In the warm, bustling corner of the Nketa 7 carwash, where tyres hiss under fresh water and radios play softly beneath the hum of conversation, there is a little kitchen that has become one of the township’s most familiar landmarks. Pots simmer. Smoke rises.
Customers laugh and greet one another like old friends. And at the centre of this ever-moving scene stands Thandiwe “Magumede” Mtsimba, stirring her pots with the calm confidence of someone who has lived a lifetime in her craft.
Her mini kitchen is not grand, but it breathes with activity and meaning. It is here that she has built a business, a social space, and a creative expression all through the simple, profound act of cooking.
“I donot just cook to feed people,” she says.
“I cook because this is my gift. When I am here, I feel like I am speaking through the food. I feel alive.”
Magumede began cooking long before adulthood demanded responsibility
“I was around thirteen when I started helping my mother in the kitchen,” she recalls.
“I noticed even then that people gathered when food was being made. They would sit, talk, laugh, and forget their troubles for a moment. I realised very early that food brings people close.”
- The fire that builds a community: The creative entrepreneurship of Thandiwe “Magumede” Mtsimba
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She did not only inherit recipes; she inherited rhythm.
“When I was young, I enjoyed the sound of cutting vegetables. I enjoyed the smell of the fire. I enjoyed seeing people eating something I made. That feeling never left me.”
Later in life, her work in lodges deepened her understanding of food as a craft. At the lodges, she encountered flavors and techniques far beyond the dishes of her childhood.
“Working in the lodges opened my eyes,” she says.
“I met chefs who treated food like artwork. They shaped it, respected it, and presented it beautifully. I learned that cooking is not just a daily task; it is a skill that deserves pride.”
Before her mini kitchen existed, she honed her skills through women’s clubs that were regularly hired to cook for weddings, funerals, community gatherings, and various ceremonies.
“Women’s clubs trained me to handle pressure. They taught me how to organise myself when cooking for many people,” she says.
“We had to be fast, we had to be clean, and we had to be consistent. And we also had to respect the cultural expectations that come with feeding a community.”
Those years prepared her for the moment she decided to create a business of her own.
When she finally opened her mini kitchen at the Nketa 7 carwash, it felt like the natural next step. “I chose this place because it never sleeps,” she says.
“People come to wash cars, people pass by going to the shops, people come just to talk. This is a living place, and I wanted my kitchen to be where life is happening.”
Her menu is simple but deeply rooted in Zimbabwean tradition isitshwala, rice, beef stew, chicken, inhloko, and mixed vegetables.
But the creativity lies in how she prepares and serves these dishes.
“Food must look good,” she says firmly. “It must smell good before someone tastes it. It must have colour. Even vegetables must be arranged in a way that makes you happy. I want people to enjoy the whole experience.”
To her, entrepreneurship is not just selling; it is imagining. “Creativity is not only for painters or dancers,” she adds. “A person like me also creates. I create flavours. I create a place where people feel comfortable. I create something that makes people want to come back.”
Her ability to transform a small corner into a lively business demonstrates the heart of creative entrepreneurship innovation born from limited resources.
What makes Magumede’s kitchen remarkable is not only the food, but the atmosphere it has cultivated. People come for a meal, but they find something richer.
“This place helps people talk,” she says.
“Sometimes strangers sit down and start discussing football. Sometimes they talk about their families. Sometimes they ask each other for advice. I see people building friendships here. That is why I love this place.”
Customers often linger long after finishing their plates. They greet each other like relatives, argue in friendly tones about politics, exchange jokes, or simply sit quietly. Her kitchen has become a community’s conversational heartbeat.
“I always tell people that food is a bridge,” she says.
“It connects people who would never meet otherwise.”
Behind her entrepreneurial spirit stands a strong marital partnership. Thandiwe and her husband, Mr. Leonard Mtsimba, have been married for 41 years a testament to commitment, communication, and mutual respect.
Mtsimba, a counsellor for nearly two decades, understands the deeper work required to maintain a healthy home.
“In my counselling work, I see many marriages fail because couples stop talking,” he says. “A marriage without communication is like a pot without water. It burns. It breaks. It cannot survive.”
He speaks plainly about the importance of men supporting their wives’ creative pursuits.
“When a woman has a gift, the man must support her,” he says.
“A husband should not be threatened by his wife’s success. He should be proud. Her progress is the family’s progress.”
He describes supporting Magumede’s business as a natural extension of love.
“I told her many years ago, ‘Do what you love, and I will stand with you.’ And I have seen how her kitchen has improved our lives not only financially, but emotionally and socially. She is happier when she is creating.”
Their partnership becomes visible in the way he speaks about her work.
“What she does here is not just cooking,” he adds.
“This is community work. It brings people together. It teaches young people. It creates peace. I am proud of her.”
Magumede’s kitchen is, in many ways, a reflection of her life: resilient, warm, rooted in culture, and open to growth.
“Every day I feel grateful,” she says.
“This kitchen has given me confidence. It has given me purpose. It has given me a way to help my family.”
But she is also aware of the wider impact her work has had.
“Sometimes people tell me that they feel safe here,” she says softly.
“That they can sit, eat, and talk without feeling judged. That means more to me than money.”
Her story reveals that entrepreneurship is not only an economic act it is creative, relational, and deeply human.
Her kitchen proves that the simplest spaces can become centres of artistry, innovation, and community bonding.
As the late afternoon light turns golden and the last customers finish their meals, she wipes her counter clean, preparing for another day.
“Tomorrow, I will be here again,” she says with a smile. “And I will cook again. Because this is my life. This is my art. And this is my way of giving something to the people around me.”
- Raymond Millagre Langa is an independent researcher, cultural critic, and founder of Indebo Edutainment Trust, known for weaving artistic practice with community-driven educational innovation. His work stands at the crossroads of scholarship and creativity, using art, music, and storytelling as instruments for social reflection and youth empowerment.
