Meals on wheels put jobless man on track
● Mathius Raivha cooked up quite the plan when he found himself retrenched as an office administration assistant with no more pay cheques coming in.
What he still had was a car, some cooking skills and a nose for opportunity. And then he followed a well-worn path — through people’s stomachs — to success.
Three years after removing the back seats of his trusty Tata Vista to accommodate trays of his “African cuisine”, the 26-year-old Zimbabwean is a mainstay in business parks in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.
“I knew I was going to be retrenched and I wanted to start a catering firm, but didn’t have the funds. All I had was my car and a small amount of savings and it turned out to be all that I needed,” he said.
Now the kitchen of his home in Malvern is the HQ for Eatex Quality Service. Here, he starts his day at the stove, preparing a variety of menu items with the help of his wife Nyasha and an assistant.
These fetch R30-R35 a serving, “depending on the choice of nyama (meat)”.
“I put all the food in dishes and then I do my deliveries. Nyama and pap sell the best.”
His new take on a mobile food cart is now paving the way to his own catering company, with at least 40 plates of food finding their way to hungry stomachs each day.
“My main market was finding people who wanted to eat African food,” he said.
“It started slowly. Every now and then I get an event to cater for, but they don’t come along often. I am still operating with one vehicle but I want to make more.”
For daily deliveries there are usually salads, coleslaw, beetroot and chakalaka, also potato and green salad.
“I have beef stew, chicken stew, grilled chicken and wors. Sometimes I make steak.” He has regular spots at various factories. His cooking days start at 6am and by 10am he is on the road.
In the afternoon, he stops at the Joburg market for vegetables and at a butchery for meat before heading home, counting himself one day closer to putting more mobile food trucks on the road.
My main market was finding people who wanted to eat African food, the real pap and nyama
Mathius Raivha