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fter a fairly tumultuous year which has seen many small businesses going under, celebrating the first birthday of her vegan cafe Roots in November has been a major feat for owner Jennifer Swanepoel (right). Situated at Burnedale Farm in uMhlali, Roots serves exclusively vegan and vegetarian dishes and is the first of its kind on the Dolphin Coast. Veganism – a plant-based diet once dismissed as an “off the wall food fad” – has become trendy and is no longer ridiculed as it has been seen to have numerous health benefits. Research has also shown that diets high in fruit and vegetables can help reduce heart disease, strokes, diabetes and premature death. Jennifer hasn’t always followed a plant-based lifestyle. “I specialised in early childhood development for most of my career before venturing into the hospitality industry. Then in 2015 I was diagnosed with renal failure. The cause? An autoimmune disease called IGA Nephropathy. “I had to make some drastic lifestyle changes to reduce the toxic build up (usually filtered through the kidneys) in my body. Nine months later I started on hemodialysis, where further dietary changes were needed, and nine months after that I had a kidney transplant and life went pretty much back
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ONGOING HEALTH ISSUES SAW JENNIFER SWANEPOEL OPEN A VEGAN CAFE SERVING FOOD THAT IS HEALTHY, NUTRITIOUS AND FULL OF TASTE, WRITES GLENDA THOMPSON
to normal,” says Jennifer. “However, the side effects of the lifelong anti-rejection medication I am taking was very harsh on my gut and I was consequently diagnosed with ulcerative collitis. The struggle at this time was to find medication that would not be toxic to my kidney, to treat this condition. After much trial and error and struggling with the side effects of the different medications, I told my doctors I would like to see what I could do to help myself by changing what I ate. “I cut out all animal products from my diet, and within two weeks the inflammatory
markers had dropped and I could feel a difference. Two years later and I haven’t had any relapses. My renal function is always spot on and I feel great,” continued Jennifer. “The next challenge was what do you eat when going out for dinner to a restaurant. There was very little in the way of vegan food on the menu. This lead me to start experimenting with recipes and I loved what I was able to create – and that is how Roots came about! “My first introduction to the hospitality industry was when I waitressed for extra
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money, and I also worked at the Royal Hotel for a while as a relief manager at the coffee shop. That’s where I was introduced to the finer side of hospitality. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to have my own catering business and one of the reasons is because I absolutely love chatting with people and getting to know them better. There isn’t really a better place to do this than around good food. There’s something comforting and transparent about conversations around sharing a meal – and if it’s bursting with goodness, so much the better!”
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FOR MORE INFO Jennifer: 082 822 9754; www.facebook.com/rootscafedeli
