Akhona Swazi
Chef and Lecturer

In honour of #AfricaMonth, we’re connecting with Chef and Lecturer, Akhona Swazi, as she whips up some delicious African-inspired dishes.

Chef Akhona’s love and fascination for cooking started at a young age, when she would watch mom cooking, putting ingredients together to make up a delicious feast.

Cheffing however, is in her blood as both her dad and granddad were chefs. It was because of this that Chef Akona believes that she was destined to be a chef, but she did not always know that. 

When she went to high school, she had ambitions of becoming a lawyer or psychologist, with cooking being something she did on the side. She later came to the realisation that food was part of her journey and she decided that she wanted to make a career out of it.

In high school, Chef Akhona took on Hospitality Studies as a subject and during that time, she was able to construct her dream of becoming a chef. After matric, she went on to complete a 3-year National Diploma in Hospitality Management focusing in Professional Cookery before being awarded a bursary to a 4th year BTech in Hospitality Management. 

She worked in the industry for some time before she realised that she wanted to give back to her community that helped her achieve her dreams and help other boys and girls achieve theirs. She went back to studies and completed a Teaching Degree specialising in Hospitality Studies, Business Studies and Languages.

She taught at multiple public schools before joining Capsicum Culinary Studio. For Chef Akhona, teaching young chefs how to cook and how to be creative in the kitchen has been a great journey.

Instagram: @akhona_swazi