‘Even heavily pregnant I was still grilling chicken skewers’
Image: YourMoments Photography and private image
Kim (33) is married to Mike (49). He has two children (Luke, 21 and Fabienne, 19) and together they have three children: Xavi (3) and twins Bobby and Mae (5 months). Kim runs the catering company Bus van Zus.
“We only serve on location, such as conference centers and wedding venues. But we also stand in the driveway of people’s homes when grandpa and grandma have been married for fifty years. The fact that the customer can put together the menu himself distinguishes us from most food trucks. Everything is possible: from coffee and cake to poké bowls or tapas.
Our team consists of five girls and a few on-call workers. I arrange all the preparations, but I also accompany you on location. Even heavily pregnant with our twins, I was still grilling chicken skewers – my pelvic instability was not allowed to spoil the fun. I’m not the type to sit on the couch. Moreover, I went into my birth in such a top condition, which also started in the bus. At 35 weeks I drove back home after a company party and although it wasn’t rumbling yet, my gut feeling said something is up. It turned out that I was already at four centimeters dilated.
Read also – ‘I gave birth to our son in the back seat of our car’ >
Own company
Now that I have three children, I no longer want to be on the road every day and I will soon take a step back. With difficulty, because Bus van Zus also feels like my child. I’ve been running the company for five years now.
I used to have my own sewing workshop where I made custom women’s clothing and gave color and styling advice. In my spare time I sometimes helped out a friend who owned the food truck. This happened more often during her pregnancy and when she decided to stop, I took over her company. In my studio I missed being among people. Going out, making and serving good food.
“I like to experiment and I prefer not to eat the same thing every day”
I don’t have a love for cooking from a stranger: my father used to have a catering company. I like to experiment and I prefer not to eat the same thing every day. Sometimes to Mike’s dismay. ‘Can’t we eat vegetables, meat and potatoes again?’, he says. His two eldest children didn’t like my dishes at the beginning of our relationship, but now they like everything. Xavi too: curries and shrimp skewers are something he’ll put behind his teeth in no time.
Bus van Zus
Under my wings, Bus van Zus has grown into a company with three VW vans and the fourth is in the works. The name has no meaning by the way, it just sounds nice. People often ask if we are sisters. No – except for the one time my sister happened to fill in and was on location on her own. But no one believed at the time that the bus really belonged to her sister.”
This article appears in Kek Mama 10-2022.
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