Two Wescol students who are the complete opposite of each other recently represented their college at the Vaal University of Technology Master Chef competition.
The two things these students do have in common are that both have a passion for cooking and both are very good at it.
Thabiso Letshwenyo, a 32-year-old student won third place in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) category of the competition. His lecturer, Marietjie Scholtz said he was a few seconds too late with his dish, which cost him second place.
Thabiso is not new to the industry. He worked for two major companies as a pastry chef but took a leap and went back to school to better his qualifications. “It’s not easy to go back to school after being in the industry and earning your own money. I was the breadwinner and now I depend on my girlfriend to bring in money. I also play in my church band on the side,” he said. Thabiso has a three-year-old daughter.
“This is a change of pace for me. Everything is different from when I was in school but I’m coping. I’m managing to keep up.” Thabiso is very modest but in actual fact he is one of the top students in his class.
The second chef extraordinaire is Nicole Schwarts, a 20-year-old former Hoërskool Riebeeckrand matriculant who said, “I had no doubts at all. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
She said she always has been interested in cooking and when the time came to choose her subjects in high school, she chose those suitable for becoming a chef.
Nicole is at the top of her class and was named best overall in the competition. She also won first place for the best main course and in the TVET section.
She said after completing her diploma at Westcol she would like to travel the world and experience different types of cuisine to improve her cooking. Thereafter she would like to open her own restaurant.
“Why would you work for someone when you have the skills to do it yourself?” she told the Herald.
