CPUT alumna Abigail Mbalo-Mokoena says growing up in four-roomed house in Gugulethu is the inspiration behind her restaurant, 4Roomed eKasi Culture.
Mbalo-Mokoena was delivering a guest lecture to the Department of Entrepreneurship staff and students on the Cape Town Campus recently.
After 17 years of teaching Dental Technology at CPUT, Mbalo resigned from her post last year to dedicate all her time to the success of a business initiative she started in 2014. That year, she says, was when her family bought properties in Khayelitsha with the intention of pursuing business opportunities there.
Her company bought a truck for R200 000, that was used a food truck, which later evolved into a fully-fledged restaurant in Khayelitsha. 4Roomed eKasi Culture, a lifestyle concept based on the four-roomed homes commonly found in the township, serves healthy, fine-dining township food.
The restaurant only operates on weekends and receives up to 44 guests per weekend.
“Within two and-a-half months of operations, Cape Town Tourism took an interest in my food and paid for me to exhibit at an expo in Durban.”
Subsequent to the expo, South African Tourism brought guests to her restaurant.
4Roomed eKasi Culture enjoys rave reviews in the media and offers guests a different perspective on township life from the usual narrative of crime and poverty.
She says it was during her two-and-a-half month stint on Masterchef South Africa where the business idea was hatched.
“I took leave from my lecturing job at CPUT to be a contestant on the show’s third season, where I made it to the last six.”
Now she is a hands-on business owner, who enjoys the support of three staffers and has the target of serving 60 guests per weekend.
Mbalo-Mokoena says she uses the skills she gained during her professional career as a Dental Technologist to manage her business.
“I do everything in my company from cooking and cleaning to administrative work, including receiving phone calls,” she says.
