A woman of epicurean delights
JOHN CHURU
Correspondent
| Friday January 25, 2008 00:00
Talking to this proud owner of FRESSH restaurant located at one of Gaborone's up-market shopping malls takes her back to the days when owning a restaurant is just a dream. Seeing her among her employees at the restaurant, one would not believe she was the owner of the business that promises to be a household name in Gaborone; she remains humble, despite the high esteem in which she is held.
'I never pose for a picture,' she says when the photographer asks to take a picture of her. 'My eyes are so big that they are all you will photograph,' she adds, laughing good-naturedly. Her eyes are not all that big though; they radiate love for her customers and her loyal employees. 'I am part of the team here,' she says.
'I started this business in 2003. Satar Dada was one of my inspirers,' she explains, referring to the former Specially Elected MP and business mogul of the motor dealership fame. 'Even before this mall was completed, Dada invited me to take out a stand here. I told him that my interests were in catering, but I really didn't have an inkling what I would do here.' She opened a coffee shop in July 2003, her 'stock-in-trade' being coffee, taken with magwenya, the popular fat cakes cooked in deep oil, and diphaphatha, the plain buns baked on an open pan. Over time, the coffee shop 'metamorphosed' into the present restaurant.
'Needless to say, the fat cakes and the buns were popular, but people began asking for pap and vleis, the all-time staple, and a whole lot of other local dishes. We gladly obliged without abandoning our beverages, coffee and tea. 'We have scaled down on the fat cakes and the buns a bit because it would have required making tonnes of them for the people of Old Naledi, who are our immediate neighbours and valued customers.' Keireng says she first conceived of her business idea years ago when she worked for the Bank of Botswana. 'I dreamed of running a restaurant called FRESSH. One of my responsibilities at the Bank of Botswana was catering meals for board meetings, and I realised there was an opportunity for business in catering. 'You may want to know why the name Fressh? It was because I discovered that big hotels kept food for so long that they sometimes even served customers stale stuff. The idea would be not to order or prepare food in excessively large quantities, hence the name Fressh, the extra 's' was for effect!' Keireng explains that although the early years of her business were a struggle, her determination kept the enterprise going. 'The problem was that the Fairground Mall was new and the place was an alcohol-free zone with very little by way of 'diversion' or 'kinky' entertainment.'
But all that is history now. Keireng nurtures bigger dreams for the future. She is thinking of setting up a place for the more discerning and epicurean customer, who appreciates rare dishes with a traditional flare to the cuisine. Before she gets there, she says she holds the staff of the American Embassy in high regard for giving her outside catering service good custom. Through them, the concept of Fressh is becoming 'unstoppable'.
'We want to be known as the place where anniversaries are celebrated,' she says. 'In order to match our words with action, we are starting with a Valentine's Day dinner in February.
'We are preparing a special menu to sweep couples off their feet. On the special day, each guest will get a welcome drink upon arrival while the ladies will be 'flattered' with a red rose.'
Keireng, who is a councillor for Selemela ward in the Gaborone Central constituency, believes a great future lies ahead for her in politics. 'My interest in politics sprang from a strong background in trade unions. But I also come from a long line of politicians in the family,' she explains.
She is a single parent with grown children to whom she is immensely grateful for their support. 'We are a family of business people and my children do run their own businesses. We support each other a great deal.' Her two senior employees in management are Setshego Seralanyane and Nixon Tanga, who both work with the dictum 'One hand cannot wash itself'. Seralanyane says Keireng is good to work with because she accepts their contributions and consults them a lot. Tanga, who mans the American Embassy post, says working with Keireng is the 'icing on the cake' of his wide experience from different parts of Africa. (Sila Press Agency)