Anat – Humble Beginnings To Household Name
From humble beginnings at the Bruma Flea Market to the central to the household name it is today, Anat has been an adventure. With Israeli Chutzpah she branded a small trailer with her name, got a loan for the equipment and with help from a Ghanain man, Tony, she opened up for her first day of business in 1992 at the Bruma Flea Market selling Falafel for R5. Tahina, salads and pita flowed from her stall to the hungry masses, and a business was born. Pride was left behind when she realized she has a product that people genuinely loved and wanted.
Our founder, Anat, was a housewife in 1991 with three young children when her family struck financial difficulties. She recalled her mother’s advice that ‘if you ever need cash, fast, go sell Falafel’. And so the story of Anat began.
But to only start in the nineties would discredit the generations of hard work and wholesome food that tread the path before her. Anat’s grandfather worked in a Falafel shop in Egypt as a teenager, on the family journey to Israel. It is here that he learnt the craft and ingredients of the food in its native country Yaman. Then as an adult, he married her grandmother in Israel and had twelve children he needed to support. So once again, he sold Falafel, this time in the streets of Tel Aviv. Anat’s father, in turn, took over her grandfather’s business, and although once upon a time she swore she would never pursue the same path, life had other plans for her.
Upon her husband’s advice, she expanded to including meat in her menu. After experimenting, redecorating kitchens with spices and long distance phone calls to an uncle in Amsterdam, she mastered the art of Shwarma. Anat secured a position in the Sandton City in 1994 in the food court and worked around the clock with their staff to build their shop. Notably, some of the few chefs who had to physically build their own kitchen. Within a year Anat acquired another shop in Eastgate (1995), and from there Anat grew and grew. We grew to such an extent that it started making more sense that we bake our own pita and so the bakery was established n 2002. Anat imported an oven from Israel, used recipes from an old family cookbook, and Anat Bakery took off.
From the first day, Anat has sworn to only provide the best. That’s why Anat has an uncompromising high standard of only the freshest ingredients, served by the most welcoming hands. By naming her business after herself, Anat ensured that she would always make sure that each step in the process of making great food was faultless; after all, her name is on the line.
Whether you’re enjoying Anat having Made It Your Way at home with our great flat bread products, grabbing a quick lunch at one of our stores, or biting into our food at one of our catered events – you will taste great food in every bite.
