LBE Catering was started from Lungelo Masiza's modestly-equipped home kitchen in Khayelitsha back in 2006. As with any other emerging business, things were not easy and Lungelo went without a salary for over 2 years.
Under the mentorship of TSiBA Education, Lungelo soon realised that his passion for food was simply not enough! He needed to work towards attaining a qualification, something that was clearly beyond his reach!
It is at this point that TSiBA stepped in again, engaging it's extensive networks. Within 1 hour of doing so, the following opportunities were offered to Lungelo:
Cheryl Nisbitt, owner of Capsicum Culinary Studio in Pinelands generously agreed to offer Lungelo a bursary of R10 000 to enable him to study a City & Guilds Certificate in Professional Cookery. Upon successful completion of the certificate, Lungelo will be eligible to register for the Diploma in Professional Cookery. Both qualifications are internationally accredited. This would leave Lungelo with an outstanding balance of R6 000.
Then, after hearing Lungelo's story, FEDHASA's Carolyn Nevill agreed to pay 50% of Lungelo's outstanding fees, to the tune of R3 000!
Then the Table Bay Hotel in the Waterfront put the traditional cherry on top (pun intended) - they agreed to pay the full R3 000 balance of Lungelo's fees AND offered to sponsor his practical training in their world-class kitchens. Lungelo signed a 12-month contract as a Trainee Chef and dons his chef's attire with pride. The contract includes a number of benefits like a uniform allowance, meals, overtime, travelling, time off for classes ... and even a monthly salary of around R2000! Furthermore, the Table Bay Hotel appreciates that Lungelo wishes to continue running his business and have encouraged him to negotiate his shifts with them in order to do so. "We love to help people who are willing to go the extra mile and show initiative" says Christelle Horne, HR Manager for this prestigious hotel. Now there is even talk of Lungelo being offered an opportunity to train in Italy ... we will definitely keep you posted!
In retrospect, most of the credit needs to go to Tana Breytenbach, Group Development Manager of the renowned Vineyard Hotel in Newlands. When Tana heard Lungelo's story, she jumped into action and facilitated all of the above. Thank you, Tana.
"With a grandmother who owned a butchery and shebeen, a mom who sold fish and nowadays organises loans - and the funeral parlour on my dad's side of the family - the kids in the Masiza family like to develop themselves!" enthuses Lungelo. "We work for what we have and we don't ask for help from our families. Hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit is for us a part of life - it is in our veins!"
We wish you well, Lungelo and wherever you go, take the spirit of LBE Catering with you, bringing the world "traditional African cuisine with a modern twist".
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