inBUSINESS Issue 12

Food Truck 1
Location: CBD (in front of Masa Centre).
Food Type: Traditional, home-style meals.
Menu: Diphaphata, ox liver, potato chips.
We opted for breakfast at this food truck owned by a 23-year old
young woman named Baaitse Simon. She serves breakfast and
lunch from her truck which she acquired at the beginning of this
year.
How Baaitse came to own the truck is something of a fairytale.
She began as an employee at the food truck and made such a
positive impression on the owner that he found fit to give her
the truck. Afterall, he was engaged in other income-generating
activities.
Baaitse says she gets up at 4am to prepare to leave her home in
Taung at 5am. It is a lot of work in the hour that includes kneading
dough, chopping and cutting and doing everything else to ensure
freshly cooked meals.
Her meals include fresh potato chips, mogodu, beef stew, macaroni,
rice, phaleche, bogobe, dumplings, beef, chicken and various
salads. Baaitse says her meals are reflective of what Batswana
eat in their homes.
REVIEW:
I opted for the ox liver and a phaphata for breakfast at 10:00.
There was not much by way of alternatives because breakfast was
sold out by the time we arrived.
There had been mogodu and beef stew. I certainly would have
opted for the mogodu. Anyway, what we had was spiced lightly
and there was no excessive oil. inBusiness photographer, ‘Buddha,’
also had ox liver but with potato chips. He enjoyed the meal
a great deal, referring to it as ‘the real McCoy ‘kasi’ meal’.
Baaitse earns extra marks for her extra effort to create a semblance
of domestic comfort by placing a few chairs under a
shade. But in this high age of marketing, we couldn’t help noticing
that her truck is not branded, especially that Baaitse’s spot is
in an upmarket location in front of Masa Centre, no less! But ever
the keen businesswoman, Baaitse listened and said she would
take our ‘tips’ into consideration.
www.inbusiness.co.bw | Issue 12 | 2017 41