Yeoville Dinner Club’s Sanza Sandile brings pan-African cuisine to the States

Jozi is not just home to the historical Apartheid Museum. In the vibrant inner city of Yeoville, African immigrants and refugees create markets and build community. The city also boasts a dining experience that brings locals and tourists together over pan-African cuisine. 

Before becoming a self-proclaimed “gastronomy smuggler”, who sources natural ingredients and recreates dishes from childhood memories of his grandmother’s cooking or the auntie in Yeoville, Sandile was a boy living in Soweto. 

“I’m just a foodie, a storyteller, and I’m just a lucky guy who’s able to gather the spirits and the physical world of people with taste,” said Sandile. 

I first heard about him from my friend Tshepo Mokone. I missed the chance to visit in Johannesburg, but serendipity struck when I learned Sandile was hosting a US tour, with a stop in New York. I did what any foodie would have done — I sent Sandile a message on Instagram and asked if we could meet.

Sandile agreed and we met at a pizzeria in Queens joined by his friend Kyla-Rose Smith, a violinist and former member of Freshlyground. Over drinks, I listened to the two share stories from their childhoods growing up in SA. 

During our meeting, Sandile mentioned that Boston’s dinner wasn’t sold out. Boston is an almost five-hour drive from my house and I have driven the distance a few times, and surely this foodie was in need of a culinary retreat!

After our drinks, the three of us went to a nearby thrift shop, Other People’s Clothes, before Sandile and Smith walked me to the subway. 

I packed lightly for the trip, bringing the Zulu-print jumpsuit I’d bought in Durban — secretly saved for the Dinner Club. After packing, it was time to hit the road — just me, my bag, and of course my amapiano playlist.

I arrived just on time and parked in front of the light tan venue, Comfort Kitchen, in the neighbourhood of Dorchester. Founded by culinary entrepreneur Biplaw Rai from Nepal and co-owner Nyacko Pearl Perry, their mission is cultivating inclusive dining spaces. 

“Food speaks volumes, you can be from two different cultures, two different parts of the world, and if you break bread, eating together really breaks down the barriers,” said Rai.

Boston wasn’t included in the multi-city tour — the restaurant is usually closed on Mondays, but Rai made an exception for Sandile. Through the help of his partner, Perry and friends like educator Kamilah Welch and community-building strategist Beya Jiménez, the plan pulled together in just two weeks.

“It means a lot to me. For me it’s all about community in whatever we do and this is a perfect moment to bring chefs like Sanza, who is travelling around the world, but also creating space for non-white chefs and artists and entrepreneurs,” said Rai. 

The first person that I spoke to upon arrival was coincidentally Welch’s father. Her parents Leon and Valerie Welch joined her for the dinner. In 2019, Kamilah celebrated her birthday in SA for the “Year of Return”. She and her friend ventured to Yeoville after messaging Sandile on WhatsApp to make a reservation, and the friendship blossomed from there. 

Six years later, Sandile shared with Kamilah his plans to host a food tour in the States. Born in Boston to parents from Jamaica and Montserrat, the Dinner Club hosted in her home city was a full-circle moment. 

“To have even a little version of that experience and essence in Boston, in the place that I literally grew up, on a personal level I was like, ‘I’m so glad that this is happening here at this time,’” said Kamilah.

Before entering the Kitchen, guests mingled and, once called inside, Sandile and his staff could be seen preparing the dishes.

Inside the cozy restaurant is a long dinner table with chairs closely arranged and plant arrangements hanging near the windows. 

Compared to the dining experience in Yeoville, the dinner starts on the street, says Kamilah. Sandile awaits guests from his balcony before escorting them up a “rickety” stairwell. An “enclave” for Pan-African celebration, as Kamilah describes. Diners receive a complimentary drink, similar to the one given at the Comfort Kitchen to open up your appetite. 

I settled into a seat near the entrance and spoke to the women near me while we waited for the man of the hour to be introduced. 

The first to speak during the introductions were Jiménez and Kamilah, followed by Rai before Sandile walked out in a mustard coloured hat and a light pink shirt. The guests clapped for the chef, who greeted his diners before breaking out in storytelling. 

As pan-African food rolled out, Sandile told stories of how the Dinner Club grew in Yeoville from the 90s but gained exposure in 2010 after the World Cup was hosted in SA, serving locals, tourists and even the late Anthony Bourdain.

In between his vivid storytelling, the final dishes arrived representing the African continent and even a taste of the Caribbean. Sandile asked Kamilah’s mom to make escovitch fish, a traditional Jamaican dish with crispy fish and pickled vegetables such as carrots. 

This wasn’t your typical five-course dinner. Instead, in true breaking bread fashion, platters were passed between strangers who learned of shared similarities.

Diners got a glimpse of the similarity of pan-African cuisine with the slow-cooked red red from Ghana, gumbo from south Louisiana and shiro from Ethiopia with a perfectly seasoned stew. 

Five countries including Mozambique and Angola represented the cassava leaves dish, which included peanuts, ground nuts, leeks and butter beans for a nutty coconut profile.

