Hunger pangs and long queues leads to Groutville woman starting her own mobile kitchen
She said her love of cooking started when at a young age she used to bake and cook for her family.
The hunger pangs that gripped Cecilia Gumede while waiting at a long queue at the clinic one day made her realise that there was a business opportunity staring her in the gut: takeaway meals, right at the gate of Groutville clinic.
“Waiting in those queues is a strain and I was so hungry, I wanted a full meal but there was no one there to sell me one. I realised it was a perfect location to pursue my dream of owning a mobile kitchen, which was an expansion of my bakery business.”
She started LnK Cakes and Deco three years ago, opening her mobile kitchen last year February.
Gumede wakes up at 3.30am to get started on her scones, while also cooking rice, fish and phuthu.
Then it’s off to her kitchen at 6am, where she cooks up her delicious beef, chicken and bean curries and puts some meat on the braai with the help of her employee Snenhlanhla Masinga before opening time at 8.30am (although if you arrive earlier coffee and fresh scones are on sale). They close shop at 3pm.
“After lunch I usually go into town to get things for the next day. When I get home I bake snowballs, boil beans and beetroot. I get to bed around 10pm depending on whether I have cake orders or not.”
She said her love of cooking started when at a young age she used to bake and cook for her family.
She started posting her creations to Facebook and WhatsApp and the reaction from family and friends motivated her to start her own business.
“It was not easy to start the business. The first big problem was capital to start, and I have also learnt to sacrifice my sleeping hours.”
The bubbly Gumede said her family was her number one priority.
“In the little time I get to spend with them, I enjoy doing outdoor activities and of course I spend a great deal of my leisure time trying out new recipes and cooking.”
The mother of two said she was grateful for her husband’s support.
“He helps me get ready for the next day and we both wake in the early hours in the morning for the preparations.”
“All I can say is that if you have a dream stick to it and do whatever it takes to pursue it. Anything is possible if you believe, use what you have and what you know to get what you desire.”
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