Alumnus: Sera von Gericke

Not all students from Capsicum graduate and find themselves working a full-time job in a hotel or kitchen. Some graduates leave and set up their own companies having learned a lot about, and encouraged to embrace, entrepreneurship. One such alumnus is Sera von Gericke who owns and runs Tulbagh 55, a successful events and wedding venue. Sera’s love for cooking only began in her 30s when she had to cater for the foreign guests visiting the family business. “After a while I realised I loved to feed people and would rather be in the kitchen than at the table,” she says. It became Von Gericke's passion and in 2016 she decided to open a small cooking school and at the same time take a night course at the Capsicum Boksburg campus. “My decision to go to Capsicum was so that I could ensure that what I was teaching my students was correct. I enrolled for a Level 2 Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Arts and once I graduated my life changed completely.” Sera bought an abandoned property that had stood vacant for many years and turned it into a venue – she called 55 Tulbagh - that has since hosted many successful events from baby showers to birthday parties and weddings. In recent years, she has opened a boutique coffee shop and built another area that can accommodate wedding ceremonies or private dinners, while future plans include a fine dining evening restaurant and a craft beer brewery.