CULINARY BARON CAFE OPENS AT NEW LOCATION
On Friday, a dream that started off two years ago turned into reality for an enterprising young Motswana. The Culinary Baron Café opened its doors to customers in a new location at the Office in Fairgrounds.
The dream has been two years in the making and until the big opening, it has needed a bit of polishing here and there. And the brains behind the Café, Thabiso Mauco tells BG Style that on their first day the number of customers that walked through their doors blew them away. At its new location, the Culinary Baron Café fits like a glove and promises to attract an array of customers from all walks of life.
On the menu, customers can look forward to the popular Motlapiso/Bunny chow that comes in different flavours ranging from curry, burger and mutton. You need to sample the Motlapiso in order to appreciate what it is all about. Although it is a bit tricky to eat, it compensates with an explosion in the mouth that can only be found at this eatery.
With a hint of hot spices, even for those who are not friends with hot foods will truly enjoy this little treat. Other dishes on the menu that change daily include stir fries, steaks and traditional dishes such as bogobe jwa lerotse, mokoto and seswaa.
Mauco embarked on this exciting culinary journey at the prodding of family and friends who had identified that he was very talented in the kitchen and that he could make money through it.
His journey started off with a table around the University of Botswana, and then grew from there. “I started off with subs’, and then it grew to mobile kitchens around the city,” he explains. Soon, he was operating his first restaurant that was located at Extension 14, but with the numbers not adding up, he realised that he needed a vibey location hence the new location. “At our new location, we can target all classes from low to high income earners.
And we can serve them quality food at reasonable prices,” he says. “On our first day, we had good reviews from customers both inside and outside, and they were happy,” he explains.
Mauco’s journey in the kitchen started off at the age of eight and was greatly influenced by his mother and grandmother.
His first dish, he recalls, was making egg at the age of eight.
He brushed his skills by attending a number of culinary courses. Explaining what sets the Culinary Baron Café apart from other establishments in town, he explains that firstly it is that they are presently working on creating a digital restaurant which will incorporate different platforms such as a website and culinary baron app. The app will allow customers to have access to a menu, get recipes and online quotations at the click of a button. He also says that they are culinary magicians and fuse different cuisines from across the world, granting their customers a taste explosion that they can only find at the Culinary Baron Café.“We also pride ourselves for serving quality food and reasonable pricing,” says Mauco.