Chef, mentor, and Eat Out’s chief judge, Margot Janse, has kept very busy since the closing of The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek. Those who have been following the chef’s journey will know of her inspiring efforts to provide nutritious meals to needy children in the Franschhoek Valley through Isabelo, the charity she started with her restaurant team. The award-winning chef is now heading to Brussels, Belgium, to team up with some of the world’s top chefs in aid of the charity.

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Very grateful to have such special friends and colleagues. This is going to be amazing! #isabelobrussels #feedinghungryminds #friendsinspecialplaces #getupandmakeachange #theyareourfuture #hungerisreal

A post shared by Margot Janse (@isabelocharity) on Jan 8, 2019 at 11:57am PST

On 16 February, three top Brussels restaurants (Bon Bon, Bozar and Le Chalet de La Foret) will play host to 25 of the world’s greatest chefs, who will cook a 10-course dinner for this one-night only event. All proceeds from the night will go to Isabelo (loosely translated from Xhosa to mean ‘sharing is caring’). “This is a super special event us as it’s Isabelo’s 10th year and it feels almost unreal that all these chefs have come together to help”.

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Fun in Grade One! #isabelocharity #feedinghungryminds #kusasaproject #makeadifference #theyareourfuture

A post shared by Margot Janse (@isabelocharity) on Oct 20, 2018 at 1:51am PDT

The chefs that will be taking part include Virgilio Martinez, Alain Passard, Ana Roš, May Chow and Pascal Barbot. Each chef’s dish will be inspired by indigenous South African ingredients that Margot is having shipped in, including buchu, baobab, honeybush, marula nuts, sorghum and even Baleni salt from a natural hot spring in the north of South Africa.

Isabelo began in 2009 when Margot, with the help of a dietitian, developed a highly nutritious muffin recipe. Dozens of these muffins were baked every Friday and delivered to a local playschool, feeding 70 children. After 10 years and many successful charity events and fundraisers in the Cape and abroad, Isabelo, along with The Kusasa Project, now provides and delivers daily nutritious breakfasts for 1300 primary school children and breakfasts and warm lunches for 200 pre-school children. Read more about Isabelo here.