The Dinner Club is an opportunity to “take a message from Africa to the world using food as a conduit to really pull us together”, said Sandile.

The collard greens or egusi melon from Nigeria with a drizzle of palm oil arrived, and before you knew it the vegetarian-style stews were dominating my plate. Speaking of dominating my plate, once I heard atchar was on the menu, I helped myself to seconds. The fresh tomatoes and mix of eggplants was an interesting combination, but paired well without one flavour overpowering the other. 

The inspired Senegalese jollof rice, which Sandile calls “sexy rice”, was also placed on the table. But that wasn’t the only dish given a unique nickname — the Nat King Cole salad was a hit with toasted sesame seed soy sauce and red cabbage. 

My favourite stew was the green stew that, come to think of it, looks like Trinidadian callaloo. The peppered dish Sandile prepared was the right amount of spice to satisfy the taste buds of any level of tolerance. 

As the plates passed back and forth, Sandile described a few of the seasonings for the chicken, which included lemon and thyme. For the okra dish, he explained how he slowly left the vegetable dish on the fire to create a crispy texture, and topped it with capers. 

He even included chickpeas, a staple in Gaza, to represent the plight of Palestinians. 

Sandile was also sure to promote diverse wine brands such as one from a Zimbabwean sommelier called Kumusha Wild Mutupo Carignan, a dry red wine with cranberry undertones. 

Of course, I can’t forget about dessert. Once again I relived a fond memory while I was in Johannesburg trying poached pear and amasi for the first time at Sanctuary Mandela with my parents. Right in front of me was Sandile’s poached peach with black rice, caramelised plantain, and blueberry for a creamy sweet treat. Pass the wine and we were all in for a good time. 

While some of the dishes were native to South Africa, others were a fusion of West African countries and were served to represent the diversity of the diaspora. 

“Even though you are not necessarily meeting the Congolese auntie who taught Sanza how to make this particular dish, he is bringing an awareness and an appreciation for all of the cultures that make Yeoville and South Africa as a whole what it is,” said Kamilah.

Down to the last spoonful, guests lingered in conversation and stood in line for photo ops with Sandile and Rai. 

My adventures in Boston continued with Sandile and the couple managing the tour, freelancers Alexei Mejouev and Maggie McCullough. Before our coffee hangout at the Boston Public Market, a year-round market home to different food and craft vendors, Sandile invited me to tour the historical black home in which the three stayed overnight, which included photographs of Nelson Mandela. I insisted Sandile pose in front of the hanging photo.

Over coffee, I learned about the Wilmington, North Carolina natives who live in Greensboro. Born in Russia, Mejouev met Sandile five years ago working on a documentary based on the music scene in South Africa.

McCullough studied journalism at the University of North Carolina and began freelancing to fuel her passions. When Mejouev shared the plans to collaborate with Sandile on a food tour she enthusiastically joined. 

For six months, the three partnered with restaurants to make the event happen. If that’s impressive, the next detail is even more mind-blowing — the Dinner Club tour happened by road trip. The three packed their bags and ingredients, travelling to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Atlanta, Jackson, Mississippi, New York City, Boston, Baltimore and finally to the couple’s home city, Greensboro. For the road trip enthusiast, Mejouev knew travelling via car was the way to go. 

“At a certain point, sitting in the car sucks but also you don’t really get to know the land, you don’t really get to know the places until you’ve gone to that gas station that serves hush puppies. That is the American experience to me,” said Mejouev.

The trio and I stumbled upon Boston’s Time Out Market during our adventures, trying lobster rolls, my first time tasting the buttery roll. 

Walking around with the road trippers made me want to drive across the country myself, heck, even join them on the tour.

Though the Dinner Club was a success, there were logistical needs to be sorted, such as sourcing and packing ingredients. 

“The pressure comes in on the day where you have to make sure you bought all your ingredients and you have to make sure you have enough dishes, and you have to make sure you have enough cups,” said Mejouev.

Not only were diners able to create a sense of community at the table, but so were the trio who spent several days travelling together. During the Greensboro tour, the couple’s parents were among the attendees.

“I feel like we felt like Sanza was our family by the end, and he would meet our parents and be like ‘Oh, these are my kids,’” said McCullough.

After touring seven venues, you would think the couple would have a favourite destination, but every city was unique.

“Everywhere is a very different vibe, but they all had their own charms and it’s been really fun,” said McCullough.

After eating our lobster rolls, the three walked me to my car and once again another farewell, that didn’t seem to be too finite. I hopped in my car and blasted amapiano all the way home. 

Though Sandile has returned back to his home in Johannesburg, the Yeoville Dinner Club remains in my heart as a curated culinary experience.

Dining with strangers or with family and friends, the Yeoville Dinner Club blends community, culture, cuisine and storytelling. 

Sandile has the last word: “I’m just one of those lucky few to have grown up in Yeoville, to have tasted the African food from the African pot, and that is beyond just salt and onions, it’s also about our stories and our essence.” DM