WHAT do DJs do when gigs suddenly become scarce due to a pandemic?
Well, if you are Cape Town-based deep-house DJ Milli Bala, you step into the kitchen and cook up a storm to keep the wolf from the door.
Milli has opened a trendy eatery in the heart of Khayelitsha, Cape Town’s biggest kasi.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Milli said when the gigs ran dry during the pandemic she decided to use her savings and opened her side hustle business, Al Dente Osteria restaurant.
Fully aware it was a risky decision as most businesses were closing, Milli said she nevertheless took a leap of faith.
“I have always been one who believes that the minute you give in to doubt, that’s the spot of weakness for challenges to get a hold of you. I had always been happy with just my music alone which I did for a full 10 years without anything else. So when the food passion kept on knocking, I decided to follow my passion,” she said.
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These days Milli enjoys nothing more than waking up every day, putting on an apron and dishing up scrumptious meals to her customers.
She then entertains them by playing some of the deep house jams she’s popularly known for.
Asked why she decided to name her restaurant Al Dente Osteria, Milli said it is drawn from her love of everything Italian.
“I love Italian flair, and the way they just enjoy food in abundance. I find it particularly beautiful, romantic and warm. So the words Al Dente mean cooked just right, with a crunch to the tooth, which mostly refers to pasta and vegetables. That’s how we cook our food. Osteria is also Italian which means a restaurant or space where people share tables,” she said.
She launched her eatery at a time when Covid-19 hit Mzansi shores and admits it hasn’t been plain sailing.
“Covid-19 has been very difficult, on all of us, especially in the entertainment and hospitality industry which is where I’m at. All I can say is that I am alive and the business is carrying on simply from the Creator’s blessings and grace,” she said.
Her business has already suffered a break-in, with some of her valuables taken.
But this won’t deter her, Milli said, and her passion is what got her up during that difficult period.
