Chronicle Editor
Millicent Andile Dube
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KATHY Mwanza, the owner of Cake Fairy and Fairy Café, has become a trailblazing entrepreneur in Bulawayo’s business sector, successfully transforming her small bakery into a thriving restaurant business with branches in the city and in Harare.
Chef Kay, as she is popularly known, started her culinary journey in 2016, baking for her family at home. She soon realised her talent for baking and left her job as an insurance agent to start her cake business. Over the years, she has expanded her business to include savoury foods and opened the Fairy Café in the recently launched Imbali Mall.
Reflecting on her journey, Chef Kay said, “When I opened my first shop Cake Fairy, society took my business for a joke. I remember an article was published with the headline ‘Woman leaves job for caking business’. Being a woman in business, stereotypes can be quite overwhelming and spirit-killing. To cope, I have learned to set myself apart from the crowd, maintain consistency, and just aim to progressively do better.”
Chef Kay has strategically built her reputation in the confectionery industry by launching several cake ingredient supply shops under the Cake Fairy banner. Her understanding of money value in her food business has expanded her enterprise into baking bread, producing 2 000 to 3 000 loaves a day, from having started out with just 60 loaves a day. Over the years, she has baked 137 plus wedding cakes, building her legacy in the industry.
This year, Chef Kay opened the Fairy Café in the city centre, which has gained a lot of traction over the months. She also set up a stand at the ZITF, opposite the Ministry of Information. As expected, customers lined up for her delicious food, enjoying the tantalising flavours that are characteristic of Chef Kay’s food.
Last year, Chef Kay participated in Zim Cake Decoration competitions and won. She then adopted two other colleagues to help create Mai TT’s exceptional wedding cake that left tongues wagging.
“It was an honour to work on such a cake, especially because we were making it for such an influential socialite as Mai Titi,” Chef Kay said.
“The cake making process was fun and a great learning curve for all the parties involved. The cake weighed about 30 to 45 kilograms and hung on the roof for 10 hours at the wedding reception. It was scary but we trusted ourselves, and this is what we do. Hence, it cannot fail us.”
Despite the growing cake industry, Chef Kay knows her strengths. She specialises in all kinds of cakes for all occasions, including fresh cream cakes, fondant cakes, and gravity-defying cakes, but her strength is in wedding cakes.
“Consistency, innovation, and versatility are what I believe sets us apart,” she said. “It may not always be easy like ABC, but with a good support system (my family and team), a hardworking and well-motivated team, and most of all, God, we will take on the market with confidence.”
With over 100 employees, Chef Kay’s dream has benefited not just her but also the many people who work with her.
“I am happy with myself and grateful for my dream that it did not benefit me but over a hundred people, seeing my gift as a blessing in disguise to them as well,” she said.
Chef Kay’s success is proof that hard work, perseverance, and a little bit of innovation can lead to great success. She has become a role model for many women, showing that stereotypes and societal expectations should never limit one’s potential. As she continues to expand her business and reach new heights, Chef Kay remains focused on what sets her apart — her consistency, innovation, and versatility — and is always aiming to do better.–@millieythandile
Online Reporter