AUTHOR: Sipho Siso
PUBLICATION: Alex News
IMAGE: Original article
Alex chef Sweetness Simata may just be a simple stone’s throw away from the heart of Sandton’s wealth in the central business district of Sandton City Mall, but he still dreams of a culinary road paved with gold.
“It’s not that easy, my brother, as many back in my Kasi seem to think that I now operate a restaurant right in the heart of Sandton’s wealth, and therefore it’s a given that I am also reaping the golden rewards.
“I am struggling to make ends meet, but I am prepared to walk the long journey in the hope that tomorrow will be better than yesterday, and that next year, the street I have been walking may suddenly be paved in gold,” Simata told Alex News in an interview.
The 23-year-old, who comes from 16th Avenue from a single mother parent, is the younger of two boys. He opened his restaurant in Sandton in July last year, after completing a year’s culinary skills programme with the Youth Employment Service (Yes) at their hub site at the Alex Mall.
After completing his matric in 2018 at Alexandra High School, his mother, a domestic worker, took a risk and secured a loan to take him to culinary school at the Johannesburg Culinary and Pastry School in Marshalltown.
Covid-19 hit the shores of South Africa and scuppered his dreams of going abroad. He offered his services as a chef at 54 Houses of Africa in Gandhi Square, which eventually offered him a scholarship and the tag was that he opens a restaurant upon completion.
After graduating with a Diploma in Culinary Arts, he met Miles Khubeka, CEO of Wakanda, who incubated him and later helped him open his container outlet, known as Sweet Chefs Restaurant just outside the Sandton City Mall next to the Michaelangelo Hotel. Khubeka bought him equipment and his first stock, and the rest is history.
Sweet Chefs specialises in chicken wings and chips in which Simata prides himself that his wings were quite different from those of his competitor, KFC. “I hope to open a store in one of the big malls one day and continue to expand my business and employ more people.”
Amendment to the Gazette