Page 5 - DUT Edge

RISING STARS 5
DUT ALUMNI ESTABLISH KASI FOOD JOINT AFTER
LOSING THEIR JOBS
Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Hospitality Management alumni Kwanele Makhaye, Vuyani Khumalo and Mlondi Khumalo recently established their own Kasi food joint called the BBQ Boys at KwaNdengezi, outside Pinetown.
Pictured: The BBQ Boys founders, Kwanele Makhaye, Vuyani Khumalo and Mlondi Khumalo.
The entrepreneurs specialise in the American barbeque style infused with shisanyama avours in the busy Tom Tom and Malandela Road, KwaNdengezi.The trio started this business after they could not return to their places of employment – abroad and one out of the province – due to the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Makhaye from KwaNgcolosi said that his passion for cooking began at the of age 11 when he started cooking with his mother at family gatherings. He enrolled at DUT for a National Diploma in Hospitality Management where he met his business partner Vuyani Khumalo. His other partner, Mlondi Khumalo, is his childhood neighbour.
Makhaye specialises in the culinary aspect such as menu and food planning. While still at DUT, Makhaye was fortunate to be selected for the Disney Culinary Programme. Makhaye also has vast experience working abroad and has also worked at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
“I spent about a year in the United States studying. I went to Disney University rst where I learnt everything about service. The programme was structured around us being exposed to the different environments in the establishment. We learnt about quick service, which is your McDonald’s type of set up, where fast food is served, and a family-style type of dining, which is your buffet
restaurants.We were structured to move around in all those places and learnt a lot when it came to culinary service,” said Makhaye.
He said that at BBQ Boys, he uses most of the skills he learnt during his time of travelling. He revealed that after Disney, he got another chance to go overseas where he spent three years working at hotels and country clubs. Before the pandemic, Makhaye was working as a chef in one of the luxury cruise lines but was forced to return back home.
Vuyani Khumalo (27) from KwaNdengezi also has a National Diploma in Hospitality Management that he obtained at DUT. He was also exposed to working overseas. In BBQ Boys, he’s more of a front man who deals with people. Khumalo grew up watching cooking channels and has worked in Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape during his in-service training. He is happy with the feedback they have been receiving from their customers. Meanwhile, Mlondi Khumalo (23) from KwaNgcolosi runs the operations. He completed his National Diploma in Hospitality Management at DUT last year, and is looking forward to graduating this year and growing their business. He was working as a chef at Southern Sun in Johannesburg before the rst hard lockdown in March last year.
Some mouth-watering food sold at the BBQ Boys kasi food joint in KwaNdengezi.
During level 4 of the lockdown in March last year, Makhaye and Mlondi Khumalo started a business of selling affordable bread in the streets of Durban, which helped them to save enough money to establish BBQ Boys. Business has been great for the BBQ Boys since people have been loving their food, presentation and service. Check out their page: bbqboys_za on Instagram and Facebook.
Simangele Zuma
DUT ALUMNi USES WHATSAPP TO BRIDGE LANGUAGE GAP
COVID-19 has taught Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Language Practice alumna Gloria Thandekile Mngadi to think of more innovative and impactful ways to teach children the importance of preserving their language as Africans.
Mngadi (30) from Ndwedwe recently started a WhatsApp group titled: Ingosi Yabantwana (Children’s Session) where she teaches little children how to read and write IsiZulu and English.
Seeing that most people moved to online learning during lockdown, she also came up with the idea of WhatsApp classes, which she says are a lot cheaper and accessible to disadvantaged communities.This is a service that she is running through her language services company, GTNAQM PTY Ltd.
“Ingosi yabantwana is where I am educating children through storytelling, preserving language and also teaching the languages IsiZulu and English. At school, in the English class you don’t get a chance to interpret in your own language. My plan is to teach them at an early age as language is the core of life and can open up lots of opportunities.We use language in our daily lives.We also host face-to-face tutorials and monthly reading sessions,” she said.
Mngadi, who obtained her National Diploma in Language Practice at DUT in 2015, said that she began offering language services while she was still a student at DUT. She was selected to be an IsiZulu tutor, where she taught and encouraged fellow students to love and preserve their mother tongue.
Speaking about her journey at DUT, Mngadi said: “My journey at DUT was a success and a blessing. I learnt a lot from DUT, especially being a language practice student. My highlight was attending the Friday poetry sessions at the Steve Biko campus. I used that platform to sharpen my poetry and writing skills. One of my achievements was being chosen to be a language tutor for IsiZulu, teaching students IsiZulu.”
Also at DUT was where she wrote her rst children’s book titled: uMimi noZuzu Esikoleni, which was published in 2015. Last year, 2020, she also released a poetry anthology book.
Through her foundation, the Gloria Thandekile Mngadi Foundation, she is also providing sanitary aids to her neighbouring communities during this dif cult time of COVID-19. In both her company and foundation, Mngadi said that her main challenge is obtaining funding.
Simangele Zuma
Pictured: Alumna, Gloria Thandekile Mngadi.