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A 20-year-old aspiring chef from a single parent home is on track to fulfil her dream of a career in the culinary arts, thanks to the generosity of the Guvon Academy, in partnership with Hot Cares.

Jessica Boyce had the news broken to her by Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast Show on HOT 102.7FM that she was in fact not the finalist as she understood, but actually the winner of the three-year Chef Apprenticeship Programme courtesy of the Guvon Academy and Hot Cares.  The bursary is inclusive of all textbooks, tuition fees, uniform and knives, valued at R350 000.

“I’m in complete and utter shock,” said Boyce. “I would never have been able to afford this and it’s a dream come true. Making people happy through food is what I want to do, and this bursary is just the start I need. I just love cooking and it’s something I’ve enjoyed doing all my life. Now I get to make a career out of it!”

“Making people happy through food is what I want to do”

The Guvon Academy is a member of the Guvon Hotels & Spas Group and their international accreditation with Highfield Qualifications and the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality in the UK, as well as the Chartered Institute of Tourism and Hospitality, means their programmes are endorsed by industry leaders and globally recognised.

Boyce is a waitress and former restaurant manager, and her three-year programme will include workplace experience within the Guvon Hotels & Spas Group, as well as professional mentoring and development. This will allow her to experience a variety of aspects within a professional hospitality establishment.

According to Johan Oosthuizen, the Managing Principal of the Guvon Academy, once recipients complete this qualification, integration into one of the Guvon Hotels as a permanent staff member is a real option and a ‘fast track’ into formal employment.

Every year Hot Cares hosts its Teddython fundraiser with HOT 102.7FM and the 2022 event saw a whopping R8.9m in cash, goods and services raised, with all of these funds and products – including the Guvon Academy bursary – providing Hot Cares with the means to continue doing the work it does over the coming year.

Hot Cares focuses its efforts on four key areas – humanitarian and welfare, medical, educational, and animal welfare – and the awarding of Boyce’s bursary fits strategically with the Hot Cares vision.
If you are in a position to donate towards making a meaningful difference or have a story to alert us to, or a programme you’d like to partner with Hot Cares on, please get in touch with us by emailing [email protected].