Business story
Every great start-up story begins the same way - with late nights, a spark of an idea shared around a dinner table, and a dream that slowly takes shape, one dish at a time. Glow Kitchens began just like that: a Cape Town catering company born from passion, persistence, and a whole lot of improvisation.
In the early days, we made 120 wraps out of a tiny one-room apartment - stacking food on surfboards just to make space. We borrowed cars, platters, and even friends’ kitchens to get the job done. Then came that unforgettable turning point: when Chef Reuben Riffel took a chance on us, and the magic truly began.
Since then, we’ve grown from humble beginnings into a thriving Cape Town event catering team, now with a rotating crew of 10 talented staff, a garage full of catering equipment, two recipe books of tried-and-tested secrets, and a prep kitchen we’re proud to call home.
Through every success - and every slip-up - we’ve learned that it’s our mistakes that shaped us and our unwavering drive that defined us. At Glow Kitchens, we stop at nothing to craft unforgettable events, creative menus, and food that’s as memorable as the moment.
Chef bio & background
ABOUT GABRIELA
I remember one of my first lessons in business: making & selling apricot malva pudding to our local restaurant in our citrus farming community at the age of 10. When my mum told me I had to pay for the ingredients with the money I was earning from it, I was not too impressed! Mom kept nurturing the food infatuation, allowing us to choose one Sunday treat to bake every week, and always taking time to teach us the basics of roux’s and bolognaise and jam.
I went on to waitress as any good self-respecting teen does, yet constantly got in trouble for being more interested in the kitchen than clearing plates!
Cue a list of kitchen assistant jobs that showed me the ropes of private cheffing, catering & executive kitchen tasks - in short, what it took to revolve your life around food.
Fashion remained at the forefront, but the time came for clothes to sit in the back seats and my cakes to start riding shotgun!
My big break was doing a 5-course menu for a restaurant on the Camps Bay strip…. That landed up in takeaway boxes because for Covid, but the fire was lit & the word was out. I could do it!
A couple of restaurant jobs later, lots of burnt nuts while private cheffing, cooking on long safari’s & securing some solid return clients & GLOW kitchens was borne out of necessity - simply not being able to split myself in two.
I am still incredibly involved with each and every client and event, with a heavy hand in the curation, coordination and execution to ensure each of our menus and events GLOWS - with or without me.