Last year, Nicola Bentley and Nepheritie Jade decided to move to Cape Town from Johannesburg to follow their passion of educating people about not only eating healthier, but living more healthily too.
Now, the pair run the Evolution Cafe Xperience in Bree Street, an integrated health cafe and restaurant which doubles up as a clinic and consultation room where customers can have sessions with doctors, nutritionists, life coaches and healers.
Nepheritie and Nicola’s paths crossed through their work. “I looked after Superfoods at our Johannesburg branch, and Nepheritie was one of our clients. We became friends almost instantly.”
Nepheritie, a nutritionist, hypnotist, life coach trainer and healer, among other things, said she was attracted to Nicola’s energy. “She’s so cool. She has a simple energy. We chatted a lot and I told her about my aspirations of moving to Cape Town.”
Nepheritie already owned a brand called the Evolution Xperience, where she practised, but without the nutrition and food. “If you look at life, as a woman you want to look good, be financially secure, have a good relationship and be spiritually grounded. The Evolution Xperience is about that.
“I’ve always wanted to move to Cape Town. It was a soul journey for me, and a start to a new chapter in my life. On the other hand, it was always in my business plan because what I do is a niche service. I asked Nicola to come with me and we could collaborate in some way,” said Nepheritie.
“Nepheritie literally only had the keys to this space, so we moved down to Cape Town to work on it and turn it into what it is now,” said Nicola.
So with Nicola’s nutritional background and knowledge of all foods healthy, combined with Nepheritie’s healing and coaching expertise, the pair introduced the Evolution Cafe Xperience. The cafe has a variety of origin coffee as well as medicinal coffees and teas, 100 percent organic gluten-free and sugar-free foods and cakes; fresh smoothies and juices.
“Our menu is very conversational, and we will chat to our customers about what they would like to know and answer their questions about their nutrition and diet. We will then add them to the mailing list and introduce them to our other services,” said Nicola.
“We also want to incorporate life coaching and retreats about the mind and body, and do some yoga and meditation.”
Nepheritie said while the city was busy and had a lot of energy, sometimes people needed to take a step back find a space to be still. “What I love most about Cape Town is being in nature. I spend a lot of time walking and in the mountains and on the beaches. It’s so peaceful.
“We moved to Cape Town because we wanted to feel like we are always in a holiday city, and because Cape Town is very natural, and it is important for the lifestyle we want to lead.”
