As this week got off to a cold start, locals couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgia for the warmth of some freshly prepared pancakes.
“The comforting warmth and sweet flavour of a freshly made pancake on a cold day is like hugging the taste buds,” said the owner of a local pancake shop. Danie and Janke Jacobs from Dancakes in Bloemfontein told the publication that “pancake weather is a thing in South Africa.”
“It is as if as soon as it rains, it triggers the craving for pancakes and I believe that it is a habit that is in every South African but over the years of baking pancakes in Bloemfontein, I [Danie] have realised that this weather is not the only weather that people wait for to enjoy pancakes. For people in Bloemfontein/Free State, every day is a good day for pancakes and that is why we sell pancakes every Friday and Saturday and not just on rainy days,” expressed Danie.
His mother sold pancakes and milk tarts as a side hustle when he was still at school to pay for all the sports tours he needed to go to. When he was in matric, he worked and did everything for a whole year and only earned R50 on a Saturday. The rest of the money he used to buy the business from his mother.
“There have been many sacrifices since he started. He worked late Friday evenings and started early Saturday mornings. As the business grew so did all the products that we sold,” said his wife, Janke.
“He still had an 8 to 5 job as a sales rep. When I gave birth to our first son end of 2021, we decided that he was going to leave his job and run Dancakes full-time. He did this to be present in his son’s life and build his family as well as his own business. And we have never looked back. Since then, the business has grown exponentially.”
So next time the weather allows, take a trip to the Langenhoven Park Market from 07:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays for a taste of nostalgia or you can find out how you can make your own from the comfort of your home with their premix options that include a milk tart mix.
Gypseenia Lion
