About Us

Lunch House was developed by a group of parents, Lauren De Swardt, Liz Pestana and Drew Van Vuuren who identified the need for a change in ‘tuckshopping’ in South African schools.  Each of these individuals bring a different level of expertise to Lunch House but all share in the passion of both good food, the best for their children and the change they would like to see in South African schools. 

Lauren has been entrenched in the children’s industry for 14 years and is considered a leader in her field as the founder of the Kids Emporium brand.  Lauren has served on her children’s school’s PTA for 7 years and has been an active member of the School Governing Body haven given her valuable insight into the operations of the school, the involvement of parents and the needs of learners and staff.  Lauren is a parent of 2 and is excited by the fact that she is able to combine two of her favourite things:  Food and Business.

Liz Pestana has worked in a number of industries throughout her career.  She spent many years being involved in a local catering enterprise and has access to a long list of reputable suppliers.  Liz has a passion for both food and people and has been heavily involved in the design of our offerings and services, the costings thereof as well as the training of staff. Liz is a parent of 3 and looks forward to combining two of her favourite things:  Food and People. 

Drew Van Vuuren, an industry leading Information Technology Security Specialist will be responsible for the implementation and management of all systems and software.  Drew is a Data Governance (POPI) advocate and has all the necessary expertise to ensure that our parents and learners information is protected when navigating and utilizing our self-service portal.  Technology plays a big role at Lunch House to ensure our services are a convenience for parents.  Drew is a parent of 2 and looks forward to combining two of his favourite things:  Food and Technology.

Lunch House’s trio is passionate about the journey and looks forward to working with franchisees and ensuring all schools have access to something better.