- Cooktastic in Woodstock offers culinary training and job placement support to youth from underserved Cape Town communities.
- The programme empowers students with skills and connections, helping them find jobs in the hospitality industry.
- Cooktastic recently opened a new kitchen and coffee shop to support their work and generate additional income for training.
“Being a chef never seems like a job, it becomes a true passion,” a quote by multi-Michelin-starred chef, Gordon Ramsey, proves true for a group of Cape Town youth taking the culinary world by storm thanks to Cooktastic.
The Woodstock-based facility is a hospitality hub, empowering young talented people from underserved communities with culinary training, personal development, and job placement support in the hospitality industry.
Mbuyi Jongqo, co-founder and director of Cooktastic, said she started the organisation due to the difficulties and lack of opportunities she experienced when entering the employment world.
“I felt like we needed something that would create a safe environment for young people to get training and skills, and to become creative and dream big. I saw the hospitality industry as a vehicle to drive that because of the opportunities that exist.”
She says since its inception in 2019, the organisation has had young people from Delft, Mitchells Plain, Bonte
heuwel, Langa, Nyanga, and Khayelitsha complete the programme.
“We focus on young people who cannot afford culinary institutes. We advocate, lobby and source funding for them to be trained.”
Jongqo explains that students apply online and the cost is R48 000, of which they pay a R4 000 commitment fee.
She adds that they conduct assessments to establish if a student can afford the fees, in which case the fees are waived.
Training
According to Jongqo they offer a six-month Culinary Basics Training that consists of three parts, a Cooktastic work-readiness-training, culinary basics training and three-month in-service-training.
“We have around 70 restaurants and hotels that work with us. They take them in for work experience, further guidance and mentorship in the real world of work. When they finish that three months, they return to us for their final practical and theory exam and then they graduate.”
Jongqo explains that many of their students find employment shortly after graduating.
On Wednesday 30 October, the organisation launched a social enterprise called Chumani, which will help generate an income that will partly fund the culinary training.
The event also marked the official opening of their new kitchen space and coffee shop at The Palms in Woodstock.
“We are excited about this brand-new space. It allows us to have a one-stop shop where we have our theory classes at the back, our bistro kitchen, training kitchen, and the bakery.
“We host events and do interactive cooking lessons.”
Jongqo explains that she could never have imagined that her dream would make such an impact on the lives of young people.
“The idea was just creating a skills development programme and I never knew that it would evolve and turn into something of this magnitude.”
Passion
Jabulile Makhanya joined Cooktastic in May last year.
The 25-year-old Nyanga resident said since joining the programme he feels more confident to pursue a culinary career.
“I have grown so much since joining. When I look at where I am now compared to where I used to be.
“I appreciate what Cooktastic has done for me. They have exposed me to so much, I am humbled.”
Makhanya says his passion for cooking started at a young age.
“Baking and cooking brings together love, people, and ideas to make good quality food.”
He now also forms part of the Chefpreneurs programme.
“I am grateful to Cooktastic for opening the door for aspiring chefs. My dream is to now work on my business and expand. I have learned all the skills, now it is time to implement them.
“I started with nothing, now I have the network and skills. And Cooktastic will always be a part of me.”
Jongqo appeals to donors to support the organisation.
“We are looking for partners for our bakery, and for people to utilise our space for their functions. People can either sponsor a student or donate ingredients or utensils or uniforms.”
She encouraged young people to start investing in their future.
“One doesn’t need a degree to cook, you just need to be dedicated and hardworking. Cape Town is a hospitality hub. This industry is fast-growing. There are also loads of opportunities abroad.”
