22 Oct 2020

They say if you recognise your passion and align it to everything you do, a mystical synergy will happen that will easily take you to a rarefied height.

This adage simply says for one to prosper in life, they should be doing what they love and enjoy to fulfill their dreams.

Today, Thapelo Delu affectionately known as Chef Delu, is patiently working and perfecting his skill to become a chef of repute in Francistown and beyond.

In an interview with BOPA recently, 29-year-old Chef Delu narrated what inspired him to start a catering business under the company name, PeoKatlego Investments.

“They say try and fail, but don’t fail to try. I have jumped from one job to another perfecting my skills and learning how to deal with customers, until I decided to pursue my passion and do what I love most, which is cooking,” he said.

Chef Delu started cooking at a tender age and as the first child of three siblings, he often prepared a meal for the family and to him playing with fire, mixing spices and having to get the first taste of the food was exciting.

While other boy children met at a football pitch to play soccer or design wire cars, he was instead gathering firewood, steaming and frying food over the traditional hearth.

Chef Delu said that he kept helping out in the kitchen while growing up, from his primary days to his junior level at Donga Junior Secondary School.

However, after failing his Junior Certificate Examinations (JCE) in 2007, he got distracted and did not enjoy cooking like he did before.

“I started losing interest in most of the things I loved doing.

My parents could not afford to pay for me to rewrite my exams so I had to toughen up and find means to survive and help my parents financially,” he said.

Chef Delu said he started scouting for jobs until he got a gardener’s job in one of the big hotels in Francistown.

However, he always felt out of space in his new job as he was doing something that he did not love.

He said he quit the job and started preparing sandwiches, which he sold to people at the Francistown bus rank, but that did not last, as he started applying for vacancies in restaurants.

Chef Delu was fortunate to acquire jobs at Nandos, KFC and Cresta Marang Hotel, where he sharpened most of his skills and cultivated his love for cooking.

He said it was this year after he got retrenched from a guest house in Tati Siding, that he figured out that it was time he did something for himself.

“I did not have money to even start anything, so I asked for money from relatives and I was funded to the tune of P4 000 to give my business a try.

I believed I had so much experience to cook for people, so I was ready to start my business,” he said.

Chef Delu was able to register his company in August and was ready to test the market.

Firstly, he said, he started making virgin cocktails from watching tutorials on the internet and trying out his own recipes.

He said he advertised his products on Facebook and he received much support from people in Francistown and nearby villages, adding that people even paid him for tutorial lessons on how to make cocktails.

Later, he started cooking and catering for birthdays, small intimate dinners and wedding ceremonies.

Chef Delu’s company is two months old and the support from the public is overwhelming.

PeoKatlego Investments offers catering, décor and cleaning services.

“Currently I work with my two siblings, but the master chef is only one and that is me.

I love cooking alone because it helps me identify and have my unique flavours and style of cooking,” he said.

Chef Delu said that the only challenge he was facing was lack of transport to take his services to clients in far away places such as Kasane and Gaborone.

He is also working hard to garner attraction from more clients in order to save money and get a car for his business.

“What keeps me going is my four-year-old daughter Peo and my love for cooking and seeing people enjoying my food.

“People love food and they yearn for good food and good service, so as a chef or caterer, you really have to work hard and be presentable at all times, starting with what you put on a plate,” he said.

Chef Delu said he was hopeful that one day he would have a restaurant of his own and employ many other youths to help create unemployment.

For now, Chef Delu is working on devising more of his own cocktails, spices and many other flavours to tantalise his customer’s taste buds. ENDS