28 May 2018

Ms Bontle Dithebe-Otlaadisa is a declaration of the saying, “kitchens are hard environments and they form incredibly strong characters”.

The 29-year-old native of Mahalapye says she has immense love for the kitchen thus she started Bontle’s Exotic Cuisines in 2017. “My mother stirred my love for cooking at a very young age.

She loved to make perfect meals for us and family at large, sometimes even inviting friends over for lunch. So I’d help her in most instances,” she says.

A Bachelor of Commerce degree graduate in Risk Management from Ba Isago University, Ms Dithebe-Otlaadisa decided to start a supplies and catering company immediately after tertiary discarding her initial idea of continuing her other degree with UNISA.

She explains that her family has been helping her where possible with funds. On the other hand, they have been her pillar of strength, pushing her to do more even when she did not believe in herself.

To her, cooking is a calling because she can just think of a dish out of nowhere and get into the kitchen and create delicacies.

She further explains that although she sometimes prepares simple dishes, she adds a little touch of her secret ingredients to give them an exquisite taste.

The enthusiastic lady has adopted social media as her marketing tool. Her page, Bontle’s Exotic Cuisines, has over 16 000 followers on Facebook.

It is on that note that she is thankful for the attention and interest her followers have shown so far.

Bontle’s Exotic Cuisine is a registered company which has on call assistants. The business does not have an establishment yet as they are mobile.

Ms Dithebe-Otlaadisa has achieved a lot over the past year. She once travelled to Pretoria to offer cooking tutorials to some women there. She is yet to meet another group of ladies in Botswana.

“I am yet to meet others here at home but I have a tight schedule since I am always on the road,” she explains.

She is also on the final stages of finishing her recipe book that will be launched soon.

The recipe book was influenced by some of her followers who cannot afford to have her in their respective countries. This will bring her recipes to their doors.

Part of her future plans include opening a YouTube channel. Although she is not sure of the idea, she points out that people have been really encouraging and believing in her and that at times it scares her.

Part of her long term plans includes building a culinary school and a restaurant in her home viaage of Mahalapye. In addition, the talented lady aspires to have TV cooking competitions.

“One day, with God willing, I will achieve all of this.”

However, her challenge is that she can be called for big events and since she has no enough equipment, she turns them down and sometimes she will not have enough money for fuel.

The other set back is that there are people who are interested in investing in her company now but she feels she will be letting herself down if she welcomes the development.

This is due to the fact that her goal is to grow the company first, establish a brand and be a household name before considering selling some stake.

Ms Dithebe-Otlaadisa has been married for over six years but that has not stopped her from chasing her dreams. She advises her peers to consider the type of person who will support their dreams when choosing a spouse.

According to Ms Dithebe Otlaadisa, marriage is like a business where one needs to find someone they can trust and can help them reach greater heights.

“To the youths, do not exhaust yourselves by wanting to do what the certificate you have says; a lot of people  do not realise that they are only helping someone else achieve their dreams. I urge you to do a self-introspection, search within you, surely there is something that God has placed in you that you can do to make it in life,” she advises. ENDS