South African chefs find their wings with Qatar Airways

Eighteen young up-and-coming African chefs have been selected for a unique employment opportunity offered by Qatar Airways.

The newly appointed chefs will join the award-winning carrier’s catering as well as retail and dining subsidiaries in Doha, Qatar.

While the majority of recruits are South African, some candidates have also listed Nigeria, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya as their country of origin.

CHALLENGING RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The talented young chefs endured a challenging recruitment process. They proved they were better than their competitors – other graduate chefs from Capsicum Culinary Studio campuses across South Africa.

The new recruits are the first of nearly 50 trained chefs that will be placed with Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC) and Qatar Duty Free (QDF). Both operate from the state-of-the-art facilities at the world’s best airport, Hamad International Airport in Doha.

SOUTH AFRICAN CHEFS RISE THROUGH THE RANKS

Two young South African chefs, Ayanda Khumalo and Lesedi Mokoena made it through the tough recruitment process.

According to Sustainability in the Sky, both chefs originate from Gauteng in South Africa. Kumalo, aged 23, hails from Amandasig and Mokoena, aged 21, is from Pretorius Park.

FLYING THE SOUTH AFRICAN FLAG IN QATAR

Khumalo is grateful for the opportunity to experiment with an array of cuisines and dishes.

“This is an amazing opportunity to be exposed to diverse cultures and cuisines. For instance, in the area where I’ve been placed, there are dozens of outlets that serve a variety of national and regional dishes.”

Khumalo developed a love for cooking as a child, being inspired by her grandmother who nurtured her interest in food.

“My grandmother was my biggest role-model from a young age. Seeing her make roasts, casseroles and cake nurtured my interest in cooking for a living. I want to make her proud.” Khumalo said.

Mokoena, who credits her grandfather (also a chef) for sparking her interest in food, said, “It is tremendously exciting to be part of a world-class brand with excellence as a benchmark, and being mentored under the leadership of Chef David Sosson.”

SHOWCASING SOUTH AFRICAN CUISINE

Mokoena added that apart from learning all she can, she hopes to introduce people to African cuisine.

She enjoys infusing the culinary components and flavours making up South African dishes.

QATAR AIRWAYS VALUES DIVERSITY

Qatar Airways’ Chief People Officer, Antonio Schulthess, believes that diversity is in fact key to the airline’s success.

“Diversity and excellence are the hallmarks of the Qatar Airways brand. Recruiting candidates from around the world, as is the case with our partnership with Capsicum Culinary Studio, is part of our ongoing commitment to finding the best talent globally and empowering our personnel to build fulfilling careers with the world’s best airline.” Schulthess said.

Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Customer Experience and Career Centre Manager, Thulisile Mgidi, said that the institution was pleased to see its graduates being offered opportunities in Qatar.

“It is hard to imagine a better opportunity for these young chefs to seize, and you can see how excited they are to make the most of it. There’s an art and science to making sure food meets the highest of standards, so these candidates are learning invaluable skills from the best of the best.” Mgidi said.

CAREER GROWTH IN QATAR

Sadly, with a high unemployment rate in the country, many trained young professionals remain jobless in South Africa.

Therefore, it is a great opportunity for these new chefs to be able to launch careers with Qatar Airways.

Chefs employed by Qatar Aircraft Catering Company (QACC) will certainly have an opportunity to learn and develop their skills and talents.

Victor Cheng, Vice President at Qatar Aircraft Catering Company said, “Our state-of-the-art facility is designed to inspire innovation in culinary excellence. Equipped with the latest technology and resources, it will empower the new talented chefs’ creativity and skills. This is really a good career growth where young employees get exposure to large scale operations and expand their culinary knowledge.”

QATAR AIRCRAFT CATERING COMPANY

QACC, with an industry-leading facility spanning 69,000 m², is the world’s largest single-building airline catering provider.

It has expanded all possible capabilities and thus set a new industry benchmark of excellence in the onboard dining experience.

With over 20 years of culinary innovation and operations excellence, QACC indeed delivers 200,000 meals across 300 flights daily.

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