With the fourth industrial revolution rendering certain vocations obsolete, one industry that will always require a human touch is cooking.
“After all, people have to eat every day!” notes 40-year-old professional Chef, Kedisaletse Kayama, who learnt how to cook at the age of seven.
Having spent much of her life in the kitchen, today Kayama works as a lecturer at Gaborone Technical College (GTC) in the Hospitality and Tourism department specialising in culinary arts.
Speaking to Voice Money, she reveals her career path was heavily influenced by her late aunt, who worked in South Africa.
“During the holidays she would cook for us and I fell in love with the way she cooked. After she left, I would try to do what she did,” recalls Kayama.
Well and truly bitten by the cooking bug, Kayama never lost her culinary passion and took up Food and Nutrition at both junior and high school.
After acquiring several Hospitality and Tourism qualifications, including Higher National Diploma from the Institute Hotel and Tourism Management in South Africa, Kayama was hired by GTC in 2007.
Hungry to further her studies, she was awarded a scholarship to study for her Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Cape Peninsular University of Technology.
On completing her degree, the qualified Pastry Chef, who specialises in baking and confectionary, returned to GTC to help nurture the country’s next batch of chefs.
Despite her obvious talent, Kayama is adamant passion is the most important trait when it comes to cooking.
“You will never go wrong with the food, as long as you apply your mind to it. I would still advise those who are passionate about food to take this career path because food needs passion!”
To enable those who have the passion but lack ‘Pula power’, Kayama plans to empower her community of Nkange and Maitengwe with confectionery skills to make a living for themselves.