South African café brand tashas has launched ‘Just Ask Tash’, a new monthly storytelling series giving guests a behind-the-scenes look at the people, places and stories behind the brand.
Natasha Sideris, founder of South African café brand tashas. Image supplied
Founded by Natasha Sideris in Johannesburg in 2005, tashas has grown into an international hospitality brand spanning South Africa, the UAE, the UK and Saudi Arabia, with Greece next on the horizon.
The new series invites guests to submit questions about tashas' food, cafés, people and history. In cafés, diners will receive question cards with their meals, while questions can also be submitted through the brand's social media channels.
Selected questions will be answered by Sideris in a series of short films shared across tashas' Instagram and YouTube channels.
The series explores the thinking behind some of the brand's best-known dishes, its distinctive café interiors and Sideris' journey in hospitality.
A key focus is the brand's approach to its menus. While every tashas café serves its classic all-day menu, each location also has an inspired menu shaped by its neighbourhood, culture and character.
"We always start with the place, not the plate," says Jill Okkers, culinary director for Tashas Group, highlighting the role of location in shaping each café's offering.
Image supplied
The storytelling extends to beverages, with drinks designed to complement the food and sense of place of each location, according to Krystian Hordejuk, beverage director for Tashas Group.
"For years our guests have asked me the most wonderful questions, and I've always wanted a proper way to answer them," says Sideris. "Just Ask Tash gives me the opportunity to sit down, share the stories behind what we do, and reveal some of the moments we've never spoken about before."
The initiative follows tashas' 20th anniversary celebrations in 2025 and gives the brand a new platform to connect its growing international audience with the stories behind its two-decade journey.
