WeeklySA_AdminCREATIVE: Correct career-pathing can help youngsters can achieve their goals
By Thuli Zungu
CREATING memorable moments that connect people through food is the enduring passion of intrepid Gauteng-based entrepreneur Mpho Phalane.
The 32 year old self-taught chef says she had decided to pursue her desire for people and food after she had spent countless weekends cooking and hosting friends and family. But she had known that starting a new venture and chasing one’s dreams would not be easy, but she also knew that, with the correct career-pathing, it would be possible to achieve one’s goals.
“To succeed in this industry, young people must first grasp the basics and apply those fundamentals to their businesses,” Phalane told Weekly SA Mirror in an interview in Soweto, Johannesburg this week. “There will be opportunities, but without the fundamentals, young chefs are at a disadvantage,” she added.
Phalane, who is an ambassador and mentor for the Vuma-sponsored My Community Cooks programme, which is being conducted in partnership with the Soweto Wine and Food Festival, shared her secret ingredients for success with other young culinary talents at the Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg recently.
The My Community Cooks programme, which exposes talented individuals in the culinary arts, fine arts, music, dance and other forms of creative expression, was launched in June this year. Phalane encourages aspiring chefs to their take time to learn about the culinary industry and its demands before diving into the profession, and to avoid chasing the “microwave” types of success.
Phalane said that technology had played a significant role in helping her to create and maintain connections in the culinary industry over the past few years. “Without connectivity, the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic related restrictions on one’s business could have been so much worse,” Phalane said. We should always plan, find your our ‘Why’, be innovative, stay techno-savvy and resilient,” Phalane advised the youth.
She said the youths who wish to become chefs also need to read widely, and Phalane added that, for an example, she drank deeply from author Simon Sinek’s motivational book, Find Your Why – A practical guide for discovering the purpose why you and your team are doing what you do. “Whether you have just started your first job, you are leading a team or you are a CEO of your own company, you must always strive to find your ‘Why’,” Phalane said, quoting Sinek.
Phalane added that the culinary industry is a high-pressure environment, with little room for error, and said, to deal with this, young would-be chefs needed to learn to think on their feet, constantly adapting to changing situations, and being creative. “This industry requires people to think outside the box, especially when things do not always work out as been planned, originally; because, no matter what, the show must go on; come rain or shine,” Phalane explained.
She said, recently, she had visited her great aunt in Diepkloof Soweto who has been running a spaza shop for more than 40 years. And, there, the community has been without electricity for around two months, and part of Phalane’s great aunt’s shop had burned down earlier this year, “but she continued to work and push through those challenges,” Phalane remarked. And, seeing that made me realise what resilience is all about.”
Lianne Williams, the head of marketing at Vuma, said told Weekly SA Mirror this week that the company is thrilled to be able to empower some of South Africa’s finest young creatives. “This platform aims to provide all the aspiring creatives, in any field of interest, with the springboard they may need to grow, connect with others, and to inspire them to create and innovate further.”
