Cohort three of 2026 in Bergzicht Training and Development’s Advanced Food Service Assistant Programme prepared a graded practical dish in the newly renovated training kitchen in Stellenbosch on 8 July, as part of their preparation for entering the professional hospitality industry. PHOTO: Supplied/Corine Mans
A Stellenbosch NGO’s efforts to counter unemployment through training and job placement received a welcome boost when its kitchen was upgraded.
The revamp of the training kitchen at non-governmental organisation, Bergzicht Training and Development, came about thanks to a 30-year partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, a German institution investing directly in local skills development.
In a statement released after the event, Ivan Meyer, the Western Cape MEC for agriculture, economic development and tourism, who attended the unveiling of the training kitchen, pointed to the broader three-decade-long relationship between the Western Cape government and Bavarian parliament. He emphasised that education and skills training remain among the most effective tools for reducing poverty, driving economic growth and sustaining education and employment in areas around Stellenbosch.
Michelle Walker, CEO of Bergzicht Training and Development, said the goal was to close the gap between training and the workplace.
“We wanted our students to get a proper professional cooking environment so that when they go into the workplace, it’s not this huge spaceship,” said Walker.
“The kitchen, built roughly a decade ago as a basic domestic-style space, has been fully refurbished with stainless steel surfaces. Induction stations for all 13 students, upgraded ovens and equipment such as a salamander grill, [which] NGO has never owned before,” she said.
Thomas Huber, chairperson of the Christian Social Union (CSU) Working Group on Labour and Social Affairs, Youth and family, in the Bavarian Parliament, first visited Bergzicht in 2024.
Inspired by what he saw, Huber went on to secure funding for the kitchen renovation through the CSU, which is the centre-right Bavarian political party, and the Bavarian State Chancellery.
“The true significance of this kitchen does not lie in the equipment, it lies in the young people who will use it. Bergzicht is far more than a training centre. It is a place where opportunities begin, confidence grows and futures are shaped,” he said.
Corine Mans, student support co-ordinator of Bergzicht Training and Development, said the relationships formed during training rarely end at graduation.
“They call it the Bergzicht family,” Mans said, describing how students and alumni continue supporting one another well into employment. According to Mans, Bergzicht’s food service programme runs as an intensive Quality Council for Trades & Occupation (QCTO), an accredited course with graduates placed at wine farms, including Lanzerac Wine Estate and Spier Wine Farm.
Annabella van Breukelen, chef-lecturer at Bergzicht Training and Development, said the intensity of the programme and its outcomes come down to a simple philosophy: “You become part of their lives. This is my payback time, I suppose,” she said.
Achumile Ntanzi, who completed her Work Integrated Learning (WIL) at Boschendal Arum restaurant, was part of cohort two of 2026. She received one of two awards on her graduation day on 26 June. PHOTO: Supplied/Annabella van Breukelen
Achumile Ntanzi, food service assistant student, said the programme’s emphasis on independence became clear the moment she reached her work placement.
“When we go to where we train for [placement], we were never told anything. They just said, ‘Here is the kitchen’, and we had to figure things out ourselves but we never felt like we could not do this,” she said.
Jaydeen Greeff, chef de partie at Spier Wine Farm, said her time at Bergzicht Training and Development shaped both her skills and her path into permanent employment. Greeff completed her Work Integrated Learning (WIL) at Spier restaurant.
“My time at Bergzicht was incredible. I learnt from everyone there, from how to treat people and myself, to knife skills, to how to react in the workplace. Being there, I discovered my love for food and for being in the kitchen. Now I am still at Spier, happy and learning,” she said.
Olwethu Masango, commis chef at Lanzerac Wine Estate, said “Leaving my job to go back to studying with Bergzicht was a really hard decision, but looking back, it was worth it. Bergzicht gave me that start I needed, and I am working permanently at Lanzerac”.
From left Andile Hlalukana, Reatlehile Dimpo Makhoali and Thina Cosa are a part of cohort five for the 2026 academic year. PHOTO: Supplied/Annabella van Breukelen
Walker said Bergzicht deliberately keeps its programmes small, training approximately 250 to 300 people a year across its chef, childcare- and frail-care courses, rather than scaling for volumes.
“We are not a sausage machine, it’s not about churning through a thousand people a year,” she said.
As a new hospitality pilot programme launches this month to prepare students for the tourism season from September till May, Bergzicht aims to equip students to be confident in the industry workspace.