Education’s on menu
CALLING: GIVING THOSE WITH POOR ACADEMIC SCORES A CHANCE
Chefs academy trains staff in a fast-growing industry.
There’s no business like the food business. It’s got all the drama of a Hollywood thriller, the artistic intricacies of an impressionist painting and the satisfaction of a meal devoured.
Passion and commitment drive people like Lebogang Lekotoko, who invested her life savings into making her dreams come true and, consequently, those of others.
Lekotoko is the founder and principal of the NDS Chefs Academy, now in its 11th year.
Its roots were founded in her concern for students turned away from traditional tertiary institutions due to inadequate academic scores.
It was a problem that hounded her after seeing first hand how dreams could be shattered, when she was employed at Vaal University of Technology.
At the academy, which caters for novices and offers employee education, Lekotoko focuses on the practical and theoretical.
“This programme gives the students both the college and workplace experience in equal parts,” said Lekotoko.
“The students can bring together what they have learned in formal classes and implement it in the workplace.
“It also provides the students with higher education that they may otherwise not have received.”
She holds a diploma in food services management, a B-Tech and Masters in the food sector and believes it’s all about creating a stepping stone for people, and opening doors of opportunity which may have once been shut.
“Statistics show the industry of hospitality is the fastest growing globally with no sign of slowing down.
“The hospitality industry in South Africa was estimated to be worth more than R20 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach close to R25 billion by 2028,” she said.
This is why her focus remains firmly on achieving the same objectives that she set out so many years ago.
Lekotoko’s own path is marked by resilience and absolute faith, influenced by her mother, and her grandmother.
“I embody determination, deeply rooted in faith and a profound care for the well-being of others,” she said.
“My strength is replenished by the joy and love I see in those around me.
“My character has been shaped by the formidable influence of two remarkable women in my life, my mother, Princess Anne-Shielah Makhado, and my grandmother, Rosinah Sebobochi Makhado.
“Their legacy is the foundation of who I am; I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Together, they encapsulate the essence of my being.”
She runs a small, core team that makes up the fibre of the business.
“I am responsible for 10 employees, each of whom supports an average of four people.
“This responsibility is my primary motivation. “Additionally, witnessing students from humble backgrounds, initially with little understanding of the culinary and hospitality industries achieve that moment of clarity and start earning a livelihood post-qualification, is immensely fulfilling,” she said.
A day in Lekotoko’s life is quite varied, encompassing everything from operational management, student and parent affairs, human resources, maintaining the curriculum, running the finances of the school and, of course, marketing it to attract new students.
Her days are demanding, and after hours, s he switches off and puts her own well-being front and centre.
Innovation in education is a constant pursuit and Lekotoko encourages employers to invest in upskilling their staff.
She is a great supporter of internships.
“Students who study through internship have someone, an angel-parent paying their school fees and enjoy the benefits of the employer having a vested interest in the success of the completion of the qualification,” she said.
Lekotoko took the idea of learning even further when she recently collaborated with the Empact Group. She graduated from the company’s enterprise supplier development programme a few years ago and wanted to give back.
The company helped her build NDS Chefs Academy.
Empact is a corporate services company that offers everything from food services through to pest control.
Her idea was to enable their employees and their families, kids included, to pursue further education and develop either new careers or mid-life career changes to hospitality.
The initiative blended academic learning with practical experience. To graduate, participants had to pass a gruelling, Master Chef-like in-situ exam, complete with pressure and taste tests.
She is presently mulling over expanding the school to Limpopo, to areas abundant with tourist attractions.
“My ultimate goal would be to evolve into a university dedicated to hospitality studies,” she said.
Hospitality is the fastestgrowing industry