Lerato Mema did not have to leave her day job to follow her dreams.

The 25-year-old from Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, is the brains behind the Home Cook-In food market, held in open spaces in the township, that now attracts nearly 3 000 people keen to feast on local cuisine.

Mema is a parts pricing controller at a machinery company by day and a cook by night.

Her love for cooking and talent have made her a household name in her community and propelled her to starting a catering business.

Her food market, which is held quarterly, has provided a business platform for young people from the area to showcase their different talents.

On Sunday, colourful dining chairs and tables were spread around a park next to her home under gazebos, with stalls built up around.

"It all started in my grandmother's kitchen, where I developed a love for cooking traditional food as my mom and grandmother made family feasts every Sunday after church," she recalled.

"Last year, I decided to register my own catering company and hosted my first big event at a park two streets away from home. The support I got was overwhelming and I started hosting [it] quarterly."

Mema learnt how to cook when she was 16. She would watch cooking channels and experiment with food in the fridge to make her first unique meals.

"I grew up as a normal child who watched other children play because my grandmother was strict enough to lock the gates after school. So I had to find something that would make me love being inside the house and keep me busy."

Mema said every time she cooked she would call people to come taste and when the plates got wiped clean, she knew she had done well.

"Today that locked gate helped me to stay grounded and master my studies and my cooking hobby that has become a business," she said.

Mema is currently studying towards her degree in financial management after graduating with a diploma in business management.

From her childhood Mema said she understood how food can bring families together on weekends and for birthdays, weddings and even funerals.

"Now I get hired over weekends to render my cooking services together with my team and seeing those empty plates after cooking humbles me."

Her business employs five people who assist her to juggle her day job with her passion.

"My sister Lebogang has been a great support in marketing my business and being there to motivate me.

"Home Cook-In has given birth to a community initiative that has helped us raise funds for sanitary towels that are donated to young girls in local schools," she said.