SUPER chef Tendai Taruvinga is cooking up a storm in Solihull with his mouthwatering dishes of African inspired vegan friendly meals.
And his cooking is so successful he’s just walked off with a Young Innovators Award to help his business grow.
The Young Innovators Awards recognise young people from across the UK with great business ideas who have the potential to become successful entrepreneurs and future leaders in innovation.
Tendai, from Kingshurst, trained in architecture but his real passion lies in preparing and cooking beautiful meals straight from his African culture for delivery across the region.
“It’s been crazy since I won the award,” said Tendai, who prepares all his innovative ideas in his kitchen at home and sells them online across the UK through his website: www.veafy.co.uk.
” I believe there’s genuine merit in what I do so I pitched the idea to Young Innovators because I thought African food is quite under-represented in the UK and to encourage more people to try plant based eating.”
Born in Britain, Tendai, who’s 30 years old and only just scraped in as a Young Innovator, draws on his Southern and East African heritage for his meals, but inspiration comes from across the vast continent.
There’s Zimbabwean stew, Nigerian bean porridge with pan fried tomatoes, coconut flavours from West Africa and tagines from the north.
“I use jack fruit as a meat substitute in my dishes which is something a lot of people haven’t tried and discovered they’ve really enjoyed it,” said Tendai.
The idea for the business was born back at the start of 2020 and developed with the support of a mentor from the Prince’s Trust.
His success in the Young Innovators competition carries with it a £5,000 grant and support pack age to really help the business off the ground.
“I’m really grateful for the support I’ve had and I’ve been helped by both my brother and my partner. Now it’s time for the next stage,” said.
All meals are 100 per cent plant based and arrive chilled within a heat sealed ready meal tray and are suitable for home freezing.
They can be prepared in a microwave or standard household oven ready for eating.
For a taste of great plant-based African cuisine visit: www.veafy.co.uk.
