Lorraine’s Ntlo Maison serves last supper

 

In just a couple of days, Lorraine’s Ntlo Maison French cuisine restaurant will officially be serving its loyal customers its last meal.

 

Effective Saturday June 30, the restaurant will cease to exist, as owner and chef Lorraine Mpho Jouffroy is embarking on another thrilling adventure. For customers, the move to close and sell the restaurant has been a difficult decision.Since moving to its upmarket premises in Fairscape Precint, Fairgrounds, the restaurant has been their safe haven, a place where they can go to unwind and enjoy some quality food in a calming environment.

She shares with Style that it was not an easy decision to make, but that she needs to focus her energy on motherhood. She is expecting her second born due in a couple of months, and she admits that it will be near impossible to take care of two small children while running the restaurant. Her plan is to take a long maternity leave. 

“Motherhood is calling. I had a difficult pregnancy and my back has been giving me problems,” she says. A restaurant, according to her demands 100 percent attention and with the developments in her life, she is not willing to take a chance. She says that she tried to source some help but finding the right person has proved difficult. “I tried to recruit locally but they were not what I was looking for,” she says. She adds that the new owner(s) will be at liberty to offer other cuisines.

This has not been an easy decision to reach, especially as they recently moved into the new premises. “This is a beautiful area, and a lot of money was spend in transforming it,” she says. She further highlights that while she is selling the assets, the brand is not for sale. “I will return to running a restaurant when my children are grown up,” she says.

Jouffroy also explains that she is continuing her culinary journey as a private chef and that this is something that she will never give up.  As a private chef, I can work and rest as compared to running a restaurant which came with working long hours,” says Jouffroy.    Quizzed on challenges facing restaurant owners locally, she notes that one needs to be hands on and closely manage everything.