It Used to drive her mad – seeing the biltong her husband was making hanging in their tiny laundry room. There was so much of the stuff there was hardly any space for her to dry the washing.
But Warren Pala had no choice.
Space in their home in New Jersey, America, was limited but he was desperate for a taste of home so the only way for him to get his biltong fix was to make it himself.
Fifteen years on, the cramped laundry is just an amusing memory – Warren and Nicolle are now based in Texas, and in neighbouring Oklahoma he heads up the world’s biggest biltong factory.
His passion for biltong has made him rich beyond his wildest dreams, but Warren (45) is just pleased he’s played a part in introducing Americans to the uniquely South African treat.
After he and Nicolle (45) moved to the US from Johannesburg in 2001, it wasn’t long before homesickness set in. To cheer himself up he bought himself a bag of beef jerky – the American answer to biltong – but immediately regretted it.
“It’s really bad,” Warren says as he chats to us by video call. “It tastes like a piece of old leather with spices on it. Besides tasting terrible, within 20 minutes of eating it you have heartburn.”
He quickly realised his only option was to make his own biltong. And as he headed up the Springbok Club of New York and New Jersey, a social club for South African expats, he had a ready market for his homemade biltong.
Word of his product spread and he was soon inundated with orders. In fact, there were so many that Warren was able to quit his job as an IT consultant in 2005 and turn biltong-making into a fulltime job.
Denne historien er fra 8 October 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 8 October 2020-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life