Their relationship is not merely based on date nights, red roses, late-night conversations, and morning texts; food is also a key element in their connection, a passion that turned into a profession.
Independent Media Lifestyle recently caught up with Durban power couple Pashi and Kamisha Naidoo-Reddy (aka Kim) to talk about their journey, their love and their passion for food.
Kim and Pashi were the winners of season two of “My Kitchen Rules South Africa”.
The restaurateurs met over 11 years ago at the Vodacom Durban July, where they caught each other’s attention from across the room, and the rest was history.
Their hopelessly romantic adventure has been witnessed by Mzansi over time. They were engaged on live television in the semi-final of the cooking show. After a few years of following their passion, they this year decided to tie the knot in a private, beautiful, very traditional and intimate ceremony with family.
How did they find that they both have the same interest in food?
Pashi revealed: “It was date nights which turned into me cooking for Kim and her realising that the food was better than the restaurants we were eating at. What started as her being a professional taster quickly turned into her becoming a sous-chef sharing in the passion of creating beautiful dishes.”
“Like our passion for food, we have applied a recipe to our life. A few ingredients like love, passion, and loyalty keep the flames burning, and with every new chapter a new and brighter outlook on a life well lived.
“We eat everything! I think it is a testament to how we live our lives. We live to experience life to its fullest and so we embrace all cultures, all outlooks and respect all ways of thinking. We apply that to our lives.”
“And besides being passionate cooks, Kim is an online lecturer focusing on linguistics and curriculum development and develops curriculums for some of the world’s leading e-learning platforms.
“Soon creating her very own e-learning platform whilst I run multiple businesses in different sectors from restaurants, consulting to food manufacturing,” said Pashi.
Asked what makes a place an ideal spot for dining out, he said: “Passion of the owners, offering, dedication of the staff, ambience and most importantly the food.”
In 2022, the couple opened Kali, a restaurant that offered a unique dining experience with its concept of “Tantric Tapas”. Because of load shedding and the constant water outages, they had to close that chapter.
“Kali was a great success. Unfortunately, with load shedding and the constant water outages, as well as the inability to use generators because of residents and noise in the nearby building, it was time to move on.
“We could not foresee the municipal conditions getting better and for a fine dining restaurant experiencing load shedding three times a day with the lack of tourists because of beaches being closed, it was time to make a smart business decision and close.
“We decided to focus on the businesses that were thriving,” said Pashi.
Now fully focused on The Food Box, a trendy hangout spot with different restaurants in Morningside, Pashi said with it, they are focusing highly on online and have created the first unified store on Uber and soon Mr D, where customers can now merge orders from six different restaurants and have them delivered to their door seamlessly with one payment and one delivery but multiple cuisines.
This year the couple are looking forward to some amazing projects in the pipeline from Kim’s e-learning, to contract manufacturing for large retailers, and more innovation and surprises to come.
They want to create change, and employment, and said: “Sometimes it means you have to step up and do the things some people are just too afraid to do.”
“We have created a great brand which in turn has created multiple brands. These brands have gone on to create employment and empower many people. We are constantly pushing the envelope and instead of focusing on what our best has been, we like to focus on what our best could be.
“There is always something that needs a Kim and Pashi twist. As long as we are creating and developing, we will continue to innovate,” added Pashi.
A fun and quick Q&A with Pashi.
Q: If you had to choose your last meal, what would it be?
A: Kim, she is still my favourite snack.
Q: Favourite restaurant or food experience?
A: La Colombe is Constantia. Their attention to detail and thought process are admired as well as their execution.
Q: What do you both enjoy doing outside the kitchen?
A: We love the outdoors, we are both adrenalin junkies so anything that gets the heart racing we are doing. We also love serenity, the countryside, and spending time with family. We just love life and try to live it to its fullest.