Little coffee shop a fundi on eat-out scene

MBOMBELA – Its eggs Benedict has been recommended above those at the May Fair in London and it is the number-two listed restaurant on TripAdvisor for Mbombela – high praise for a tiny coffee shop in the central business district of a Lowveld town.
It is no wonder then that The Food Fundi recently won a highly commended in the best coffee-shop category at this year’s Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Awards – the only restaurant in the province to even get a mention and one of two in the country to receive this prize.
The Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards remains the most prestigious accolades for fine-dining establishments, their chefs and the culinary industry in South Africa.
This year the categories formerly known as the “Best of” awards were announced at a separate event and renamed the Best Everyday Eateries which included best African eatery, bistro, steakhouse, country-style eatery and coffee shop.

Awards are based on customers’ interaction on the Eat Out website, paying tribute to good-quality eateries around the country and not just the major cities.
Jason Powell and Melanie Reeder-Powell first opened the shop in April 2011 and most of the staff members have been with them from the beginning.”We try and have integrity in everything that we do – from our staff to our customers and suppliers. We are both convinced that it’s everyone’s responsibility to empower young South Africans with useful skills,” says Melanie, who is not only a Food Fundi business partner, but stay-at-home mom of two, ashtanga yoga teacher, freelance writer and editor.
Jason was born in the Lowveld, trained at Prue Leith in Pretoria and after travelling and cooking all over the world, decided to come home, quite simply to make superior, quality coffee and fresh, tasty gourmet fast food using local suppliers.
And that’s what you’ll find at The Food Fundi. “We really believe in our concept of gourmet fast food that’s locally sourced, and well-made coffee. Why should people have to compromise all the time and pay the same for poor quality? As food prices escalate, it’s becoming even more important to give people value for money,” says Melanie.
Although The Food Fundi has been called a “health-food” shop, the owners don’t think about themselves like that.”It’s simply because people are so used to eating overly processed stuff. Our trout comes from Lydenburg, our chickens are not injected with brine and come from a local farm, all our herbs are local, and even our eggs.”

The Food Fundi favourites

• Home-made bread

• Pesto

• Sauces

• Chutney

• Famous double-chocolate brownies made with proper couverture chocolate.

However, Lowvelders are notoriously conservative when it comes to just about anything, including what they eat. Having said that, The Food Fundi pushes the boundaries a little bit more with each new menu, which changes seasonally. “When we first started, even our onion marmalade with roast beef and Brie was a bit of a challenge for some customers!

“But now it’s a firm favourite. So we try and strike a balance for those who still just want a simple toasted cheese! Except we’ll use a tasty Emmental cheese with our homemade low-GI bread instead of poor-quality ingredients,” explains Melanie.

The catering side of the business has become highly successful and is now called Gourmet Gurus. It travels further and further to big-name events and functions such as VIP catering at Oppikoppi, and a major cultural festival in Stellenbosch next year.
Operating hours are from Mondays to Fridays from 07:00 to 16:00 and Saturdays from 08:00 to 13:00. “We deliver as far as our delivery bicycles can go!”

Enquiries: 013-755-1091 or jason@thefoodfundi.co.za.

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