The Restaurant: The Blackanese Sushi and Wine Bar, Johannesburg

Vusi Kunene believes sushi is an art that can unite people - even if it means disguising it a little.

Kunene is the brains behind The Blackanese Sushi and Wine Bar in Maboneng, central Johannesburg, where a few offbeat items can be found among the traditional sushi offerings.

"You can't mess with sushi too much and 75% of our menu is traditional. But to get people who are not into sushi to try it out, we created things like the biltong maki and a strawberry rainbow roll, which we do without fish. We also do a bean-curd roll with cucumber and rice to ease people into the idea before encouraging them to try sushi the traditional way, with raw fish," he says.

Apart from the famed seafood and prawn braais, which the tiny restaurant hosts on weekends, and sushi-making classes, Kunene is known for his mobile sushi bars. He often caters at popular rooftop parties in the area. "We are becoming known as an African sushi brand," he said.

Kunene, who started out as a waiter in Johannesburg, said he became curious about sushi while working in Cape Town several years ago.

"Working in hospitality, I always wanted to indulge in everything new that I came across. Sushi was just hitting the scene back then and I really enjoyed it. But when I came back to Johannesburg, I thought I needed to get more black people into this, because the idea was so foreign to them.

"I realised it was about how you sell it and dress it up, give people the confidence to try it."

Kunene's dream of opening a restaurant was slowly realised about two years ago. He raised capital by hosting shisa nyamas, then seafood braais.

"I still had this idea of hosting mobile sushi bars but, the more I understood and grew to respect the product, the more I was discouraged from training to do it myself because it takes years to learn this skill.

"There were a few local sushi chefs being trained by experienced people to work at restaurants in Joburg. I hired them after-hours to host the mobile sushi bars at food markets and then parties, and suddenly we were getting contracts to cater at homes and events. We started out on our own after I employed a few champion chefs, the best I could find for the business.

"From here, I hope to start an academy for young people wanting to train as sushi chefs."

Kunene was chosen as a Hansa Big Dreamer, which awards a television advert to people who follow their dreams.

"Since the Hansa ad has been on air, it is reaching more of the people I want to educate about sushi. Older people who have never experienced sushi wanted to try it and taste it. It makes me happy to see a 60-year-old gogo from Soweto coming all the way here to try sushi for the first time."

• 20 Kruger Street, Maboneng Precinct