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<\/p>\nThe kitchen is Bianka\u2019s holy ground. It\u2019s behind the stove where she lives out her passion, finds her inner creative force and creates meals that\u2019ll both surprise and satisfy your taste buds.<\/p>\n
Bianka recently launched her own catering company, Butter & Glaze Catering, located at Memories 4 Ever function venue. As the youngest of three children and raised by only her father, Bianka has always had wonderful examples of how to work hard and follow her\u00a0 dreams. Bianka\u2019s mom passed away due to cancer when she was only 5 months old, and she\u2019s heard about the tales of her mom\u2019s amazing cooking and love for food. She studied Hospitality Management at the CUT\u2019s Hotel School, and obtained her diploma in 2017. She worked at the Conrad Pezula Resort Hotel and Spa in Knysna, where she learnt many wonderful things.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a great learning experience for me and also where I came to the realisation that I want to be a business owner. I subsequently enrolled for the BTech Hospitality\u00a0 Management Degree. The degree was conferred upon me in 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long story short\u2026 Bianka was afforded the opportunity to enter into a partnership with the owner of the beautiful venue Memories 4 Ever, Henrihet Human. \u201cWhile I was studying, I catered for her a few times, therefor she knew my passion lies in food. She offered me a wonderful deal: I would work from the venue, running my own company, but the functions
\nat Memories 4 Ever would have first priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always said to my friends that one day I would like to have my own coffee shop and catering business. My dream came true a lot earlier than I had expected. We are still working on starting a coffee shop. Being so young, these opportunities do not come
\noften. I am very excited to grow with Memories 4 Ever in the business side and also to have Henrihet since she is so inspirational and a mentor for me. We work very well together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea Bianka has for Butter & Glaze is to be different, but in a manner that is refreshing and that will still sit well with people\u2019s palettes. She happily trades traditional\u00a0 “pampoenkoekies\u201d for a delicious pumpkin cheesecake, and she doesn\u2019t sacrifice freshness for taste. \u201cI always start prepping as close to the function day as possible to always serve the freshest food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her interest in the culinary world has been with her since she can remember. \u201cSince I grew up without a mother, my dad always made the easiest dishes for us. From Bovril sandwiches to macaroni with soup powder, but for us it was heaven. We were invited to dinner parties often and it was so amazing to taste the food made by other people. I learned that there are so many flavours out there to experience.\u201d She remembers
\nbaking cakes with her grandmother on their farm, and regularly dreamt about different flavour combinations, which she would test the next morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told so many stories about my mother and how much she loved to cook, her recipe book collection also gave it away. She also wanted to own her own coffee shop and part of Butter & Glaze is to honour her.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Bianka, creating beautiful, delicious food is art. \u201cI like to think of a plate as a blank canvas and using the food items that I make to colour in the plate. It is calming and knowing that I can think outside the box is very satisfying to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She focuses on French cuisine, mainly because of her love for\u2026 butter! \u201cThe French use clarified butter in their cooking and since I studied French cuisine, my love for it grew. I think of French cuisine as a romantic style of cooking, using a lot of different flavours.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her quest to start her own business at such a young age, Bianka has learnt to be strong. \u201cMy kitchen assistant, Willa Greyling, and I, sometimes work till midnight to get all our dishes done. This is still fun but can take a toll on your body. We encourage each other to be strong and to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianka\u2019s signature dishes include: Her melktert cake, \u201cIt\u2019s a perfect combination between classic milk tart, cinnamon and vanilla cake.\u201d Her chocolate carrot cake, \u201cIt\u2019s a carrot cake base that has more carrots in the dough than flour\u2026 with a chocolate cheesecake filling.\u201d And her cheesecake, in any way, shape or form, \u201cWhether it be savoury or sweet, there are so many flavours to experiment with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her knowledge of fitness nutrition stemmed from her mother\u2019s path with cancer (she had cancer while pregnant with Bianka), and Bianka\u2019s subsequent diagnosis of Irritable Bowl Syndrome. \u201cDiet and lifestyle are very important in this regard as I get very sick when
\nI don\u2019t eat according to my lifestyle. Preparing food in a healthy way is delicious. Since my options are limited to certain food items, I really enjoy playing around with flavours. This got me into nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bianka\u2019s other hobbies include wine, wine making and good quality coffee. She\u2019s also into fine art and pencil drawings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Best food you\u2019ve ever had:<\/strong> This is a tough question, but I would definitely say my grandmother\u2019s cooking, especially the lamb chops she makes and my boyfriend\u2019s \u2026and the grossest food?<\/strong> Two minute noodles, although I did not always think that it was gross until I\u2019ve learned about preservatives.<\/p>\n Tips on braaiing the perfect steak:<\/strong> The quality of meat that you buy is one of the most important aspects. Rather buy an A-grade steak. It is not necessary to use any marinade, especially if you want to taste the meat and not the sauce. Salt and black pepper is enough. Medium-rare or rare is the perfect temperature for steak.<\/p>\n Text: Lani Fouch\u00e9. Photos: Pierce van Heerden. Makeup: Lesya Nel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The kitchen is Bianka\u2019s holy ground. It\u2019s behind the stove where she lives out her passion, finds her inner creative force and creates meals that\u2019ll both surprise and satisfy your taste buds. Bianka recently launched her own catering company, Butter & Glaze Catering, located at Memories 4 Ever function venue. As the youngest of three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":1584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,40],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-food-wine","8":"category-people"},"yoast_head":"\n
\nmother\u2019s baked chicken and slap chips.<\/p>\n