ONLY five months after opening, a 24/7 convenience store at the Cookhouse garage, it featured on the winners’ podium at a Sun City conference this month.
Proud owners Sylvia and Wolfgang Gaiser were awarded third place for the crispy chicken that has made their FreshStop the pop-in of choice for drivers on the N10.
Sylvia explained that the award was based on percentage of turnover and their fried chicken topped the performance of major stores with a much higher customer count.
She paid tribute to the kitchen staff who work in shifts around the clock.
The honour rewards the tenacious attention to quality and detail, ongoing staff training and the long hours this Bedford couple has put in since they took over Cookhouse’s Caltex garage and revamped the convenience store.
Cookhouse has been supplying food to travellers for more than 200 years.
The settlement was established in the old days because northbound travellers gathered here waiting for the Fish River to subside so they could cross.
An enterprising pioneer woman set up a kitchen to supply meals – hence the name Cookhouse.
A Mid-Karoo Express correspondent did a secret shopper survey at Cookhouse FreshStop and found the crispy chicken very moreish.
Just enough spice in the crispy batter leaves a tingly aftertaste that cleans the palate and should perk up sleepy drivers.
Even though the Cookhouse store is small, there is an impressive range of fresh fruit and vegetables at the reasonable prices you could expect to find at a big city store.
In addition to satisfying health conscious travellers, the produce is a boon for rural householders whose veg gardens go to sleep in winter. Basic groceries are also pulling in local shoppers.
FreshStop is a partnership between Food Lover’s Market and Chevron (the holding company for Caltex).
At the recent national conference, Eastern Cape FreshStop branches took first, second and third places in the face of stiff competition.
