From being business partners to sharing the same star sign, Gemini Chefs believes that two heads are better than one when it comes to running an enterprise. And professional chefs Masego Molebatsi and Zethu Ditlhake also believe that the chemistry they exude in the kitchen is what brings customers flocking to their new food joint in Westonaria, Gauteng.
Speaking to Vutivi News, the pair recounted the story of how their paths converged, ultimately leading to them becoming business partners and friends. Molebatsi said that they worked together in the past, where they discovered how well they worked together. “We used to work together in Northcliff where we were in charge of a department in 2016. Our friendship formed there and on the first day we clicked and got along very well.”
Molebatsi said that she has loved making food since secondary school. “I studied hospitality in high school, and I took it further eventually working my way to becoming a professional chef,” she said. Ditlhake, on the other hand, never expected to make food. “I didn’t even think that I would be a chef, but when I worked in the hospitality sector while in high school, I decided to be a chef because I fell in love with it,” she said.
“It was during those days that I decided to become a professional chef.” When unemployment suddenly hit them, they put their heads together and decided to start an eatery of their own. “We took the money that we had saved from when we started working and we started looking for a place to open our eatery,” Molebatsi said. “Initially we did not want to establish our eatery in Westonaria, but we were rejected everywhere we went. However, we were lucky to have been given an opportunity to open it at Westonaria by a dear friend of ours that believed in us and in what we could do.”
Their establishment, which opened this year, is attracting new people every day. Gemini Chefs serves chicken and beef burgers, wraps, chili cheese fries and wings. Ditlhake said she believed people returned to the eatery because of the quality of the food.
“People love the fact that when they come to our establishment, they are sure to expect their food to be fresh even when they eat the food hours after the order,” Molebatsi said. She also said that feedback from patrons was critical and helped them ensure they kept on producing great food.
“We have regulars and we get a new face every day. That new face becomes a regular and they bring a new face along, which then also becomes a regular,” she said. “We aim to show people in our area that they can also get top-class service and food that can be compared to the franchise establishments that are surrounding us.”
