Roti, chai and a whole lot of hustle

THE story of Roti & Chai is not one that began in a boardroom with a polished business plan or a mountain of capital; it began with the visceral, quiet urgency of survival.

- ALYSSIA BIRJALAL

SANDESH Rampersad recently opened a new Roti & Chai branch in Rosebank. | Supplied

(Supplied)

For founder Sandesh Rampersad, the spark was born from a moment of total loss.

“There wasn’t a boardroom moment or a perfect business plan, there was just a father, two daughters and an empty fridge,” he shared.

Recently divorced, at the time, and having lost both his home and previous business, the pressure to provide for his children became the catalyst for a culinary revolution.

“That pressure could have broken me, but instead it pushed me back into the flavours I grew up with in my grandmother's kitchen.”

The transition from a desperate necessity to a growing brand found its footing in 2015 at the Musgrave Night Market.

While walking past the crowds, Rampersad experienced a sudden clarity: “Something inside me said, ‘My tandoori chicken wrap needs to be here’.”

Operating from a simple mobile food setup, he began serving recipes straight from his grandmother's recipe book. The response was immediate and emotional.

“People didn’t just buy the food, they came back, they brought friends, they asked where we'd be next. In that moment, I realised that this isn’t just survival, this is my calling and the birth of a brand.

“That’s when Roti & Chai stopped being an idea and became my life’s work.”

This transition from the streets to established storefronts in Durban’s Florida Road and eventually the high-energy district of Rosebank, Johannesburg, was fueled by a philosophy of radical humility.

“I admit that I didn’t enter the food industry with a grand plan. What I did have was hunger, literal and metaphorical, and a willingness to listen.