Your Bakers d’Lite

POLOKWANE – Every morning while most people are still lying in bed, Marie Pretorius and her team at Bakers d’Lite are already hard at work to prepare fresh breads, croissants and all things pastry in her bakery, which is situated in Platinum Park Shopping Centre.

“If you can bake it, I’ll make it” is Marie’s motto.

The smell of freshly baked breads can make anybody’s tummy grumble.

All kinds of bread, from crunchy Portuguese bread to healthy seed bread, are available at Bakers d’Lite, as well as a huge selection of fresh sweet meats, rusks, jams, marmalade, chilli sauce, honey and chutneys.

For the busy housewife or working mother who wishes to spoil her family with “home-baked ” goodies, Bakers d’Lite’s huge selection of frozen rolls, meat pies, croissants, macaroni and cheese and other foodstuff is the answer.

The prices are very reasonable too.

Marie says she is looking into launching a pre-packed range of frozen meals for students.

“It will be meals for two weeks, which students can just pop into the microwave and voila! I am just looking for the right packaging before I launch the range,” she says.

This clever and resourceful entrepreneur will soon launch a diabetic range too, as there is a definite demand for it.

“I am talking to a doctor about it, to do it right. We currently bake gluten-free bread on order and prepare platters too. We prepare sweet and savoury platters for office functions, baby showers and parties, but I am not yet ready to cater on a big scale, although I once made malva pudding for a hundred people!

“I loved baking since I was small, and this enterprise is my dream come true. I bought frozen foods in Johannesburg for a long time, and when I asked around, I realised there was a big demand for frozen products in Polokwane, so I added it to the products on sale.”

Bakers d’Lite offers breakfast on the run for the early birds and there are a few tables for those who want to sit and enjoy their breakfast or a toasted sandwich. Pancakes are available on Saturdays, as well as wors rolls.

“We pride ourselves on our fresh products. Everything on the shelves is fresh – that which is left over at the end of the day goes to an old age home. For me, it is a big issue to throw away food, especially since there are a lot of people going hungry.”

She says she hopes to extend her facilities and have a big premises for baking and preparing her frozen foods, but she has to make do with what she has available now.

Since she opened Bakers d’Lite in April 2014, Marie relies on her capable team: Agnes Kemp, general assistant and cashier, Dingaan Moloto, who bakes the bread, Phineas Maponya, who bakes the cakes and sweet meats and Prya Sefata, the cleaner.

The next time you are around Platinum Park Shopping Centre, just follow your nose and your tummy will be delighted.