James learnt the ropes at Tom Aitkins, before departing for Noma, where he cooked with the world’s best. Pictured here: an onion dish from the Vietnam pop-up. Photo supplied.

Setting up one restaurant is enough for most chefs, but chef James Sharman and his crew set their sights on a bigger goal: they’re hosting 20 pop-up restaurants in 20 months, each in a different country around the world. And, for their eighth stop, they’re coming to Cape Town.

Called One Star House Party, the restaurant will be open for dinner in a private residence in Woodstock from 26 April until 11 May, with one seating available per evening. Seating 50 diners, the Air BnB apartment will set the scene for a seven-course tasting menu which will exalt local ingredients. As for the menu, it’ll remain a secret until opening night, but will likely feature twists on local dishes.

Foraging for kelp this morning! Seaweed is one of the most nutritious ingredients in the world, and a key element in our #capetown menu! #onestarhouseparty #southafrica

A post shared by One Star House Party (@onestarhouseparty) on Apr 23, 2017 at 10:16am PDT

James and his team have some stellar credentials to their names: Noma (the former number one in the world) and top London restaurants, The Ledbury and Tom Aitkens. They’ve already visited China, Vietnam, Thailand, Oman, Kenya – and, most unusually, set up a restaurant at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal to cook for the sherpas. Next month they’re off to Florence.

Waiting on our guests arriving for our OSHP on Everest base camp! Such a sense of accomplishment, thank you to our wonderful and supportive guests on coming with us on such an epic and crazy journey with us! #basecamp #onestarhouseparty

A post shared by One Star House Party (@onestarhouseparty) on Dec 20, 2016 at 8:37am PST

How is it all funded? According to the New York Times, the chefs themselves are unpaid – and often haggle for ingredients at local markets – but planning periodic events on a grander scale help to bankroll the other events.

Kenya Kenya Kenya … with 7 months, 7 countries and 7 restaurants now behind us, I can safely say this has been the country with the most surprises. We’ve gone from a stack of wood and a pile of barrels, a barge that didn’t float, to one that finally did and would become our restaurant for Kenya! Trisha x Photo @fhaughtonphoto

A post shared by One Star House Party (@onestarhouseparty) on Apr 2, 2017 at 8:57am PDT

Tickets are $85 US each (around R1 100, at the time of writing) and available online. Guests are asked to BYOB. The team is also on the lookout for young chefs who would like to apply to intern for a pop-up in a different country. In Cape Town, young chefs from Scotland and Australia will assist. Apply here.