Alumnus: Harris Hlungwani

Harris honed his cooking and baking skills at Capsicum’s Pretoria campus and graduated in 2018 with a Diploma in Food Preparation and Cooking. "For me the biggest advantage in studying at Capsicum was being taught by lecturers who have real experience in the food industry and have acquired a lot of knowledge and skills which they are willing to pass down to the students," he says. After graduation, he got a job at Kream, a fine dining restaurant in the Mall of Africa and a year later was offered a sous chef position at the South African Bureau of Standards. And then along came lockdown, the loss of his job and the shutting down of the food and catering industry. "I spent my time looking for employment which didn't go well until it hit me! Instead of looking for work, why not create my own company and help expand our industry.” That's when his online catering company Generis Taste was born, specializing in corporate catering, private chef services and custom-made cakes.

Generis Taste is now flying, and Harris is looking to expand to keep up with demand. His five year goal is for the company to grow big enough to be able to provide the catering for national and international presidential guests. He is also teaching himself advanced pastry skills via YouTube tutorials so he can increase his range of offerings to his loyal and growing clientele.