Gourmet Fine dining restaurant,serving a mix of fusion flavours
43 miller street. PMB �
CHEF Muhammed Moosa (28) had planned
to open his own restaurant by the age 30, but
when he heard that Trafford’s was closing and
the building was available for a new restaurant,
he did whatever was necessary to make his
dream come true.
MoG’s
is Pietermaritzburg’s first Halaal
gourmet fine dining experience and, its going to prove
a unique and fine experience in terms of food
presentation, flavours and dining in the city.
Moosa has many years of experience as a
successful chef, working in places such as Harvey’s
in Innes Road, Morningside, Nottingham
Road Hotel, Salt Rock Hotel and most
recently, he spent two and half years at Tsogo
Sun’s Maharani Elangeni hotel.
After matriculating at ML Sultan Secondary
School in Pietermaritzburg, he completed
a course in international cuisine at the Fusion
Cooking School in Durban.
“I heard via the grapevine that this place
was available and I just pounced on it. It’s my
first own business venture and have put every
ounce of energy, all the savings I had and my
very best dishes into the new restaurant,” he
said. MoG’s
(Mohammed’s longtime
nickname
in Pietermaritzburg) opened on April 21
with a dinner service that almost filled the
restaurant to capacity, and “we have been doing
well since then, without having to do any
marketing except our Facebook page and word
of mouth,” he said.
The restaurant opens for lunch from noon
to 3 pm, and for dinner from 5.30 pm to
around 9.30 pm.
“For me the most important thing is that,
so far not one of my plates has yet been returned
with something on it. And yesterday,
I had one customer literally licking the plate
of my butter chicken tortelini starter,” Mohammed
said.
He is passionate about cooking, and he has
chosen his favourite dishes that he has cooked
and improved upon through his career, to
form the basis of the menu at MoG’s.
He has deliberately kept his menu quite
small, so that he can concentrate on delivering
the same quality, presentation and fine tastes,
with every meal.
He said being a chef is hard work, with long
hours and often periods of intense stress. He
said cooking has cost him most of his hair,
and he has a few other scars to match.
“I don’t know anything else. The joy and
satisfaction I get from making my food means
we go ahead and do it, to best of our ability,
regardless of the hour.”
He said at the core of him starting the new
business were his wife and child, as the business
provides an opportunity to provide some
stability and pride, and a legacy for their future,
as a family.
Where quality is the order of the day.
Reviews, get directions and information Mo-g's Restaurant.
