At Nelson Mandela’s quiet home in Johannesburg, converted into an elegant hotel, guests can sample the favorite dishes of South Africa’s first black president, prepared by his former cook.
The old building, located in an affluent Johannesburg neighborhood, has only retained its white facade. The interior, full of natural light thanks to its many windows, has been totally remodeled. In recent years, some squatters had settled in the residence.
Mandela, often affectionately called Madiba or Tata – nicknames that have become room names – moved there shortly after his release from prison in 1990. He spent eight years in this house, before moving to another one. further street with his last wife, Graça Michel.
"When he arrived, he went to knock on all the doors of his neighbors to introduce himself and invite them to tea."says director Dimitri Maritz. "A Chinese neighbor did not recognize him and threw him out. When she realized she had closed the door on Mandela, she moved out!"He adds with a laugh, without excluding that it may be an urban legend.
The hotel’s presidential suite was the room of the former president, known for his fight against apartheid, the system of racial segregation formally established in the country.
The engravings of his grandson, his Robben Island prison number 466/64 and the word "Madiba".
The establishment opened in September and is called Sanctuary Mandela so that guests can be inspired by the calm and positive energy of the deceased leader.
Released at 71, the former public enemy number one wanted to enjoy the most beautiful things that he had been deprived of during his 27 years in prison, as he recounts in his autobiography.
The joy of his grandchildren, the beauty of a rose, a sip of sweet Cape wine.
Neither museum nor mausoleum
"He was a simple, direct boss", recalls with emotion his cook Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who prepared dishes for him for about twenty years and is now the head of the restaurant. The menu is inspired by your favorite dishes.
"It was easy to please. He did not like to eat a lot of fat. Not the sugar. But he did like fruit, in abundance, at every meal", says the woman, who belongs to the Xhosa ethnic group as her former boss, "that he was more like a father".
If Ndoyiya tried to please his guests with a dish that Mandela did not like, he would ask: "Why don’t you feed me well?". And her, "He felt guilty".
He tells it smiling, while remembering Mandela eating a plate of chicken: "He liked to eat it to the bone".
Also knew "put people in trust, treat each other like family"he says, before shedding a tear.
Management wants to keep "a home atmosphere", away from a museum or a mausoleum. Photos and prints show Mandela clowning around to amuse a baby or standing with open arms reading a newspaper.
"We have a thousand Madiba anecdotes and references throughout the house, but we only tell them to guests if they ask us questions."explains Maritz.
The manager wants the clients to come to the house for Mandela and to return through the place. Its objective is to reflect two essential qualities of the former South African president: "humility and elegance".
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