Business

The man who went from failing his university degree to becoming the best chef in South Africa

Kirsten Minnaar • 1 April 2026

Johannes Richter went from failing at university to being named the best chef in South Africa for the second year in a row.

The restaurant Richter founded out of his family’s living room, The LivingRoom, is also regarded as one of the best in South Africa.

Growing up in Durban, German-born Richter developed a love of food from a young age. “For me, it was really falling in love with produce,” he said on The Dan Nicholl Show.

“On the one hand, I was able to travel extensively with my family, and my mother exposed us to a lot from traveling southern Africa, as well as spending time in Europe.”

On the other hand, Richter said he was really privileged that his grandparents had a self-sustaining setup, which included everything from livestock to a vegetable garden and a little vineyard.

They even had a small fruit orchard that they used to make their own schnapps. His love of cooking was also sparked when he was just a schoolboy.

“My favourite subject was break time. So, I wouldn’t have a lot of time to actually indulge in my lunchbox, which was always packed with a lot of care by my mom,” he said.

Since his lunchbox always came back full, Richter began a ritual of winding down at home by cooking lunch for his family, starting with simple dishes like pasta.

However, even though he always loved cooking, he didn’t see himself entering the field professionally. When it came time to choose a degree, he focused on careers he thought would be lucrative.

“I started studying, and it wasn’t particularly successful,” he said. At first, Richter studied law for four semesters.

When he realised the degree didn’t suit him, he pivoted to a stats-oriented degree, which he pursued for only four semesters.

“I was lucky enough that I could fail, and had the support – and could fail twice, even – before I found the path that led me to where we are now,” he said.

Chasing the dream

Richter’s mother had already started building a guest house that would eventually become the Summerhill Guest Estate, between the Midlands and Durban.

Throughout his studies, Richter found himself spending more and more time in the guest house kitchen, and eventually realised that this was what he really wanted to do with his life.

While his mother was supportive, she made it clear that he could not pursue this dream by simply teaching himself. He had to follow this passion as a career path and commit to learning the trade and artistry.

So, two days after the 2010 FIFA World Cup ended in South Africa, Richter travelled to Germany to look for work as an apprentice.

He managed to secure a position as a scullery worker at a family-run hotel in the Black Forest region in Germany. They had a classical brigade system, an in-house butchery and even a patisserie.

Here, he was classically trained in French cuisine and exposed to Japanese cooking techniques to Michelin Star standards.

“Everything was done from scratch, and that obviously played hugely into my perception of what cooking and food are about,” he said.

He spent the next years of his life working in some of Germany’s top restaurants. It was in one Berlin-based restaurant that he met a waitress, Johanna, whom he later married.

In 2017, Richter returned to South Africa with his wife and their two young children and set about joining the family business, where they opened The LivingRoom that same year.

Founding The LivingRoom

A proud and fervent champion of KwaZulu-Natal produce, Richter combined the province’s ingredients with his French training and love of Japanese cuisine to create a unique and exceptional culinary experience.

From the start, he focused heavily on sustainable, local, and ethically-sourced produce. He took a hyper-seasonal approach to cooking, which means the menu is constantly in flux.

In fact, it currently undergoes complete changes every two months in line with seasonality and the produce from their own kitchen gardens and that which is carefully sourced from local suppliers.

In keeping with this hyper-seasonal approach to cooking, the team uses a range of ancient fermentation and preservation techniques to stretch produce and by-products across seasons.

Those looking to dine at The LivingRoom can enjoy an eight-course meal consisting of the following –

Bhaji
Sourdough bread, lime, and sweet potato
Heirloom carrot, home fermented pigeon peas, miso, and cape rose geranium
Watermelon, macadamia, and peppers
Westcoast mussels, tomato, and sweet corn / Daikon radish, tomato, and sweet corn
uKhova banana, bushpig, and imbuia / uKhova banana, mushrooms & imbuia
Vanessa’s chicken, Hluhluwe pineapple & madumbe/Dahl, Hluhluwe pineapple & madumbe
Imbuzi, beetroot, and litchi vinegar / beetroot, lentils, and litchi vinegar
Nottingham road lamb, leek and potato / Aubergine
Richmond sugar cane
Mango, rice, and lemon verbena
Our lemon tree

This experience will set diners back anywhere from R1,250 to R2,090 per person, should they choose to include the wine pairing.

South Africa’s best chef

Even though Richter had worked in some of Germany’s finest restaurants, establishing The LivingRoom where he did was a big risk.

South Africa’s fine dining scene is often viewed as being confined only to Cape Town, with establishments across the rest of the country being largely overlooked, especially when it comes to dining awards.

However, Richter was sure they had a winning formula. “In the end, good food and hospitality always have an opportunity of succeeding, and ours is obviously built on the backbone of a bit of patriotism as well,” he said.

“That’s why we never really gave it any doubt. We had hope and belief in our abilities of pulling it off.”

It didn’t take long before Richter was proven right. In 2019, The LivingRoom came in as the 13th best restaurant in the Eat Out Top 20. In 2025, Richter was named the Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Chef of the Year.

“This chef’s culinary approach transcends mere cooking. He is deeply conceptual, crafting edible narratives,” the judges said.

“With a modern, innovative flair, he masterfully blends the richness of local ingredients, showcasing a profound respect for South Africa and his region’s culinary heritage. His menus, brought to life through masterful techniques, are a testament to this.”

The LivingRoom at Summerhill Guest Estate was also the recipient of the Eat Out Woolworths Green Star Award.

At the 2026 Eat Out Awards, Richter was, for the second year in a row, named Chef of the Year. The LivingRoom was awarded three stars (the highest scoring category) and received the Rural Green Star Award.

Not only is the restaurant regarded as one of the best in the country today, but it remains a family-run affair.

Richter and Johanna, the business’s sommelier, take a very hands-on approach to managing The LivingRoom, and despite many calls to expand, they have made it clear they plan to stay only in KwaZulu-Natal, the area they love.