City Lodge Hotels’ culinary clash at CSG’s new training kitchen

First place: Julius von Richter, assistant general manager, and Nonkululeko Nxele, guest services agent F&B breakfast cook, from City Lodge Hotel at OR Tambo International Airport

The CSG Kitchen Academy has transformed an area of unused office space into a bright training kitchen, with eight spacious and fully equipped kitchen stations. Facilities like these are always in demand in the culinary industry and not just for training purposes – they are also ideal for team-building, demonstrations, and cooking competitions.

A team of learners and mentors from City Lodge Hotels – made up of chefs, general managers, and trainees – put the space through its paces for a friendly cook-off. Each learner was teamed with a member of their hotel’s management, and together they cooked up a festive feast for judges and colleagues from both organisations.

The scrumptious cook-off festive feast consisted of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and gravy; potato bake, green beans and onions, and roasted vegetables; penne Arrabiatta; and Thai chicken green curry and basmati rice.

From City Lodge Hotels, Devandra Narismulu, executive chef at City Lodge Hotel, OR Tambo International Airport, and Trevor Boyd, group F&B manager, operations, were on hand to share skills, tips and tricks with the contestants

Recipes, ingredients, and cooking tips were provided, and prizes were awarded as follows:

• First place: Nonkululeko Nxele, guest services agent (GSA) F&B breakfast cook, and Julius Von Richter, assistant general manager, from City Lodge Hotel at OR Tambo International Airport
  
• Second place: Amogelang Lebeloane, GSA F&B waiter, and Zack Levendal, general manager, from City Lodge Hotel Lynnwood
  
• Third prize: Dumsani Dlamini, GSA F&B waiter, and Dirco Botha, deputy general manager, from Courtyard Hotel Waterfall City

Other stakeholders present on the day included City Lodge Hotels support office staff, managers and directors; hotel managers, chefs and cooks, and CSG management and team members.

Contestants, working in pairs, with four pairs per side, were supplied with all the ingredients to prepare the following:

• Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and gravy
  
• Potato bake, green beans and onions, and roasted vegetables
  
• Penne Arrabiata
  
• Thai chicken green curry and basmati rice

Third place: Dirco Botha, deputy general manager, and Dumsani Dlamini, guest services agent F&B waiter, from Courtyard Hotel Waterfall City

Second place: Zack Levendal, general manager, and Amogelang Lebeloane, guest services agent F&B waiter, from City Lodge Hotel Lynnwood

Judges awarded marks out of 100, split into taste: 50, presentation: 20, professional cooking techniques: 20, and timekeeping: 10.

The experience ended with a shared lunch and much camaraderie, as new skills were acquired, teamwork enhanced, and relationships with suppliers strengthened.

Lischen Gurovich, HR manager at City Lodge Hotels praised the eight teams who participated: “A big shout-out to all the incredible learners and mentors who made the launch of the CSG Kitchen Academy a success. Your talent and creativity in preparing and presenting these delicious dishes are truly impressive – the proof was in the tasting, which we all thoroughly enjoyed! We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated, and we look forward to seeing your culinary skills continue to flourish within our company.”

Two organisations working together to grow skills in the hospitality industry: From City Lodge Hotels are Trevor Boyd (general manager: F&B Operations), Kyle Willemse (HR: group training coordinator), Marcel Kobilski (HR director), Lischen Gurovich (group HR manager), and Sneh Maphumulo (HR group skills development facilitator), and from CGS Skills Institute, Bronwyn Kloppers (business development/head of department: learner management & operations) and Marietjie Swanepoel (managing director skills – CSG talent division)

Inspecting the feast produced by contestants are (from left) Marietjie Swanepoel, MD at CSG Skills Institute, and Morne Bester, operations manager at City Lodge Hotels

Trevor Boyd, general manager: food and beverage operations at City Lodge Hotels, notes: “This marks a dream come true for City Lodge Hotels to have this opportunity to experience the new CSG Kitchen Academy. We are eager to see this facility utilised by our general managers, operations team, and learners, as we envision the future of our learnerships. This is a groundbreaking day, signalling a bigger picture for us moving forward. It's great to be here, seeing everyone busy cooking, chatting, laughing, learning, and enjoying the experience.”

Marietjie Swanepoel, managing director skills – CSG talent division, says: “The opening of the CSG Kitchen Academy marks a transformative moment in our commitment to advancing skills development and professional training in the culinary arts. This new venture represents a leap forward in empowering individuals with the expertise needed to excel in the industry, as we aspire to offer a variety of culinary courses to upskill and reskill our workforce."