Culinary and Hospitality – Emerging or greatest profession yet
Mueze Ivan is a 37-year-old man who left his job to come to Keetmanshoop living off charity and ploughs back to the youth at the Keetmanshoop Multi-Purpose Youth Resource Centre
Should the Culinary and Hospitality career be seen as an emerging or great profession? Well, it is safe to say that the tourism and hospitality industry was one of the leading industries in Namibia before Covid-19 when it came to job creation, but over 16 983 Namibians who worked in this industry lost their jobs due to Covid-19.
Although this industry was severely affected by the pandemic, it still provides jobs for Namibian citizens. Culinary art, the study of becoming a chef, is definitely one career to look out for when it comes to hospitality. This career allows Namibian chefs to create Namibian cuisine which uplifts the Namibian tourism industry.
This career is one that is often overlooked in many countries including Namibia, as many individuals see it as a waste of time to study culinary art. This career allows Namibians to be as creative as possible and create dishes that can be taken into the foreign market as Namibian cuisine.
When one decides to study culinary art and hospitality, you will definitely be giving up a lot of your family time, because when you are in this industry, you will be required to work weird shifts. Furthermore, on days such as Christmas and New Year’s when there are so many family celebrations happening, you will be in the kitchen as this is peak business time in the hospitality industry.
The study of culinary art does not only mean you will be a chef. You can branch out and become a private chef, research chef, baker or pastry chef or restaurant manager. It is up to you to look into what you would like to specialise in when you have graduated from culinary art.
There are a number of institutions in Namibia where one can study culinary art.
Brendall Masambo, a young certified chef from the Namibia University Science and Technology (NUST) hotel school, is currently an executive chef at Zenzi's coffee shop. Masambo describes his job as an executive chef as being responsible for coming up with menus and costing that will be comfortable for the guests. "Everything in the kitchen goes through me to ensure maximum quality to make everyone is happy with what is prepared and to be able to accommodate everyone," he says.
He shares that one of his biggest accomplishments was to win medals in senior chef competitions such as the Africa Culinary Cup (ACC). Without leaving out some of the challenges, Masambo says the most difficult part of being a chef is being able to satisfy people and having a team that is not working together. The competitions he has judged, such as the Boerewors and Top Score competitions, keep him highly motivated. According to Masambo he plans on tapping into fine dining where he invites people for a plate because in that way he can show off his skills and talent as a chef.
Essentials and basic skills as a culinary student or chef
Learn how to use knives
Keep your working space clean
Wash your hands before handling food with bare hands
Know how to put out a fire
Keep your hair covered
Although this industry was severely affected by the pandemic, it still provides jobs for Namibian citizens. Culinary art, the study of becoming a chef, is definitely one career to look out for when it comes to hospitality. This career allows Namibian chefs to create Namibian cuisine which uplifts the Namibian tourism industry.
This career is one that is often overlooked in many countries including Namibia, as many individuals see it as a waste of time to study culinary art. This career allows Namibians to be as creative as possible and create dishes that can be taken into the foreign market as Namibian cuisine.
When one decides to study culinary art and hospitality, you will definitely be giving up a lot of your family time, because when you are in this industry, you will be required to work weird shifts. Furthermore, on days such as Christmas and New Year’s when there are so many family celebrations happening, you will be in the kitchen as this is peak business time in the hospitality industry.
The study of culinary art does not only mean you will be a chef. You can branch out and become a private chef, research chef, baker or pastry chef or restaurant manager. It is up to you to look into what you would like to specialise in when you have graduated from culinary art.
There are a number of institutions in Namibia where one can study culinary art.
Brendall Masambo, a young certified chef from the Namibia University Science and Technology (NUST) hotel school, is currently an executive chef at Zenzi's coffee shop. Masambo describes his job as an executive chef as being responsible for coming up with menus and costing that will be comfortable for the guests. "Everything in the kitchen goes through me to ensure maximum quality to make everyone is happy with what is prepared and to be able to accommodate everyone," he says.
He shares that one of his biggest accomplishments was to win medals in senior chef competitions such as the Africa Culinary Cup (ACC). Without leaving out some of the challenges, Masambo says the most difficult part of being a chef is being able to satisfy people and having a team that is not working together. The competitions he has judged, such as the Boerewors and Top Score competitions, keep him highly motivated. According to Masambo he plans on tapping into fine dining where he invites people for a plate because in that way he can show off his skills and talent as a chef.
Essentials and basic skills as a culinary student or chef
Learn how to use knives
Keep your working space clean
Wash your hands before handling food with bare hands
Know how to put out a fire
Keep your hair covered
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Namibian Sun
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