How two food vendors serve culture, community and cuisine

South Africa’s street food and truck culture is rooted in creativity and community. From sourcing local ingredients from farms, networking with other small business owners and perfecting the most fiery braai for locals and tourists, street food and trucks provide a fast tasting experience of a country’s or city’s most popular cuisine. 

At the CoCreate Hub located in Stellenbosch, food vendors experiment with recipes while locals and tourists discover local cuisine. Whether it’s halaal heaven or comforting coffee, the hub is the spot for enterprise and eateries. In a verdant courtyard, two vendors are proving that food trucks and vendors can bring authenticity, community and culture to the plate. 

Munir Sheikh’s Indian cuisine made its debut at the hub last September. The Indian and Punjabi cuisine specialist was born in Punjab, Pakistan. He completed his matric studies in economics, and after graduating enrolled in an Indian fine dining course that took an additional two years. Interested in expanding his knowledge of fine dining, he worked at a restaurant in Holland for almost two years before going to Ireland to work at another establishment. 

Before the master courses and on-hand cooking experiences, Sheikh credits his mom for sparking his culinary passions. Wanting to introduce authentic Indian cuisine to the Stellenbosch community, he named his food truck Mother India, drawing inspiration from his love for his mom’s cooking and Cape Town’s nickname, the Mother City. 

“Mother India restaurant has always been my dream because I love my mother more than anything in this world,” said Sheikh.

The childhood cooking he ate included raw spices such as turmeric and coriander. Not only was her cooking delicious, but Sheikh believes the nutritious meals have kept him healthy throughout the years.

“She always made sure to give us healthy food because it was expensive to go to the pharmacy,” said Sheikh.

Growing up, Sheikh was an avid soccer player. He remembers his mom creating different natural remedies to apply to his wounds using ingredients from the kitchen.  

With rising cases of various health conditions, Sheikh says seeing people in long lines at the pharmacy is heartbreaking. 

“Seeing the queue in the pharmacy makes me very sad,” he said.

Sheikh doesn’t want to just cook tasty meals, but healthy dishes for his cherished customers. The same care his mother showed him through cuisine, he wants to create for his diners. 

“My mother used to take turmeric, and she put it even on my injuries with the milk cream,” said Sheikh.

Chatting with him I got flashbacks from my own childhood, listening to natural remedies from my Caribbean grandmothers. Instead of rushing to the cabinet for a spoonful of over-the-counter medication, the medicine was usually a hot cup of tea with honey and lime (yes, lime not lemon), and Vicks VapoRub was used uniquely in my household — the thick product that smelled like eucalyptus was not just rubbed on my chest and throat, but I was instructed to rub a generous amount on the bottom of my feet and wear socks overnight. Grandmas are the best medicine and I would feel better in no time (try that the next time you are under the weather).

Alongside health remedies, Sheikh puts his culinary skills to the test to create delicious meals. Mother India is home to the delicious dishes of dhal, biryani, butter chicken, lentils, rice, roti, naan and more. The naan options include garlic and butter, garlic being my favorite. The airy flatbread complements the savoury lentil stew. 

With that being said, Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines so when I spotted Mother India at the very site I would be interning at, I knew I was going to have a field day. From garlic naan to buttery masala, the mild to spicy flavors were calling my name. 

Growing up in a Trinidadian household, I grew accustomed to the variations of curry and roti my West Indian parents introduced me to. Call me biased, but part of why I love Indian food so much is how versatile and accommodating the cuisine is. Whether you are a meat lover, pescatarian princess like myself, vegetarian, vegan or even gluten free, there surely is a recipe to suit your dietary needs. 

Sheikh says that the preparation for naan is a moderately lengthy process involving water, salt, and flour, while stoneground flour is used for roti. The clay oven is essential to form the perfect naan. 

“Naan bread has to be made from the clay oven, and it is a different dough that you make with naan bread. Roti always comes with the flat pan,” said Sheikh.

While I love Indian food and am pescatarian, I still describe myself as a foodie and appreciate diverse cuisine that not only looks appetising, but serves to support the community and has a meaningful story behind the pots and stove. 

Another culinary experimenter is crafting his way through the food industry. Mitchells Plain’s Lee-Roy Jansen has at least 13 years of culinary experience. Over a loud blender in the courtyard of the CoCreate Hub, the soft-spoken man shared his cooking interests — he enjoys turning everyday food into luxury meals.

“The basic food you can turn into a gourmet meal within seconds, and it doesn’t even cost a lot,” said Jansen. 

He founded Lux Eatery, also known as Lux Caterers, which offers a mixture of American and South African food with a twist of home cooking. The menu includes dishes like a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for R45, cheese and tomato for R40, chicken strips and chips for R60, egg mayo for R30,and steak and egg for R50. Other options include a breakfast wrap and small chips, and chicken wings.

Jansen’s services have only been offered for a year, yet Lux Caterers lovers have already given Jansen a nickname.

“People even call me Lux now, I’m not Leeroy,” he says with a laugh.

My first meeting with Tony Jackman was at the CoCreate Hub. When Sue Yallop, the programme and systems manager at Ranyaka, asked Tony where he would like to dine, he chose Lux Caterers. Tony said he only wanted a light meal and ordered a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich while I had the soft-boiled creamy egg mayo on toasted wheat bread. I tried Jansen’s food during one of my first days at the hub and instantly became hooked on the golden chips. I insisted Tony try Jansen’s fries. I watched him take a bite of the soft yet crisp fry that had enough flavor that it didn’t require a condiment. He smiled and I helped myself to some more fries.

While I am a fan of the fries, Jansen enjoys cooking meals like stews. He believes the slow-cooked meals allow for ingredients to not only be properly mixed as the seasoning simmers, but diners experience the patience and preparation of the chef’s comforting meal. 

“You enjoy it more because you know the time and effort you have to put in it,” said Jansen.

He talks of improvising and adding a gourmet flair to his cooking in the kitchen. Instead of just adding chicken strips to a plate, he will include sesame seeds “to make it look more appetising”. He says frying the chicken strips with the sesame seeds will give a different taste from a normal chicken strip and create a more presentable dish.

Though local support is important, Jansen believes tourists have the power to create extra visibility for small business owners despite the widespread recognition of larger corporations. 

“Local doesn’t get the exposure that the big brands and restaurants get. If we can get more tourists to support locals, I think it will lift up the people,” said Jansen.

While both vendors are on a mission to provide quality meals to the community and grow their businesses, the desire to satisfy and serve various needs from hunger to employment are important to Jansen and Sheikh.

“My goal now is just to employ more people in order to uplift people in the community who are looking for jobs and also the skills I have, just to bring it to the youth that is coming up,” said Jansen.

Sheikh hopes to open Mother India 2 so he can feed the less fortunate and give back to his community, a value instilled by his mother. 

“I realised that the purpose of my life is to spread my mother’s food and to do her work, so I can make her food and also help poor people,” said Sheikh.

Food on wheels is no secret in Stellenbosch — it’s a signature solution that promotes locally owned businesses and empowers the community through ingredients that blend native and global flavors into an authentic culinary experience. 

At CoCreate Hub, Lux and Mother India prove that every plate can carry culture, community and heritage — a reminder to pay it forward and to pass the plate. DM