Top 100 SA restaurateur turns cult restaurant into coffee-table cookbook

Veganuary 2026 arrives with a strong South African voice as acclaimed restaurateur and chef Vanessa Jarvis-Findlay releases her debut coffee-table cookbook, The NEKED Food: Plant-Based Gourmet Edition.

The book draws directly from the success of NEKED Food, the Clarens-based restaurant ranked among the Top 100 Restaurants in South Africa in both 2023 and 2024. The recognition placed NEKED Food alongside the country’s leading establishments, not within a vegan category, but across the full restaurant landscape of more than 35,000 venues.

A love letter to South African flavour

Part cookbook, part personal memoir, The NEKED Food blends South African comfort food with refined technique and playful confidence. The result feels familiar yet unexpected. Bold flavours meet fine-dining detail without losing warmth or humour.

“I didn’t write a vegan cookbook,” Jarvis-Findlay says. “I wrote a love letter to South African flavour, then dressed it in couture and served it with a wink.”

Each recipe begins with nostalgic local references, then elevates them. The cooking remains grounded. Technique supports flavour, never ego.

From cult restaurant to national acclaim

Vanessa Jarvis-Findlay is a multi-award-winning restaurateur, celebrity chef, author, and creative producer. NEKED Food has earned multiple local and international honours, including:

• Hidden Gem of the Year 2024
• Best Vegan Restaurant Globally, Lux Life Magazine

Her work challenges assumptions around plant-based food, positioning it as indulgent, expressive, and rooted in place.

Food shaped by personal story

Jarvis-Findlay’s approach to food connects deeply to her life. A cancer survivor and outspoken advocate for plant-based living, she is also known for the Lady Godiva Freedom Ride, a widely covered act of healing, humour, and self-expression.

That same energy shapes the book. The tone stays confident, personal, and quietly rebellious. Stories unfold alongside recipes, inviting readers into the kitchen rather than instructing from above.

Plant-based dishes with fine-dining intent

The recipes reflect a distinctly South African pantry, reimagined through a gourmet lens. Expect dishes such as:

• Toffee Cocktail Tomatoes with Smoked Salt and Thyme
• Sea Salt and Fynbos Honey Panna Cotta with Kelp Caramel and Rooibos Sand
• Fermented Mealie Mousse with Cashew Cream in Phyllo Nests and Burnt Tomato Dust
• Braaied Mushroom and Black Bean Bunny Chow with Tamarind Date Chutney Pearls
• Wild Mushroom and Amarula Cream Pap with Caramelised Shallot Petals and Foraged Herb Oil

Each dish balances elegance with soul. Flavour stays central. Place remains unmistakable.

A cookbook designed to be seen and used

The NEKED Food is designed as both a working cookbook and a coffee-table object. Jarvis-Findlay photographed and styled every dish herself, creating a clean, intimate visual language that mirrors the food.

The writing remains warm and self-aware. Humour cuts through technique. Vulnerability adds depth.

Forewords from leading culinary voices

The book includes forewords by Jenny Morris and Justine Drake. Both praise Jarvis-Findlay’s refusal to make plant-based cuisine feel niche, apologetic, or moralistic.

Their endorsement positions the book firmly within South Africa’s broader culinary conversation.

Veganuary with local flavour

The NEKED Food: Plant-Based Gourmet Edition launches nationwide in January 2026. As Veganuary gains momentum, this release reframes the conversation. South Africa does not simply go vegan. It goes gourmet.

Available from www.nekedfood.co.za and selected retailers nationwide.