Taurant makes a harvest on Florida

specialises in sushi and Chinese food, was the realisation of a dream.

“It has been barely a month since we’ve opened and a lot of people have welcomed us. I have worked for others for 16 years and needed a change.

“Ding Feng has been open for a few weeks and business has been going well. I think this is a prime location.”

“As much as it was a joy to work with many talented South African chefs in some of the best restaurants in the country, I felt it was time to fulfil my ambitions,” said Zhu.

The talented chef moved to Joburg from China in 1999. “I wanted better opportunities and to experience life in another country. It was daunting at first, but as I started to cook and show what I had to offer, everything started to take shape.

“Now that I am my own boss, I get to work my own hours, be it an eight-hour or 13 hour day and it is worthwhile because you know that the hard work put in will pay off eventually,” he said.

Zhu has no formal chef training and did all his learning at home with his mother, Zheng Fang He.

In 1990 he realised that he wanted to do more with his love for food and began to spend more time in the kitchen. He started out making sushi, fried rice and experimenting with Japanese food.

When asked about the name Ding Feng and what it meant, he said it meant “harvest”.

He hopes that all the work he and his business partner, Tina Chu, and dedicated chefs Lisa Zhang and Michael Johang, are putting into the new Florida Road establishment will reap a bumper harvest.

clinton.moodley@in.co.za