The chef who’s bringing heart and soulful food to a refreshed Jozi inner city

Meet chef Julian Ribeiro, one of the champions of Jozi My Jozi’s new creative campaign called Babize Bonke (which means “let them all come” in isiZulu), which invites people to experience the revival of the city through the eyes of its creative citizens.

“I’m a lover of creativity, people and food,” says Ribeiro, former ad exec turned chef who runs Sadie’s Bistro in Marshalltown. Leading from 44 Main Street all the way to Gandhi Square, Marshalltown is an elegant and well-maintained inner-city precinct with pedestrianised streets, big trees, fountains and flower beds, statues and a rich sense of history. It used to be the old finance and mining district and is now an education and creative economy hub.

Sadie’s Bistro is right in the heart of Main Street, a charming New York-style spot that buzzes every weekday with happy people in search of food, drink and connection. The menu is Lebanese-inspired comfort food – and it’s delicious.

A nod to family

Food is love, is Sadie’s philosophy. The bistro is named after Ribeiro’s grandmother Sadie Ribeiro (née Naddaf).

“My grandfather was Portuguese. My grandmother was Lebanese,” says Ribeiro. “Those are my roots, but we are proudly South African. We grew up with my gran, always cooking. People always came to visit – lonely people, family, friends, even priests used to come. They always felt like you could go to Sadie’s house any time. And she was always cooking. She had eight kids. And her sister lived down the road. She had seven kids. So there were just cousins everywhere – such happy memories.

“Then my mom became an amazing Lebanese and Italian chef and did catering, and my parents’ home was also like Sadie’s. People just came there and felt instantly at home. We always loved the food, the hospitality, the warmth.”

Ribeiro worked in the ad industry for about 30 years before he decided to become a chef himself, encouraged by friends and family who always said he had talent in the kitchen. He wasn’t just an ordinary ad exec, he was an award-winning C-suite guy who worked on just about every famous brand in South Africa. He has also travelled worldwide. “I loved the advertising world and had the time of my life. I just eventually loved food more,” he says.

Ribeiro went to Capsicum Culinary Studio as a 51-year-old and was the only student in the class older than 25. After his training, he had the opportunity to do hands-on work at one of South Africa’s top fine-dining restaurants, the Test Kitchen Carbon in Rosebank.

Dream come true

Why the inner city instead of the glitzy north? It’s less commercially viable, admits Ribeiro, but he’s always been a passionate ambassador for Jozi.

“I arrived here as a student in my first year and was terrified of the city. Then I fell in love. I played in places like Braamfontein, Maboneng, Newtown – and it was always my dream to create a little gem in Jozi.

“I love doing what I do,” he says. “I love to serve good, humble, everyday people.”

And Sadie’s really does serve everyone, from the diversity of tourists who stop in every day to the people who come in for long, decadent lunches and those who stop in just for a coffee and their famous churros. Churros are a popular fried-dough pastry of Spanish and Portuguese origin, typically coated in cinnamon sugar. Ribeiro describes them as magwinya (SA’s traditional vetkoek) that went to a private school.

One of the most charming things about Sadie’s is the staff, who are extraordinarily friendly and attentive. “We are like a family here,” says Ribeiro. “Our ethos is that we treat people as guests, not customers, and that they should feel like they are visiting a happy home.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.