Amid rising demand for experiential dining, a dream in a small Cape Town apartment more than a decade ago became the starting point for a global brand.
Gregory Zeleny founded SecretEATS in 2013, and since then the company has expanded to cities including Hanoi, Saigon and Zurich, curating immersive experiences that combine hidden venues, inventive chefs and local storytelling.
To date it has curated more than 150 events for over 1,000 guests across multiple countries.
“The whole inspiration behind starting SecretEATS was the idea of bringing people together. And I thought that food was a really good way to do that,” Zeleny said, explaining that the decision to keep the location and menu secret until the day of events was deliberate.
Mystery is cool. In a world where everything is so scheduled and organised, to have that element of surprise is really nice.
— Gregory Zeleny
“Mystery is cool. In a world where everything is so scheduled and organised, to have that element of surprise is really nice.”
He said he was also inspired by his own experience moving to Cape Town and wanting to meet new people, as well as by similar pop-up dinners he had attended in New York, where guests didn’t know the location until the day of the event. “Come as strangers, leave as friends,” Zeleny explained, is an ethos that helped SecretEATS take off.
SecretEATS is managed by a small core team of three who oversee events around the world. Zeleny said running the operation was demanding, with much of the challenge tied to maintaining quality across different locations.
Expanding internationally, Zeleny explained, depends on finding the right local managers who share the same commitment to creating memorable experiences. “It’s about finding the right people. We need locals who want to really embody their culture and bring their cities to life,” he said. “People are looking for more than just dinner in a restaurant. They’re looking for experiences. They’re looking for things that are local, things that connect them to one another, to the community.”
Zeleny acknowledged that economic uncertainty could affect discretionary spending but said it largely depended on the type of guests. In Vietnam, for example, SecretEATS continues to attract travellers celebrating milestones such as weddings, honeymoons and birthdays. In South Africa, he said, it remains to be seen whether clients might scale back on private or social dining experiences.
SecretEATS has been operating in Vietnam since 2016, curating private dining experiences in Hoi An and Da Nang. Tien Tran, the SecretEATS events director for Vietnam, said the local culture was one where people like to have control over where they go and what they eat. Asking guests to give up that control is part of the experience’s appeal. Tran said SecretEATS prioritised keeping experiences local.
“Our model only works with local venues. We don’t take guests to French fine-dining restaurants because they can find that in their home country. We use local chefs, owners, mixologists, cuisine and ingredients to create the experience,” he said, leveraging Vietnam’s increasingly tourism-driven economy.
By contrast, SecretEATS South Africa events director Darren Meltz said their clientele was mainly local, especially in Gauteng. While they occasionally host tour groups and corporate events with international guests, most attendees are regular locals who follow the events from one experience to the next.
People are looking for stories and the full experience, rather than just going to a restaurant, getting a really good meal, and then just walking. They’re looking for something unique.
— Darren Meltz, SecretEATS South Africa events director
He said in South Africa, SecretEATS’ events were largely locally driven and run for about nine to 10 months of the year, with breaks around major holidays and school vacations. The team hosts signature dinners on weekends, intimate private bookings on weekdays, and occasional special events like Secret Cinema.
Meltz said the company worked closely with each venue and chef, using as much of the existing staff and space as possible, while also bringing in students from HTA Culinary School, ensuring a collaborative, locally rooted experience that the team personally hosts and facilitates.
“Our main aim is to create an evening that you can’t just book on a normal day. We also encourage our chefs to really put their dream menu forward, so it’s one that guests probably won’t get again. It’s about more than a meal,” Meltz said, speaking on trends in the events and dining industry.
”People are looking for stories and the full experience, rather than just going to a restaurant, getting a really good meal, and then just walking. They’re looking for something unique.”
Meltz noted that SecretEATS had carved out this space by creating fully immersive, experiential evenings. He said guests leave not only having enjoyed a high-quality meal but also with a sense of emotional and sensory engagement, and the element of surprise keeps them returning for new experiences.
He said the company was planning two new concepts to expand its offerings. The first, SecretEATS Reserve, acts as a “mystery concierge”, helping guests discover dining hotspots in their city by matching them with a curated restaurant and cuisine while handling all bookings.
The second, Secret Soirées, combines immersive dining with bespoke entertainment, where the menu and dinner become part of a live show. The first event is planned for later this year.
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