Trio give recipes soul
A trio of young chefs are making strides in their careers as their talent and passion for the industry grow.
Jude Rauler,21, Vuyisile Moyikwa, 22, and Asiphe Mbezu, 23, are proud to be in the kitchen at the Bay’s Radisson Blu Hotel, and hope to inspire youth to follow their lead.
Rauler’s passion for cooking started from a young age.
Family and friends encouraged him to pursue it as a career.
After researching it, he found an outreach programme for the youth that inspired him to delve into the flourishing industry.
Through his training and internship at Radisson Blu Hotel, he finds joy in being creative when plating meals as it adds to the guests’ experience and enjoyment of “eating with their eyes” before they taste the flavourful meal.
“I have treasured memories of cooking in the kitchen with my grandmother,” he said.
Rauler draws inspiration from programmes that showcase South African foods like that of Private Chef SA’s Neill Anthony.
He hopes to one day write an easy cookbook for young mothers, to prepare hearty recipes for their children, including his favourite pasta dish, spaghetti bolognaise packed with flavour.
Moyikwa recalls his strict childhood.
As the first born, his mother pushed him to be an example to his siblings.
It was when he failed matric that the words of his teacher rang true, “don’t be a victim of your situation, just be victorious”.
His mindset changed as he wanted to do more with his life and pursued studies in the hospitality sector at the Ray Mhlaba Skills Centre.
This set him on a path of envisioning a future where he could own a restaurant and catering business, that could also see youth within his community being employed.
“I am inspired daily by Radisson Blu PE sous chef, Julia van der Westhuizen, to persevere,” said Moyikwa.
Mbezu is a pastry chef intern in the hotel’s kitchen.
Shy in nature, but confident in his ability to whip up something sweet to savour, he too enjoys being creative in the plating process.
Being the breadwinner in his household, his caring character carries through to his work in creating special messages for guests on occasions.
A message he often conveys to his siblings and the younger generation, is to “achieve your best and you will be successful; always believe in yourself and set your own destiny”.
The proudly Nelson Mandela Bay trio serve artfully prepared dishes.
When asked what their secret recipe was, they all agreed with the famous Thomas Keller saying: “the recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe”.
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