Tapiwa Kudzanai Jamu, a sommelier at Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel in Pretoria, comes from humble beginnings.
He started in the wine industry as a gardener. "I used to pretend working on the little plants around the cellar each time there was a wine tasting. Curiosity got me flooding the restaurant staff with wine questions," he says. Soon he moved to the restaurant, training to be a waiter. He remains as inquisitive as always, learning as much about the trade as he can.
Tapiwa holds sommelier qualifications from the Sommeliers Academy and the South African Sommeliers Association (SASA). He came in second for the Distell Inter-Hotel Challenge Wine Steward of the Year award in 2021.