T

he Pesto Princess, also known as Kathleen Quillinan, started her business in her very small kitchen in Observatory, Cape Town, in 1998. Music is her first love — and food her passion — and, needing some extra cash for singing lessons, she took to the kitchen and started making pesto and other baked and bottled goodies, which she sold at a local school market. It was her pesto that kept people coming back for more.

Today she has a factory employing 40 people who hand-make pesto and sauces using the same recipes created 19 years ago.

The Pesto Princess range is sold in the refrigerator section of most supermarkets.