New traditional food joint opens in Gaborone
Larona Makhaiza | Tuesday June 18, 2024 11:12
The place is located in Main Mall behind Mascom offices. 'Kwa Rakgadi' was officially launched this past Friday despite it being operational since June 3. The food joint has a menu brimming with authentic and scrumptious meals that pay homage to heritage cooking. The menu has plethora of options that people can treat their taste buds with and enjoy the traditional dishes that are popular back home. Some of the dishes on the menu include; tlhako, mogodu, seswaa, bogobe, pork trotters, pap, samp and dumplings, among others. 'Kwa Rakgadi' is the brain child of Bonyana Rantsebele who stated that Kwa Rakgadi is an epitome of a lot of things in her life ranging from surviving Gender-Based Violence (GBV) but most importantly special shared moments over food when growing up. She added that she is also riding on the memory of her late mother who always supported her dreams.
“This is just a memory of my mother. My mother had a beautiful relationship with her nieces and nephews. I remember after her passing, one of my cousins was very hurt wondering where she would go because they would go to rakgadi (aunt) and I said I am there for them hence the name,” Rantsebele said. As there are other traditional food havens across the city, Rantsebele stated that her joint cuts above the rest as with every bite, her customers will have a nostalgic feeling of their family times. “When people buy food, they always say they are buying street food, but with Kwa Rakgadi it will not be like that for them. Instead it will be like our customers are having home cooked not street food as people would say,” she said.
'Kwa Rakgadi' is operational from Monday to Friday currently and opens as early as at 8am until the end of business. The place offers both breakfast and lunch and offer deliveries for bulk orders. Meanwhile, Rantsebele indicated that once her business has blossomed, she intends to open a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for people living with hearing impairment. “I have applied for hearing aid for so many times and to date I still have not got help. This is something that I really wish to change because its not nice to have a hearing impairment and I will change it by establishing an NGO,” Rantsebele highlighted.