Proud restaurant owner started out as a broke taxi rank vendor

From selling food at a local taxi rank to becoming the proud owner of a restaurant at Durban’s North Beach, Vumile Magasela's culinary journey is truly inspiring.

Magasela’s eatery, Vumile Cooks, offers delicious home-cooked meals and has experienced growth over time, serving about 50 plates daily, seven days a week.

The entrepreneur matriculated from Umlazi Comprehensive Technical High School in 2013 and pursued a qualification in television and screen media production but was forced to drop out due to a lack of funds.

“I set up a table at a taxi rank and started selling because I was unemployed, broke and had a skill for cooking. I decided, why not use it?” she said.

Magasela, who grew up in Umlazi, KZN, expressed that cooking has always been her love language.

“Every taxi rank is known for ‘umama we-plate’ [the woman who sells food], and that taxi rank at Montclair didn’t have ‘umama we-plate’. So, I became that woman and then ventured into deliveries when I couldn’t apply for the [municipal] permit needed to continue trading.”

Montclair, about 13km from Umlazi, became the starting point for her entrepreneurial success. The 29-year-old later relocated and began offering services to office parks in Umhlanga, an area known for its upmarket properties, after promoting her business on social media.

Three years since her first venture at the taxi rank, the young businesswoman has launched another company, Spicy Much, which delivers quality spices and sauces at affordable prices.

She offers nine different spice blends, including Ndlunkulu, one of the few curry mixes in South Africa owned by a black woman.

“This is an achievement and something I’m proud of because it has been my dream since I started cooking. I couldn’t package my food and sell it to everyone, even though people as far as Johannesburg saw me on social media and wished to taste my food. Now, I can package my taste through spices.”

It has been a year since she started her spice business, and she recently introduced a new hot sauce.

“I would love to franchise Vumile Cooks and get the Spicy Much brands into supermarkets.”

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