Hi, my name is Melinda-Michelle Versluis
I love telling the story of how Melinda’s Kitchen, a future I never even dreamt of, came to be. I have always loved being in the kitchen and had a passion for cooking and particularly, baking. I have fond memories of cooking with my parents or helping in the kitchen and this is where my passion was born.
Naturally, after school, I studied at Prue Lieth Chefs Academy and completed my Grande Diploma in Culinary Arts. I had a clear vision – I wanted to be a chef, but soon after starting my second job I realised that this career, wasn’t what I had in mind. Reality check, being a chef isn’t as glamorous as MasterChef and the likes, make it seem to be. Without any idea of what I was going to do next, I quit my job.
I always say I’m glad I was young and reckless enough to take the leap because if I had to start from scratch now, I don’t think I would have the guts to do it.
Without any income (luckily, I was still living with my mom), I started to make birthday cakes and cupcakes for anyone that asked. One thing led to another and with the support of my family and boyfriend Melinda’s Cakes & Catering was born. I worked from (and took over) my mother’s townhouse kitchen. Just “making it work” one order at a time. I remember receiving my very first wedding cake order and thinking “I’m not worthy of making a WEDDING cake”. It seemed so much bigger than just little old me. Needless to say, wedding cakes have become my absolute passion. It’s the part of my business I enjoy the most.
The business soon outgrew this small kitchen and so my dad and I decided to convert the garage, on his property, into a studio kitchen. When I was a child, I used to bake gingerbread biscuits with my dad and sold it from a trolley in our driveway to anyone that passed by. Little did I know that some 15 years later I would have a real business operating from the same property. I moved into the studio kitchen on 10 September 2016, after working out of my mom’s kitchen for almost exactly a year. We’ve grown from strength to strength ever since.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to support myself, with a business that I built from the ground up, let alone employ loyal staff. It hasn’t always been easy, there have been ups and downs along the way. I have learnt valuable lessons. Blood, sweat and a lot of tears have gone into my business. But I have no regrets. Because all of it got me to where I am today.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it felt like the end of the road. I could see my little business crumbling to pieces, and it broke me. Without getting into too much detail, I decided that in order for me to survive this, and in turn for my business to survive, I needed a fresh start. A clean slate. A “change is as good as a holiday”. This is where I decided, the time has come to split the business in two. So welcome to Melinda’s Kitchen! I am happy you are here to start a new chapter with me. And I am excited to see what the future holds! Because if there is one thing that I can take away from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is that no crises lasts forever. And yes, we can still help you out with catering too, from our sister company: Melinda’s Catering