“A passion and talent for cooking is a small part of success for a young chef,” says Oyster Box executive chef, Kevin Joseph, “the rest is pure hard work”. And Joseph, a household name among Durban foodie fans and a man of immense experience, should know. Find out more about Kevin Joseph when he appears at the popular Good Food and Wine Show in Durban from November 25-28.
The Oyster Box currently has 11 students from the Ikusasa School of Cooking (based at St Martin’s Children’s Home in Clark Road), doing the four-month practical component of their 1-year certificate course at The Oyster Box. This group will be the first to graduate from the new course sponsored by Ikusasa and the Chaine Foundation, which offers disadvantaged school-leavers the opportunity to pursue a career in cooking.
Each of the students, who come from orphanages and children’s homes in and around Durban, applied for entry into the course and were chosen based on a rigorous interview process. The Oyster Box is a major sponsor of the project providing assistance in “cash and kind” for setting up the Ikusasa training kitchen, and providing ongoing practical training to the annual student intake.
Each student has had the opportunity to work “side by side” with the Oyster Box’s professional kitchen brigade, as well as in the other key hotel departments such as banqueting, stores and receiving. The top student on the course will be permanently employment by The Oyster Box. – Ridge Correspondent
The inaugural graduation ceremony takes place at Durban’s International Convention Centre (ICC) on Friday, November 26.