Meet South Africa’s Guy Fieri: how Nick Hamman is turning Mzansi into a foodies paradise

Culinary tourism is taking the world by storm - and South Africa is serving up something special.

Thanks to Nick Hamman’s viral videos, the country’s top food destinations are getting their moment in the spotlight, positioning Mzansi as a must-visit haven for food lovers and flavour seekers alike.

Think of him as our very own Guy Fieri, if you will. But more on that, in a bit. 

Earlier in the week, I caught up with the 5FM radio personality to find out how his Sho’t Left travels have culminated in this welcome food detour.

He started by saying, “Sorry if I cough. I don’t know if you know Durban, but I’m at Coconut Grove. We just at their Mexican burger, which is possibly the hottest to get in Durban.”

Hamman continued: “I've always been fascinated by South Africa, and I've always loved travelling, exploring and experiencing the country.  And about 10 years ago, I did this walk from Johannesburg to Polokwane, and every day, on the side of the road, I came across different South Africans, and I had to extract content out of them because we needed a radio show every day. 

“And it was from meeting these people and hearing their stories that I realised, firstly, that everybody's got a story, an amazing one.  And secondly, that there's just so much of this country to see and experience.

"And then I started the Heritage tours, which were, as you pointed out, every September, going and just experiencing the country and all its different provinces and their histories.

“We've got a very, very complicated history with lots of layers to it, and so much more that they teach at school. I became really fascinated by that as somebody who just loves this country and desperately wants to understand it better. 

“Every experience I would have, I would keep getting pointed to food, because, you know, food is this wonderful thing that is so deeply linked to memory, heritage and story. 

“You know, we're chatting about Blue Lagoon now. It's like, it's not, it's not just the burgers they sold or all the bunnies they did. It's like an entire generation of Durban Indians had a place to come and express themselves, meet, fall in love and build friendships … you can't tell the Durban Indian story without including Lugz, and food was at the cornerstone of that.

“And that's true of like, the Gatsby places in Cape Town and the kota places in Joburg; so much of our history is just linked to food. I realised that organically through travelling, and then it just sort of became that my storytelling got more and more interested in food and its relationship with us …that it just kind of took a life on its own.”

He added: “A couple of years in and it's become the thing I'm probably most well known for.”

What inspired the food detour?

Of course, everyone has a starting point when it comes to an undertaking growing legs. 

Interestingly enough, for Hamman, it was a hankering for good old-fashioned Italian food. The kind that someone’s nonna (grandmother) makes. 

He explained: “Over the years, in different ways, either writing television shows, which I've done, or radio shows, which I've done a lot of, I've done plenty of interviews with people that own food businesses and kind of ticked the boxes of all the iconic spaces around the country. 

“But one day, this would have been in late 2022, I was at home, together with my wife, and we were craving Italian food. I wasn't interested in a fine dining restaurant.  I wanted a place that had a story, you know, a place with like menus that have plastic on them, wine served by the bottle and Parmesan cheese that just flows … where the nonnas have been there forever. 

“I started trying to find something just using Google, and no one's really gone out and collected all of these kinds of places. 

Like, there is no directory that you can use. There's no easy way of searching. What do you search for?  And so I ended up going on social media and asking my followers at the time. 

“And people seemed to understand what I meant, so they gave me some suggestions of their favourite places, their personal plugs. I picked one, went to it, filmed it, like I said, put it up on social media, and it did well by my standards at the time. I think it got like 100 000 views or something, which, back then, was crazy for me. 

“And then I thought, well, this is kind of interesting. Like, maybe I should try to do this again with another one of my favourite spots. And so I started collecting all the places around Johannesburg that I like and love, and the community started really responding to it. 

“Before I knew it, it snowballed into what it is today.”

Whether it’s the best bunny, kota, Gatsby…. Hamman has been eager and keen to tuck into it and give South Africans his honest feedback. 

“I think at this point, we've done over a thousand videos, and there’s endless categories. I kind of just get excited about anything,” he laughed. 

“I mean, I’ll do the best bunnies, best kotas, best steak, best pizza, best spatlo, best whatever. For me, it’s in the interest of documenting and preserving our food culture and getting South Africans to want to explore their own country. 

“I feel like we still have a lot of South Africans who live in silos and bubbles that don’t really get out beyond what they are comfortable with.  And that’s really sad, because we have so much beauty and diversity in our country.

"What I’m ultimately trying to do is encourage South Africans: live in your country, explore your country - and food really is the easiest entry point into that.”

When an establishment sends his taste buds into overdrive, that’s the highest unofficial accolade. It’s akin to the hype around celebrity chef Fieri visiting a popular food spot in the US. 

“We refer to it as the Hammy stamp was approval, which is our way of collecting places that we think have a good story, are worth people exploring, are delicious, interesting and worth spending your money on.”

His Top 3 food spots to date

Aside from his affable personality, Hamman isn’t afraid to tuck in. The messier the meals, the greater the taste it seems. 

Of course, he could write a book about his experiences. 

But he does have those places that have stood out since this food journey took off in the latter part of 2023 and early 2024. 

He admitted, “I started getting like recognised in public a lot more, which was weird, because I've been in media for like 10 years prior to this, but it went from going out and maybe getting stopped three times for a photo.

“Now, it's this constant thing where I can't go into a restaurant anymore without the chef coming to have a chat with me. Or in the streets, wherever I go, people shout like, ‘Hey, Nick, you've gotta go eat this’. I’m honestly so grateful.”

His criteria are simple: the place needs to have a great story coupled with deliciousness. He loves a good family-run spot. 

“One of the most incredible experiences I've had was going to a place called Kwa Coach in Pimville, Soweto. There's a man who, in honour of his late mother, went from being in a dark place in his own life to pulling himself together and ultimately running a really successful food business, doing pork in a part of the world that wasn't all that used to it.

“And he sells everything from heads and ears to ribs and these beautiful cuts of meat. This man's passion for his business and his will to honour his mother is just incredible. Getting to tell his story was amazing. 

“Solly's Corner is another one that stands out. I'm very honoured that they have a meal now named after me, which is a streak burger roll. It is an institution in South Africa. Like you can't talk about fast food in Johannesburg and not mention their name. 

“And then the third experience, because it's often just a go-to for people, is Fordsburg, in Johannesburg. It is my foodie spot. There's a place there called Amman, named after the capital of Jordan.

"The chicken dish that they do, they do like a quarter chicken with roti and chips and a sauce. I think he's like best value for money and probably the tastiest chicken you can get in South Africa.”

What’s next?

While flattered by the reference to Fieri, Hamman considers himself a cross between Fieri and Anthony Bourdain. Now that he’s released the Hammy Eats app, which can be downloaded for free, he’s looking at releasing a book. 

“I'm writing a book at the moment. That's set for release for my 10th Heritage tour next year. I want to be able to say that I played some positive role in taking things that are South African and showing them for the excellence that they have, both to South Africans and to the world. 

“If I can do that with all of this, then I'll be like, that's where I want to go. That's what I wanted to achieve.”

And if a TV offer is put on the table, he would be on it like cheese on fries. 

He is also preparing for a significant new chapter: the arrival of his first child with his wife.