WHEN Tyler du Preez posted an advert on Facebook saying that she would be baking bread and bread rolls, she didn’t think that the response would sky rocket.
Following last week’s violent riots and looting in Durban, bakeries were, at one stage, unable to bake or deliver bread, leaving hundreds of people without this staple item.
READ ALSO: Durban North baker shares her bread recipe
Speaking to Northglen News, the 19-year-old Durban North teenager, said baking is her hobby and when she heard that residents could not buy bread, she jumped at the opportunity to help.
“I love baking and I love helping others. So put those two elements together and there I was, baking bread for the residents of Durban North,” she said.
Within 10 minutes of publishing the post online, du Preez received 60 phone calls, about 400 WhatsApp messages and 60 SMSes.
“I thought: oh my word, what have I done?” she laughed.
After receiving her first batch of orders on Tuesday morning, du Preez suited up in her apron at midday and baked 20 loaves of bread all of which were collected by the evening.
The four 10kg bags of flour and other ingredients she had was finished within two days, and she had to stop taking in any orders as the shops had run out of flour as well.
“Unfortunately I had to turn down a lot of people because my oven only took four loaves of bread at a time and I didn’t have the manpower. My sister Keira helped me out. I am not accepting any more orders until I can get more ingredients,” she said.
Du Preez set her prices relatively cheap – R12 for a loaf of bread and R15 for eight rolls.
“I didn’t even think about what my costs would be, I just wanted to help. Once I can get my hands on more ingredients, I will start taking orders again,” she said.
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