When Raksha Lakhan made the bold decision to sell her thriving catering business and join the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani she knew that this move would equip her to master her craft and one day return to running her own kitchen. The commis chef in Maharani Hotel’s main kitchen was immersed into the fast pace culinary industry at an early age, assisting in the family catering business. This laid the foundation for the chef’s love for food and cooking.“My aunt owned a catering business, so naturally I spent most of my time in the kitchen with her. As a child I would observe the kitchen come alive igniting the senses with aromas, colour and creativity. I was immediately attracted to the industry,” she explains.
Despite the prominent role that the culinary industry had played in her life, Lakhan opted to study business management and marketing. But when offered the opportunity to take the reins in her aunt's catering business Lakhan chose to forego her studies to pursue her passion.
"It was as though fate intervened and afforded me the opportunity to realise my dream and I certainly embraced it. "As with any business there were many challenges and I found myself learning through experience. Through hard work, dedication and my love for the culinary industry I was able to sustain a thriving business," she says. During the next 10 years Lakhan used her business acumen to expand her trade; employing 13 staff and securing new premises, which saw the introduction of a take-away. “The take-away offered a selection of traditional Indian delicacies including samoosas, bunny chows and roti rolls. The business developed a strong reputation and I even supplied Indian savouries to leading spice store Gorimas,” she added. Despite her success, Lakhan’s ambitions to further expand her business and develop her expertise drove her to seek additional practical experience - the large industrial kitchens in the hospitality industry proved to be the ideal platform to do so.
“The demanding banqueting hot kitchen requires the streamline production of large quantities of food while maintaining the highest quality and consistency. As a result I have developed excellent time management,” she says. Lakhan admits that transitioning from managing her own kitchen and staff to entering the hotel’s large industrial kitchens, headed by leading local chefs, required some adjustment. "I had to shift my mindset from giving instructions to taking direction and this took some work. But the guidance and insight that I have gained from the team has reminded me that I have so much to learn.
“Working in a commercial kitchen has afforded me a wealth of knowledge through experience," she adds.
During her four-year tenure at the hotel, Lakhan’s recipe for success has been constant innovation and serving food that brings guests joy.
It is this philosophy that has earned her the opportunity to compete in the Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge in June.
“I am extremely excited to participate in a competition of this scale as well as learn from it. Being selected to represent the hotel nationally is a huge vote of confidence, which I hope to continue to earn,” she says.
Despite describing the hotel and team as “a second home and family” Lakhan’s entrepreneurial spirit remains and she is determined to eventually return to running her own business.
“My goal is to use this opportunity to build the capital and skills to establish an events company offering a bespoke buffet service,” she explains.