Pastry Chef | Radiographer

SISANDA SINESIPHO NKONYENI DEMI PASTRY CHEF

BELMOND MOUNT NELSON

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BE A PASTRY CHEF? My love for food started when I was still in primary school. Whenever I got home I’d watch these cooking shows and sometimes recreate what I had seen on TV. Taking up cheffing as a profession was never part of the plan, until my final term in high school. I went ahead and studied professional cookery, and then worked in various kitchens, looking for who I wanted to be in the world of chefs. I found a sense of belonging, but that wasn’t

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD

enough. I moved on after my three years in hotel school, applying for a pastry position. Since then, I’ve never looked back. I feel at home when I’m in the pastry kitchen. It has taught me alot of patience.

WHAT TRAINING DID YOU UNDERGO, AND WHERE? I studied Hospitality Management: ND Professional Cookery at the Cape Town Hotel School, CPUT.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? I love it when things come together! It goes with being organised. Working with other people, working in a team. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how good a chef you are, you always learn something from the people you work with, be it at the junior or senior level. Most of us refuse to admit that you can always learn something through someone else’s work.

WHAT DON’T YOU LIKE? I don’t like receiving complaints about work that I was involved in. Hence, it is important for me to do my best every day.

WHAT HURDLES HAVE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME? I guess it would have to be taking things personally. Over the few years that I’ve been training and have been a chef, I’ve learnt that everyone I serve will have an opinion of their own. Taking criticism in a constructive manner wasn’t easy, but it has helped me; it is slowly shaping me into the person I want to become.

WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE? Happy, content guests is a highlight of my every day!

IN CHEFFING, IS EXPERIENCE AS IMPORTANT AS FORMAL TRAINING? Definitely, some things you can’t be taught in class, or in a culinary lab. You get to pick up a whole lot more in the kitchen.

AMINAH PATTERSON DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHER

MORTON AND PARTNERS RADIOLOGY

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION? It was always my dream to be in the medical fi eld. In Grade 11, I went to Vincent Pallotti Hospital to job shadow the radiographers, and it was there that my knowledge and passion for the field grew.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO? Radiographers work with cutting-edge technology that produces X-rays; CT

X MARKS THE SPOT

(computed tomography), which are X-rays of slices in the body on three different planes; fluoroscopy – an X-ray test that examines the internal body and shows moving images on a screen like a movie; and other medical images to assist clinical radiologists and other doctors to reach a diagnosisfor the patient’s condition.

WHAT TRAINING DID YOU UNDERGO? I studied theory at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) for four years and started doing practical work in my second term of first year at Groote Schuur Hospital for the duration of my studies. We spent two weeks on campus and two weeks in the hospital every month.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY I start at 8am, check my list of patients and whether I can call for any ward patients. While doing the X-ray, I get a brief history of why they find themselves there. I ask them about their painful anatomy while I am positioning them.I explain the process after the imaging: I send the images to one of our radiologists, who then sends a report to the referring doctor.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST? Meeting new people, being able to play a small part in helping them and the doctors reach a diagnosis and, ultimately, treating the patient based on the diagnosis given from the X-ray images I take.

WHAT DON’T YOU LIKE? I need to position the patient in a specifi c way to get a proper anatomical image, so when the patient is in pain it is hard to watch, even though I know it’s beneficial to them.

ANY FUTURE GOALS? To excel in the basic skills of radiography such as general As a chef, you do more practical work, and may find that the theoretical part of it is not as important. For me, if you have both then your work becomes a little bit less difficult.

IS THERE A TYPE OF PERSONALITY BEST SUITED TO THIS WORK, OR CERTAIN TRAITS ONE SHOULD HAVE (OR NOT HAVE)? Passion is key. You have to love what you do. As Vincent van Gogh once stated, “If it’s done in love, it’s done well.”

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN YOUR CAREER? Always keep an open mind to others, and eventually find a style that illustrates your individuality.

DESCRIBE YOUR JOB IN THREE WORDS Sweet • Hard (work) • Fun

and trauma radiography and CT. I would also like to specialise in mammography (breast imaging).

EXPERIENCE VS FORMAL TRAINING? The two go hand in hand: Formal training gives you a baseline of how to position the patient and what exposure to give when doing X-ray images. Experience gives you the ability to manipulate what you have learnt according to your patient and their abilities and needs.

IS THERE A TYPE OF PERSONALITY BEST SUITED? You need excellent communication skills, a caring nature, good observation skills, and the ability to work under pressure and use technologies.

ADVICE FOR NEWCOMERS? Remember, it’s not just hightech machinery that you’re working with, the patient and their well-being always comes first.