One year ago the V&A Waterfront, in partnership with the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund, opened the doors of Makers Landing, an innovative incubator for the local food industry.
The space was built around a community with food as a passion point and cultural connector, where authentic South African cuisine and its diversity could be shared and celebrated.
While the kitchen incubator is the heart of Makers Landing, and a cornerstone of the food ecosystem, it was important in their visioning to layer the space, in creating a sustainable and tiered food community. This is reflected in their core brand positioning of LEARN, MAKE, EAT & SHARE – ONE PLATE AT A TIME.
The LEARNING component is represented by both the kitchen incubator and demo kitchen.
- Not only is the purpose to upskill and provide opportunity within the food category, but to also create a platform for thought leadership. Makers Landing invites the local food industry and anyone with a passion for food to participate in championing change.
The MAKE component represents the people.
- The actual community of makers, thinkers, visionaries and advocates that make up this community.
The EAT component manifest as a representation of the authentic South African food and it’s diversity.
- The V&A Waterfront wanted to create a space where one could sample and connect over local food, it’s heritage and variety.
Finally, the SHARE component represents a table.
- The table is open to everyone who has a food story to tell and relish in the world of food and flavours. It was also equally important to the V&A Waterfront to create opportunities for various communities and visitors to share and connect over food through music, pop up events, entertainment etc.
It’s the incredible stories that emerge from these pillars that creates this community, one plate at a time. Since its launch in December 2020, Makers Landing has experienced a year of growth and resilience, starting out at a time when the local restaurant and hospitality industry was facing one of the toughest economic climates in recent history.
Now, 12 months later, this ambitious food community is ready to celebrate its first birthday and embrace new opportunities as summer and the festive season approaches.
Makers Landing boasts a busy schedule of activities and events to for the whole family over the coming months. This includes:
- Kids Classes every Saturday and Sunday morning
- Live Bands every Saturday and Sunday
- Paint Pouring events
- V&A Record Fairs
- Kids Markets.
There will also be a number of festive cooking classes hosted by a range of local chefs and some of the Makers Landing tenants. These will be running between 4 – 22 December.
For more information about Makers Landing and the upcoming activities please visit https://www.waterfront.co.za/events/festive-at-makers-landing/.
