Candice Burger who lives in Parow, has been at the helm of Capsicum Culinary Studio for only a short time, but has already seen a number of students graduate and step straight into a job or set up their own businesses.
Says Burger: “We had a Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Learner-ship of 10 successful graduates who have now either found permanent placement or are entrepreneurs giving back to their community.” Burger is a strong advocate of the school’s emphasis on entrepreneurship and studying for a skills-based qualification.
“It is vital that we teach our students entrepreneurial skills alongside the culinary ones, as both are inextricably interlinked. How you set up a catering business or a restaurant and avoid or overcome pitfalls, and how you maintain staff and a budget. These are all vital things to be aware of in the culinary industry.”
What makes Capsicum stand out from its competitors? “There are also our brilliant chef lecturers who all want the students to succeed as well as our internships and learnerships, which together form critical components to empower individuals to fulfil their passion and help build the hospitality and tourism industry,” says Burger.
Burger is a foodie at work and at home, and when she’s not in the kitchen making one of her hearty stews or baking bread she likes nothing better than to relax in front of the TV watching MasterChef. It’s not only their passion for food that inspires Burger though, but also a desire to educate the students under her care and equip them with the knowledge and the tools they will need to succeed in the culinary industry.
