brings together a wide range of speakers involved in shaping the food system, providing an opportunity for food growers, academics, activists, writers, nutritionists, policy makers, food lovers and anyone interested in sustainable approaches, to engage in key issues intimately connected to the food we eat, and the future of food. The conference component of the Indaba on July 18 explores the potential impacts and opportunities of AI (artificial intelligence) on African food systems. Their exciting, experiential series including guided walks and 'tea with a farmer' kicks off on July 7. There's also a science component for kids which explores food through the lens of science. For more details and to book tickets, there are links below.

Food Indaba, 7-20 July 2025 website

Food Indaba tickets

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

A short while back, I discovered Stereo Eats through my friend Gillian Key. This concept eatery is based on a dark kitchen and an app which offers the best of 6 different fast- or convenience-food brands. It’s now a firm favorite with my daughter and I reached out to one of the directors, Max King to find out more. Interesting concept which I think totally gets the challenges of single-brand franchise stores competing for space in a market with shrinking and ever-more expensive real estate options. It was a great chat with a creative, entrepreneurial mind with a great grasp of the elevated fast food landscape.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay