Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena facts for kids

Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena is a famous South African chef and restaurant owner. She is the chef, owner, and creative director of 4Roomed, also known as 4Roomed eKasi Culture. This restaurant is located in Khayelitsha township, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) outside Cape Town, South Africa. In 2019, 4Roomed was named one of the 30 best restaurants in the world. This special recognition came from a joint project by Food & Wine and Travel + Leisure magazines.

Early Life and Career

Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena was born in Gugulethu and grew up in Khayelitsha. Before she became a chef, she worked as a dental technologist for 17 years. In 2014, she was working at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in their Dental Sciences department.

Becoming a Chef

Mbalo-Mokoena taught herself how to cook. Her restaurant, 4Roomed, first opened in 2014 as a food truck. It was parked next to a shisa nyama, which is a place where people grill meat. Three years later, the restaurant moved into a special four-roomed house.

What is a 4-Roomed House?

The restaurant is named after the "four-room" house. This type of house is common in South Africa's eKasi, which means townships. Mbalo-Mokoena herself grew up in this kind of home. In her childhood house, "every room was a bedroom, the kitchen, and the lounge."

The 4Roomed Restaurant Experience

4Roomed specializes in new and exciting versions of traditional African dishes. They focus especially on South African food. The restaurant serves a five-course tasting menu at one large table where everyone sits together. About 30% of the customers are local people, and the rest are tourists. Saveur magazine called it "backyard fine dining." The Sunday Times said it was "changing the South African food scene." They praised its "re-imagined township cuisine" that challenges ideas of what "fine dining" means. Mbalo-Mokoena also has a more casual restaurant and a take-out spot a few blocks away from 4Roomed.

Awards and Recognition

In 2014, Mbalo-Mokoena competed on the third season of MasterChef South Africa. She made it to the top six contestants. In 2019, 4Roomed was recognized as one of the 30 best restaurants in the world. It was one of only three restaurants in Africa to make this important list. The other two were Le Wine Chambre in Johannesburg and The Ruined Garden in Fez, Morocco.

Her Vision

Mbalo-Mokoena and her husband, Sam Mokoena, used to live in a suburb called Melkbosstrand. They decided to move back to Khayelitsha. They felt that by leaving the townships after getting their education, they were taking away from the local economy. They believed that when educated people leave, "the kids have no one to look up to."

She decided to open a restaurant because she felt that South Africa was not celebrating its own food history enough. She wanted to change that.

Family Life

Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena trained as a dental technologist. She is married to Sam Mokoena. They have two sons and one daughter. Abigail is from the Xhosa people group, and her husband is from the South Sotho people.