A former Bloemfonteiner who grew up in the City of Roses, but later in his life moved to the United Kingdom (UK) for work, recently won the award for Foreign Food Grocery of the Year at the Scotland Prestige Awards 2022/23.
Craig Goodlet’s business, Just a Taste of Africa, has a regular stall at the Edinburgh Grassmarket. Goodlet went to school at HTS Louis Botha and less than a year after he matriculated, he was given the opportunity to move to London, United Kingdom, to go and work in a restaurant. “There I was given the choice – work and learn either front-of-house or in the kitchen. It was brought to my attention that all girls like a man who can cook, so the kitchen it was! 21 years later and I have worked in six fine dining restaurants and three four-star hotels in Guildford, Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh,” he said.
He adds that in 2011 he returned to South Africa and attended the Food & Beverage Institute in Bloemfontein, where he acquired his International Advanced Diploma in Culinary Arts. A passing requirement for this diploma was to gain a year’s practical experience at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples Florida, United States of America.
“When my son, Alexander, was born in 2018, I decided to hang up my apron so I could spend more time with him. I moved away from 16-hour days in a hot kitchen to spending every moment with my little guy. Best decision I’ve ever made,” said Goodlet.
After the birth of his son, his partner, Maria Canaveras, went back to work and he stayed home with his son. “After a trip back home to South Africa we had the idea to open a small online business and start importing curios to the UK. After doing that for a few months I kept getting asked if I sell koeksisters. After weighing up the options whether to go back into the kitchen, I finally decided to give them a go,” he says.
“The response was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t make them fast enough. My mother then convinced me to start making rusks, so I tested recipe after recipe until I finally came up with something that was out of this world. After the koeksisters and rusks everything just snowballed. I was getting requests for malva pudding, milktart, Peppermint Crisp tart, vetkoek and even fudge. I started making it all and so my little business began to grow and grow,” he adds.
Winning the award means absolutely everything to Goodlet. “I am so humbled by the recognition, as winning this award is mainly due to all the positive feedback I have received from my customers in the last few years.”
Follow Goodlet’s business on Facebook @Just a Taste of Africa. His goal is to reach 10 000 followers in the next few years so he can expand and open a physical shop in Scotland so South Africans from all over the UK can come to visit the shop.
Justine Fortuin
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