‘A steakhouse is a theatre of the senses, and the opening act is the fire in the heat of the grill section, warming us, mesmerising us, drawing us closer, igniting in us a hunger for good food and good company. This is the story my hands have to tell, of the company they helped to build and the promise they helped to fulfil. The promise of A Taste for Life.’

Join Allen Ambor on a rock ’n’ roll ride through the restaurant business and pioneering days of franchising in South Africa. Ambor’s exuberance for life and exacting management style shine through on every page of this memoir of a man who went from being a hippy waiter to opening the first Spur in 1967 and growing it into an empire that included more than 500 franchises under the Spur, Panarottis, John Dory’s and RocoMamas brands.

‘This book is a backward glance of someone who created a business that is as South African as Izintaba zoKhahlamba, or the Drakensberg Mountains, as they are also known.’ - Muzi Kuzwayo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allen Ambor founded Spur Steak Ranches in 1967 when he invested R4 000 to open the Golden Spur in Newlands, Cape Town. After he opened the second restaurant in Sea Point, he decided that franchising was the best option to grow the business, which listed on the JSE in 1986. Ambor lives in Cape Town and is an Iyengar yoga practitioner and teacher.

A Taste for Life: How the Spur legend was born is published by Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers