Gadzirai Mlingwa, from a spark to a flame of cooking

Sipepisiwe Moyo

GADZIRAI Mlingwa is a professional chef who works at a reputable hotel in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He is one of the many men who have broken the stereotype that cooking is a woman’s job, especially in Africa. He has proven his skills and talent in catering for various occasions, from weddings to funerals, under the theme ‘food made with love’.

Mlingwa, who graduated from the school of tourism and hospitality at Bulawayo Polytechnic, said that cooking was not just a job for him, but a passion that he was born with. He said he was happy that he had followed his dream, despite his family’s attempts to persuade him otherwise.

“I have no regrets on my career choice, though my family tried to divert me, you know in terms of my career, they would say why don’t you do law, linguistics, journalism and all that but I decided to stick to my own route of professional cookery,” he said.

Mlingwa said he was able to prepare any dish, but he also acknowledged that there was always room for improvement and learning, as there were various sectors in the kitchen. He said he was proud of his knowledge and skill to produce quality and delicious dishes. He said his inspiration came from within, and that he had always been fascinated by cooking.

“My inspiration comes from within, it started off as a spark then it turned into a flame, I used to see people cooking here and there on the television but the inspiration was more from within, it was within me,” he said.

Mlingwa also noted that women were facing challenges in this field, as companies were now giving first preference to male chefs, even though culturally the kitchen belonged to women. He said he was willing to mentor and teach other aspiring chefs, as he had also learned from other great chefs.

“I do not mind teaching others as we have to share the knowledge, one great chef once told me that one candle does not lose anything if it lights up another candle, it actually makes the room brighter therefore I always make sure that we share the knowledge and pass it on,” he said.

Mlingwa said he had worked with a lot of catering companies and had gained a lot of experience and expertise from them.

“Where there is division of labour everything comes out perfectly, and working unitedly helps us produce quality food,” he said.