Childhood friends and now business partners of Sumthing Fresh talk about the world of food

Childhood friends and business partners Hezron Louw and Andrew Leeuw shared how their food market, Sumthing Fresh, came about.

Louw said he, along with Leeuw, started the food market in 2012. He described what they do for a living as exciting, fun and enthusiastic. “I am a very enthusiastic individual and I really love what I do. Me and my partner always make sure that we make our customers happy with the food that we create,” Louw said.

With a shared passion for food, the duo took to the streets of Midrand as they operated their experimental kitchen out of a food trailer. They then quickly built a reputation for the freshest, most original and straight-up delicious street food in Johannesburg.

“The first two years of starting our business was quite tough as our business failed. We didn’t make any money– at times we would split R300 among each other and then the third year we thought we should switch things up and sell our food at markets and corporate functions. Through that business approach, it really changed things around.”

He explained that the name Sumting Fresh came from Leeuw’s mother who when first told about their business concept, said it was ‘Sumting Fresh’ as the duo only create fresh food on their menu.

“Our concept is global street food mixed with French styles and watermelon as South Africans love watermelon. Our signature dish was voted best menu in the top 10 menus in the world.”

He said the real secret to Sumting Fresh’s success is their signature chicken dish which is their most popular item on the menu, the Goujon Chicken. “The dish has crumb chicken strips with their secret seasoned crumb, and is deep fried to crisp perfection. This is served with a seasonal side salad and shoestring fries. Our sauces are a homemade aioli and sweet chilli sauce as nothing is premade or bought.”

Louw said as their way of giving back to the community, some of their employees are from a home called Thusong Home, a community help centere. “Some of the disadvantaged youths in the area come to the centre with a degree or certificate who cannot find employment. We then take them in and give them a bit of training such as kitchen training and the potential ones stay with us. We also help the home with food and things they need.”

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