Sushi with a Johannesburg twist

The owner of The Blackanese restaurant, Vusi Kunene, grew up on maize porridge but decided to ‘Africanize’ Japanese cuisine in Johannesburg’s trendy Maboneng Precinct. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Chef Themba Khumalo grew up in a village in Mpumalenge province and now wields high-tensile carbon steel knives to craft red fillets of salmon for black South Africans. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Khumalo sculpts a tasty mouthful of sushi for a hungry customer. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Kunene (right) adds springbok and kudu to his sushi menu and offers sweet chili sauce for patrons who reject the hot wasabi paste. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Blackanese staff were all trained by top sushi chefs. Kunene says Africans will try sushi “that’s made by fellow black people.” (Photo by Darren Taylor)