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Catering for success
By Anton Ressel

A talented sister act is making waves on the Durban culinary scene, blending traditional cooking skills with a contemporary twist.

Sisters Zainab (27) and Faatimah (26) Paruk, owners of Chilli Chocolate Chefs, have capitalised on the growing demand for Halaal fusion food, and are fast becoming a culinary duo to watch.

“We grew up surrounded by the smells and tastes of our aunties and grannies, creating the most delicious and exotic dishes,” says Zainab, “so it was almost destiny that we should end up with our own catering company!”

Destiny perhaps, but it hasn’t always been easy for the young businesswomen. Explains Faatimah: “Working long hours in restaurants which are not Halaal, as well as studying in an environment which is co-ed, is generally frowned upon in our community.”
Despite these challenges, family support was a big factor in helping the sisters get started. “My mom’s kitchen was our base; my aunt’s car was our official transport; even our first proper customers were family members,” says Zainab.

Mix and Match
The sisters may have invested most of their savings in their business, but are now reaping the rewards.

“We seem to have tapped into a growing market for Halaal food. We are also getting more interest from the corporate world, which seems to appreciate our contemporary take on traditional Indian and fusion cuisine,” shares Faatimah.

“Our heritage as Indians and Muslims has given us an incredible culinary base, but we’re not satisfied just doing what everyone else does,” she adds. “We like to mix and match different flavours and come up with new and interesting offerings.”

Popular dishes include their white chocolate and honeycomb parfait, savoury cheesecakes and cashew and coriander chicken.  And when it comes to their signature dish, “you have to try our peppermint crisp macaroon,” says Faatimah.

Growth spurt
The growing profile of this small business attracted the attention of the Old Mutual Legends programme, a business development initiative, which the team at Chilli Chocolate Chefs credits for providing many solutions to their business challenges.

Legends is a national enterprise development programme funded by Old Mutual and implemented by Cape Town-based enterprise development agency, Fetola.