Today I am extremely proud to announce and launch our new Youth Day enterprise development programme aimed at supporting and growing the incredibly talented and determined young chefs who work in communities making, baking or creating products to sell – against all odds!
Let me take a step back, I would like to introduce you to Mcebesi Zozo, a young man from Khayalitsha who has worked with me for almost eight years starting as my kitchen porter washing dishes in my restaurant and working his way up to artisanal baker. Although I left the restaurant industry in 2019 to pursue Ladles of Love on a full time basis, he continued to work as a baker but his working career came to an end when he lost his job due to COVID.
Our paths crossed again last year when I needed someone on the warehouse floor to help process and dispatch our bulk food suppliers to our beneficiaries. He explained to me that even though he had no work he was baking and selling his breads and cakes to the community but like any new business it wasn’t sustaining him due to his lack of business knowledge and equipment.
His story inspired me to incubate him in our warehouse and provide him with some of the basic equipment and training he needs to grow, Zozo Bakery. Seeing this passion and sheer grit to succeed we realised the desperate need for our unemployed youth to create their own jobs and be masters of their own destiny. Escalating unemployment and the desperate need to stimulate food security gave rise to our new ‘RAD’ campaign!
Join us on this incredible journey as together we recognise, reward and applaud young food entrepreneurs in our REALISE A DREAM competition. The search is on for anyone between the ages of 18 – 34 who needs support to grow their small food business – so please encourage young talented chefs to enter via our website and they could make their dream a reality. If you would like to invest in our programme we would love it! Every cent counts but R200.00 or more can rapidly grow our RAD food enterprise development programme.
