{"id":34899,"date":"2023-10-16T13:40:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T13:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/cooking-up-a-culinary-delight"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:36:04","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:36:04","slug":"cooking-up-a-culinary-delight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/cooking-up-a-culinary-delight","title":{"rendered":"Cooking up a culinary delight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>She is a trained electrical engineer who dumped the electrical cables for the kitchen. And she is loving every minute of it. Now a successful businesswoman, Mats\u030celiso Mokuoane, the CEO and founder of Rhythm and Blues Catering, says she has always loved cooking.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Khanyane, Leribe, with her twin sister, she would volunteer to cook for the family rather than do the dishes and other household chores.<\/p>\n

What made her passion for cooking thrive was that she was surrounded by people who were also passionate about cooking. \u201cMy grandmother was a community social trainer on cooking while my mother was a home economics teacher,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Mokuoane, who has now been in the industry for over 25 years, says her work in the kitchen kept improving. She says she would sometimes be called during family and friends\u2019 gatherings to cook.<\/p>\n

The turning point for her came during a routine church meeting at St John\u2019s Apostolic Church in Lekokoaneng over two decades ago. As she was attending church with friends, they realised the challenge they had in getting breakfast during the prayer meetings.<\/p>\n

The St John\u2019s Apostolic Church in Lekokoaneng has for decades been known for bringing pilgrims from across southern Africa for special worship. \u201cI saw a business opportunity,\u201d Mokuoane says.<\/p>\n

Mokuoane says the three came together and hired a simple shelter to sell food. She says they further realised that most of the shelters only provided breakfast, not bathes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe then divided our small shelter into a kitchen and bathroom with a curtain,\u201d she says. It was a rudimentary structure from whose idea came the beautiful guest house that she now operates.<\/p>\n

Besides operating the Rhythm and Blues Catering business, Mokuoane also runs Mahlakapese Holdings, which encompasses a 22-room guest house and the Mahlakapese River Resort.<\/p>\n

The Rhythm and Blues Catering Company is one of the top catering companies in Lesotho that is often asked to serve VIPs during special occasions. But her entry into business was not an easy ride.<\/p>\n

She had to overcome numerous challenges along the way. Even when she was working full-time, she would often venture into business cooking food for sale.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened when she was working for a large parastatal in Mokhotlong. She would go home tired after work, with no energy to prepare a healthy meal for herself and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then thought, surely, there are people who are frustrated just like me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Mokuoane then hired a shelter to sell food in her free time. She says she then hired one woman to run the business since she was too busy. \u201cThe lady took all my money, and I had to close the business,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, my passion kept me going,\u201d she says. Mokuoane says she then found a bigger place out of town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was the first tenant of the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO) building there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Although the place was way out of town, people would still come to buy her food. \u201cMost people liked my food, and I knew they would come,\u201d she says. While she was working, she got a catering licence.<\/p>\n

Mokuoane says she knew this was just the beginning of great things for her. During one event, she says ministers in the district were so impressed with her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom that time on, I started getting VIP jobs,\u201d she says. She says she has always tried hard to be close to her role models so that she can learn from them.<\/p>\n

She even asked to collaborate with some of her role models on certain projects. She says she knew that she was investing in her learning journey. Mokuoane says she worked under the arms of giant entrepreneurs without expecting any financial gains.<\/p>\n

All she wanted was to learn vital lessons from business. Mokuoane says she also worked with one of her cousins in Bloemfontein, South Africa. \u201cIn 2004, when South Africa hosted the 10-year Mandela celebrations in Senekal, I was her chef,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate goal was to build my business profile and was not so keen about the money,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says budding entrepreneurs should stop prioritising money on their learning curve. Mokuoane says when giants in the industry realised her ambition, they began to fight her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a decision to work even harder,\u201d she says. The result is that she is now recognised as one of the best caterers in Lesotho.<\/p>\n

She has often engaged other entrepreneurs in Maseru to exchange skills. Mokuoane says at one point she moved from pillar to post seeking a loan to build a guest house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not want to see the word investor. I thought they gave money freely,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then expanded my six-room guest house to 22 rooms,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Mokuoane founded the Circle of Global Women Forum in Lesotho, a non-governmental organisation to promote women in business. She says the idea was to support women in business. Mokuoane is also the founder of the Women in Tourism Association of Lesotho. She is also a member of the Northern Tourism Forum.<\/p>\n

As part of her learning journey, she attended several business forums such as the Hotel and Hospitality Business Forum between South Africa and Dubai, Hospitality in Ghana, and Dubai Expo 2020.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. She is a trained electrical engineer who dumped the electrical cables for the kitchen. And she is loving every minute of it. Now a successful businesswoman, Mats\u030celiso Mokuoane, the CEO and founder of Rhythm and Blues Catering, says she has always loved cooking. Growing up in Khanyane, Leribe, with her twin sister, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[233,246,2022,245],"class_list":["post-34899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-culture-and-art","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-electrical","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nCooking up a culinary delight - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"She is a trained electrical engineer who dumped the electrical cables for the kitchen. 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