IT’S CHAPTER 2 IN PRIM REDDY’S LIFE
FORMER television presenter Prim Reddy is in the prime of her life – having opened two restaurants in Cape Town, enjoying motherhood and studying towards a law degree.
The 41-year-old Cape Townbased restaurateur chatted to POST about what life has been about since she came off screen in 2009.
“My media career was wonderful, I worked hard and excelled and yes, I miss it very much,” said Reddy.
Reddy is the owner of The Indian Chapter, a restaurant in Blouberg that serves “authentic India Indian cuisine” which opened its doors in August 2012.
She and her husband, Dilen, were having dinner at the restaurant and found out from the manager at the time that the business was closing down.
“Dilen asked me whether I thought I could run a restaurant and that was that. I bought it and here I am. I designed my own branding, I wrote new menus and The Indian Chapter with Prim Reddy was born.”
She attributes the catchy name to her husband.
“It was a new chapter in my life and a new journey, so the name was just perfect. I already had the vision to open many chapters, making each chapter better than the previous one.”
She has just opened her second restaurant – Chapter 2.
A foodie by nature, Reddy describes the restaurant as “our home”.
“Our guests have become family. The food is rich, flavoursome and celebratory. I go as far as hand-picking fresh vegetables from the market twice a week.”
The Indian Chapter has received top recognition on Trip advisor according to Reddy.
Reddy has had many dreams in her life, which she attributes to her varied interests.
“When I was in corporate, I read a saying that went something like: ‘If you don’t follow your dreams, someone’s going to pay you to follow theirs’.
“The problem was I wasn’t sure which dream I wanted to lead because I have many.”
From television, Reddy joined a corporate firm as a human resource manager. She has completed an MBA and is currently studying law, which she feels has helped her in her business.
She has not completely dismissed going back to television. “It's in the pipeline and there’s a possibility I will be on air in the not too distant future.”
Reddy was raised in Durban and comes from a family who were spice merchants. “My grandfather had a shop at the Victoria Street Market, which was handed down to my father, and that’s where I spent most of my time growing up. It was my greatest education. We come from a working class family with strong values, and food and spices were the two things we celebrated.
“My fondest memory growing up was that wherever you were in our home, you could smell food. I love that.”
Reddy holds family close to her heart, citing deep admiration for her parents, siblings and in-laws, and she loves being a mother to 5-year-old Navdi.
“I love being a mom, it’s empowering and humbling. Navdi is a great teacher and a reflection of Dilen and me.”
Family time in the Reddy household equals cooking together, taking long drives and having picnics.
“The one thing that you always find in our home is laughter, and when there’s laughter then love is always close by.” Her secret to success? “I never give up, I know I want to make a mark and I remain humble as I strive to achieve my goals. When I opened Chapter 2, my husband asked me to grow a pair. So I bought myself a pair of magnetic balls and I was fine... he’s a great motivator.”