I first heard about ‘Dark Kitchens’ when I met Ian Halfon, CEO of Slick Restaurant Group, last week, his company having opened Cape Town’s newest Dark Kitchen on New Church Street in the City centre. Also known as ‘virtual kitchens’, ‘ghost kitchens’, or ‘cloud kitchens’, Dark Kitchens are independent operations creating food for a multitude of brands, such as the Slick Restaurant Group is doing, having opened its operation with five restaurant brands initially, and more planned, all food prepared from one Central kitchen, with obvious cost benefits. Food is ordered online, for delivery to the customer. Continue reading →
Since the world went into Lockdown, restaurants that were allowed to offer Take-Away food delivery to customer homes have increasingly used Third Party Delivery companies. Uber Eats probably is the world’s largest Food Delivery Company, having added this service a few years ago to its standard driver service. In our country it competes alongside MrD, a company belonging to TakeaLot, masters in e-commerce home delivery. Yet, during Lockdown the tide is turning, one reading an increasing number of warnings against third party delivery services, restaurant patrons being encouraged to order food from restaurants which use their own staff to deliver, locally and internationally. What has caused this negative sentiment! 
A number of restaurants feel that the Government should allow its clients to collect their food orders from outside the restaurant, in the car park or on a drive-by basis, for example, deeming the risk of a Corona Virus infection to be far reduced in this manner. It also cuts out the costs of the delivery service, borne by the client ultimately, companies like Uber Eats and Mr D taking up to 30% in fees. They are supported in this call by Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA). 
On Monday Maison J Café et Croissant was launched, in a joint venture with five co-owners and retailer Pick ‘n Pay. Lucky for me the coffee and croissant sit-down and take-away outlet is being test-run in Camps Bay, the suburb to which I have very recently returned as a resident.