Q&A 'That hole in the wall' is cooking

Observatory, for all its slightly seedy, boho appeal, lacks decisively on one front. Lunch.

Sure, if you dig around Lower Main Road there are a few decent options, but in the vicinity of the growing office area of the old Lion Match factory and Black River Park the pickings are slim.

Enter Food Maker Merchant, otherwise known as "that hole-in-the-wall place". Set just off the corner of Lower Main Road and Nelson Street, Ammy Cope's spot struck a chord from the day it opened in October.

A self-trained cook with years of restaurant experience, Cope also caters for small dinners and big weddings.

What inspires you?

I get a lot of my inspiration from online research and from eating out. I am always looking for new ideas and also love being reminded of old ones.

Favourite cookbooks?

Moro, by Samuel and Samantha Clarke, all of those by Greg and Lucy Malouf ( Arabesque, Turquoise , Saha ). I adore reading Nigel Slater and I have to mention Skye Gyngell's A Year in My Kitchen. A new favourite is Diana Henry: her Crazy Water Pickled Lemons is wonderfully inspiring. And my copy of A Week in the Kitchen, by Karen Dudley, is well used too.

Which of your dishes have a following?

Whenever we do an Asian-themed lunch, people seem to love it. We've done a Japanese-style takeaway lunch box a few times featuring a pancake with a teriyaki-style sauce. People are always asking for it.

By far our most popular item is our signature sandwich of roast chicken with homemade coriander chilli mayo.

What else do you offer?

We are growing and developing our pre-order dinners. You either collect fresh or we freeze them. We're also thinking of opening a BBQ/braai shack in the alley next door.

• 154 Lower Main Road, corner Nelson Street, 021-828-2601