A Day for Waffling on about Waffles
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At the tender age of 23, Roderick Portocarero is on his way to becoming a mini-mogul. Shortly after graduating from The Private Hotel School in Stellenbosch in March last year, Portocarero started a waffle and crepe business called 'For the Love of Yummyness,' together with his father. Capitalising on his early years living in Belgium, Portocarero saw a gap in the South African market for traditional Belgian waffles, and the father-son duo opened their first outlet at De Warenmarkt in Stellenbosch, followed by branches at Brackenfell and the Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock. In honour of International Waffle Day on Wednesday, March 25, we asked Portocarero a few waffle-related questions:
How is the For the Love of Yummyness going? The business is doing well considering the current state of the economy. We have built a large customer base in Stellenbosch and they are very loyal to our waffles. However, and I am sure I am not the only one, we are going into some tough times with the Covid-19 virus and it has a big effect on small scale businesses like ours. We are trying to get our products delivered homes but we haven't quite found the right way of getting it to the customer without affecting the quality of the waffles.
How are you going to spend International Waffle Day on 25 March? I was originally going to spend the day at a couple of private functions that were booked with us, but I think now we will just have a small gathering at our Stellenbosch branch which is still open. Anyone who fancies a waffle is more than welcome to join us. What is your favourite waffle to eat? That's a very difficult one to answer as I love them all, but if I had to choose one it would have to be our Nutella waffle with fresh cream! What is the favourite topping ordered by your customers? In Cape Town the favourite topping is vanilla ice cream with our home-made chocolate sauce. In Stellenbosch, it's a savoury waffle called the New York breakfast: a waffle with crispy bacon bits, topped with grated cheddar, two eggs sunny side up and maple syrup!
What is the secret to a great waffle? There are two main secrets. Firstly, the ingredients- we use only top quality ingredients such as fresh farm butter, free range eggs, fresh organic milk, etc. And the second secret is love. It's in our name and you'll find it in our products. If it doesn't come out the way we ourselves love it, then we won't serve it. Every waffle is unique and we want to make sure the customer loves every bite of it.
If you had to choose - waffle or crepe for your last meal - which one would it be? Both are amazing but it would have to be a waffle! Anything else you would like to add? if anyone has any ideas or suggestions for how a small business like ours can survive these tough times, please contact us!
At the tender age of 23, Roderick Portocarero is on his way to becoming a mini-mogul. Shortly after graduating from The Private Hotel School in Stellenbosch in March last year, Portocarero started a waffle and crepe business called 'For the Love of Yummyness,' together with his father. Capitalising on his early years living in Belgium, Portocarero saw a gap in the South African market for traditional Belgian waffles, and the father-son duo opened their first outlet at De Warenmarkt in Stellenbosch, followed by branches at Brackenfell and the Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock. In honour of International Waffle Day on Wednesday, March 25, we asked Portocarero a few waffle-related questions:
How is the For the Love of Yummyness going? The business is doing well considering the current state of the economy. We have built a large customer base in Stellenbosch and they are very loyal to our waffles. However, and I am sure I am not the only one, we are going into some tough times with the Covid-19 virus and it has a big effect on small scale businesses like ours. We are trying to get our products delivered homes but we haven't quite found the right way of getting it to the customer without affecting the quality of the waffles.
How are you going to spend International Waffle Day on 25 March? I was originally going to spend the day at a couple of private functions that were booked with us, but I think now we will just have a small gathering at our Stellenbosch branch which is still open. Anyone who fancies a waffle is more than welcome to join us. What is your favourite waffle to eat? That's a very difficult one to answer as I love them all, but if I had to choose one it would have to be our Nutella waffle with fresh cream! What is the favourite topping ordered by your customers? In Cape Town the favourite topping is vanilla ice cream with our home-made chocolate sauce. In Stellenbosch, it's a savoury waffle called the New York breakfast: a waffle with crispy bacon bits, topped with grated cheddar, two eggs sunny side up and maple syrup!
What is the secret to a great waffle? There are two main secrets. Firstly, the ingredients- we use only top quality ingredients such as fresh farm butter, free range eggs, fresh organic milk, etc. And the second secret is love. It's in our name and you'll find it in our products. If it doesn't come out the way we ourselves love it, then we won't serve it. Every waffle is unique and we want to make sure the customer loves every bite of it.
If you had to choose - waffle or crepe for your last meal - which one would it be? Both are amazing but it would have to be a waffle! Anything else you would like to add? if anyone has any ideas or suggestions for how a small business like ours can survive these tough times, please contact us!
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