Taste of Cook King’s royal hand

The radiologist by profession has always loved cooking, but says not as a career. “I love cooking. When I am happy or sad, I cook. It is, however, a hobby and not a job, hence it is something I do on the side,” he said.

Cooking professionally started when his friends asked him to cater for them at functions, he felt obliged since he had nothing to lose. He saw an opportunity and registered a catering company and started doing small jobs. But, he was unable to give it his full attention due to time constraints. “That was when I decided to open an eatery that doesn’t require my presence all the time and The Cook King eatery was born,” he said.

Mpho starts his day at the eatery doing preparations for the day, goes to work at the hospital then returns to the eatery when he leaves work to clean and wrap up the day.

The Cook King was set up and ready to open last year when the pandemic struck. Five days before they opened, Covid-19 hit the country and he had to put it on hold until the restrictions where eased. “When we moved to level three, we would take orders for delivery but it was difficult. I think we would be doing so much better than we are now, had it not been for the pandemic,” he said.

Another challenge that he has encountered is changing his mindset of cooking for leisure and turning it into an actual business.

He expressed that it has become more challenging because now there are finances involved, there’s marketing customer services and many other things that he has to take care of.

He currently employs five people but he aims to employ 12 people in the near future. He also plans to have branches in other parts of the country and to franchise The Cook King at some point. “I would love to make food that goes across cultural lines.

I have dreams of a bigger, more versatile menu which will be implemented with the growth of the eatery,” he said.