A Recipe For Success

ZOHRA Teke is the proud owner of Sofra Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant serving freshly baked and grilled fare – a treat for the taste buds inspired by exotic flavours.

It’s all about sourcing the best ingredients and freshly preparing the food. “Nothing is leftover for the following day, we prepare early every morning with the freshest ingredients delivered daily from the farm or butcher directly to our stores,” Zohra says.

The mother of two credits her upbringing and her strong-willed mother who raised her on her own and inspired her to reach for her dreams, no matter what life throws at you. The restaurateur is also a skilled journalist and credits Zwelakhe Sisulu, the late son of ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu, as her mentor and editor while working at The New Nation newspaper.

Fast-forward a few years, inspired by travels abroad and after settling in the UK for over 10 years with her Turkish husband, they decided to move back to South Africa. Zohra set up a media company and worked as a freelance political writer.

Life threw another curveball when her husband was diagnosed with cancer, after losing her mother to cancer. He managed to fight it and this led to the beginning of what would be a promising business move.

“While I was busy with my media work, I felt he needed something to occupy his mind and refocus his attention, and so opening a small Turkish café seemed like a good idea. We also felt there was a lot of demand for this cuisine particularly as many South Africans were increasingly flying to Istanbul for holiday.”

They opened the first shop in the food court at The Pavilion in 2016 and it proved to be a hit. “From day one we had streams of people coming in. They loved our food and the entire experience,” Zohra says.