{"id":817155,"date":"2025-03-18T21:56:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T19:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=817155"},"modified":"2025-03-18T21:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T19:56:29","slug":"the-man-who-built-two-of-south-africas-top-restaurant-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/817155\/the-man-who-built-two-of-south-africas-top-restaurant-brands\/","title":{"rendered":"The man who built two of South Africa\u2019s top restaurant brands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kream and Nomad founder Tufan Yerebakan has a vision of revolutionising South Africa\u2019s culinary landscape and establishing his brands as industry leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yerebakan is a Turkish-born, German-raised entrepreneur and restaurateur who developed a love for hospitality from a young age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He started his career in hospitality and catering as an operations manager at a well-known restaurant franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he had a three-decade journey in the restaurant business, starting with waitering and then working his way up to junior and senior management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He even moved to a better restaurant for half the salary to gain more experience and learn more about the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, he started the first Kream Restaurant in Brooklyn, Pretoria. The high-quality food, excellent service, and unique experience made it an instant hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This success drove Yerebakan to open two more Kream restaurants in Mall of Africa in Midrand Montecasino in Fourways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Kream, dining is more than just a meal. We design divine culinary experiences for Kream\u2019s discerning patrons,\u201d Yerebakan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original, Kream Brooklyn, is considered Pretoria\u2019s premier fine-dining restaurant and has become a landmark in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the success of Kream, Yerebakan founded Nomad, a high-end the Turkish restaurant with two locations \u2013 Mall of Africa and Montecasino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe transported through the spice markets of Istanbul, the vibrant aromatics of the Middle East and the robust flavours of Johannesburg,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nomad venues are designed to cater to a wide range of needs, including small gatherings and large-scale events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the owner of Kream and Nomad restaurant brands, I am passionate about building exceptional food experiences,\u201d Yerebakan said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe blend South African and Middle European cuisines, creating unique and tantalising flavours that leave a lasting impression.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said they source the finest ingredients and push the boundaries to surprise customers with extraordinary creations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCollaboration is key to our success. We seek partnerships with like-minded individuals and businesses to inspire innovation and elevate the dining scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes Kream and Nomad exceptional<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Kream and Nomad founder, Tufan Yerebakan (middle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to Radio 702, Yerebakan said that Kream and Nomad are popular because of their consistent experience and their commitment to providing the best products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy restaurants make a great experience accessible to many people. We are upmarket, but not unaffordable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the unique aspects of visiting Kream is that three people serve clients\u2014a waitress for drinks, a waiter for bread and general service, and the manager who takes the food order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the traditional way to serve people in a restaurant. That is how I was taught, and I never changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yerebakan said the kitchen is the engine room of any restaurant, which is why he pays special attention to that part of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that there are often heated arguments and pressure in the kitchen, but after a long evening, they have a beer together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the essential aspects of ensuring a consistent experience across all the restaurants is good quality products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He insists that his restaurants always buy the best quality products despite pressure on the bottom line. \u201cOur suppliers are not changed, whatever the cost is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yerebakan said it is important to treat customers as part of the family to ensure people return to Kream and Nomad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always tell my managers that our guests should feel at home. You need to know your return customers, including what they eat and drink,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of viewing Kream and Nomad as restaurants serving good food. Instead, they are \u201cin the experience game serving food\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople can cook a good meal at home. However, they don\u2019t get the experience of excellent service. Good food and a great experience must go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inside Kream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Inside Nomad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Kream and Nomad founder Tufan Yerebakan has a vision of revolutionising South Africa\u2019s culinary landscape and establishing his brands as industry leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":817156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[22039,22040,22041],"class_list":["post-817155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-kream","tag-nomad","tag-tufan-yerebakan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817186,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817155\/revisions\/817186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}