Jozi cooks rejoice: Yuppiechef is opening two new retail stores soon

Originally a purely online shopping platform, Yuppiechef opened its first physical store in Cape Town in 2015. The Mother City now boasts four brick-and-mortar kitchenware stores. But up on the Highveld, the only way to shop at Yuppiechef has been to "click and add to cart".

That's all about to change, now that the award-winning brand has announced it will open two retail stores in Johannesburg on June 28. They will be in Sandton City and the Mall of Africa.

The new stores will combine the best of online and traditional shopping, thanks to free wi-fi and products labelled with QR codes. Once you scan one of these codes with your smartphone, you'll be taken to the Yuppiechef website, where you can read up about the product, watch videos about it and read customer reviews.

Alternatively, you can browse through products online and then go in-store to check it out in person before making a purchase.

After you've bought something, you can either take it with you immediately, or opt to have it delivered to your home.

If, like many Yuppiechef junkies, you're wondering whether you'll still receive a  hand-written postcard and funky fridge magnet with your purchase, fret not.

Fiona Hilton, marketing manager at Yuppiechef, says customers will still receive a magnet when they buy something in-store.

“They don't, however, get a postcard. Part of the reason for sending the hand-written notes with Yuppiechef purchases was to humanise the very sterile process of online purchasing – but when a consumer goes in-store, they have the benefit of interacting with a store assistant and hence there's no need for the card,” said Hilton.

However, both of Yuppiechef's Joburg stores will have postcards, so if a shopper wants one, they’re welcome to request one. Whether or not it will live up to the thrill of receiving a Yuppiechef order via courier and finding your personalised postcard enclosed in the package remains to be seen.

3 GADGETS EVERY SERIOUS COOK NEEDS

Sylvia McKeown, editor of our weekly food newsletter — find out how to sign up for it here — picks the Yuppiechef gadgets she thinks every foodie should own:

1. PASTA MACHINE

The road to "foodie" status is paved in fresh pasta - and Italian nonnas are right: you really can taste the difference.

Making fresh pasta is a surprisingly quick and easy way to up your dinner party game. For some reason, your guests will think you're a culinary genius if you managed to mix some eggs and flour together with a fork before feeding it through the Marcato Atlas 150 Manual Pasta Machine, R1,749 from Yuppiechef.

2. CHEF'S KNIFE

To chefs, their knives are their babies. They're the tools with which every dish is expertly prepared.

I'm generally not an advocate of buying knives online, as the way the knife feels in your hand will determine if it’s right for you — kind of like Harry Potter and his wand. But if you do need a great entry-level chef’s knife, this 18cm Wusthof Gourmet Chef's Knife, R819 from Yuppiechef, is hard to beat.

3. STAND MIXER

You may have noticed that all the best dessert recipes call for you to pour your ingredients into a stand mixer. There's a reason for that: they aren’t being elitist against your grandma’s handmixer of yore, it genuinely creates a  superior product. Try making bread without one and you'll go and get one tomorrow. 

If you do buy one, you might as well make it one of KitchenAid's colourful 4.8l Artisan Stand Mixers, R9,989 from Yuppiechef.