Born in Naarden and raised in Bussum in the Netherlands, Margot Janse originally travelled to Africa in 1989 alongside her South African boyfriend when he was offered a job in Zimbabwe as a reporter.
His job took the couple to Zambia, where she met the recently released South African political prisoners Ahmed Kathrada and Walter Sisulu while taking photographs for her boyfriend.
She began working at Ciro Molinaro's Italian restaurant Parktown North on the other side of the city, where she would do double shifts to earn a living.
When the head chef moved back to Johannesburg to work with Molinaro, Janse was promoted into the role.
In 2009, she began a scheme where muffins were baked for a small creche each Friday at Le Quartier Français.