Barely a week after we recorded this chat, Chef Anwar Abdullatief’s restaurant was named African Restaurant of the Year at the Luxe Restaurant Awards. A stunning achievement for an talented chef who never really intended to open a restaurant. Tired of fine diner kitchens, he thought he’d do something with food products. Somehow, along the way he found himself opening the excellent Barakat at Time Out Cape Town, and then The Happy Uncles, the city’s first halal fine diner, kind of opened itself at his production kitchen in Voortrekker Road. His journey is a fascinating one, and it was a cracking conversation.

The Happy Uncles

• 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