At the icon's table: dining like Madiba with my dad at Tata's home

Nelson Mandela is my father's hero, so I took him to the Insights restaurant to give him a unique taste of Xhosa culture and SA royalty.

- By Naomi Campbell

My family's dining room table in our home in Jersey City, New Jersey, is not only reserved for plates and utensils, but also for my father's copy of Long Walk to Freedom.

So, to create a memorable 60th birthday for him, we dined like Madiba at Insights restaurant at Sanctuary Mandela, which opened in September 2021.

Before becoming a tranquil hotel, the structure housed Nelson Mandela after his prison release in 1990 until 1998. The now reimagined home is a curated boutique hotel owned by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Inside the hotel is Insights restaurant and the Dine like Madiba experience, an opportunity to reintroduce traditional South African cuisine to locals using native spices while also introducing Xhosa culture to tourists through the recipes of Xoliswa Ndoyiya, Mandela's chef.

"Welcome home," Tshepo, our host, said as we entered.

We began with a tour. Reading the artefacts and scanning the photographs paled in comparison to Tshepo's ability to articulate the culinary and living experience available at Sanctuary Mandela. Each painting tells a story about the significance of the room. The room called "Mr President" has a painting of Mandela greeting children, showing his love for young people.

Beyond the paintings and photos, the hotel tries to resemble the original structure of the house. The fireplace, foundation of the pool and the famous balcony have been preserved to represent the essence of Mandela's former residence. After the tour, expect a five-course meal filled with history, culture and good company.

A strong start...

Sanctuary Mandela is also home to black-owned and local wine brands, including from Carmen Stevens, the first black woman winemaker in South Africa. Inspired by Mandela himself, she includes his quotes on the backs of her bottles.