Page 17 - KZN Top Business Women - eBook 2023

You’ve got to be focused and you’ve got to know what your aims and goals are.

But it’s only going to happen if you’re not scared of hard work.

for her waking up and seeing the growth, development course. She has trained students of all ages, from all
Founder-Principal Jackie Cameron School
and upliftment of her staff was hugely gratifying. That’s areas of South Africa, as well as internationally, in diverse
of Food & Wine
what got her excited about the potential of opening her areas of cooking.
own training facility.
ackie Cameron is an award-winning chef and the As she says, the training that she offers is, “intense,
founder-principal of Jackie Cameron School of Jackie added, “It’s lovely getting awards, and I have had fantastic, fabulous, and real”. She adds, “There are no
J Food & Wine. Her love for food began around the many of them, but for me now, being at my school is grey areas with me. I’m very old school. If you are five
kitchen table at her parents’ home, where she said, more rewarding. It’s about my students winning the minutes late, you are late, that’s how kitchens work. I
“everything happened”. awards. I find I can celebrate that so much more easily.” never want the money that is being put into education
to get wasted.”
Her early career included being the head chef at Hartford Once qualified, Jackie’s students are 100% guaranteed of
House, and her game plan was to stay there for one year, finding a job placement. She explains, “I can find them Jackie’s future goals are to train more people. “I feel
however, she ended up working there for nearly 12 years. work and they can pick and choose where in the world by educating and training you’re not just making a
“I went to Christina Martin School of Food and Wine. they want to go or where in the country they want to difference to that one person; you’re making a difference
to the entire family that surrounds that person. More
Apart from learning about food, I loved her business cook, which is really special. My students are going out money needs to be put into education because it does
mind, and I realised that education was where I wanted into the world, winning phenomenal things, and doing change lives.”
to go. It was about year two at Hartford House that I extremely well, which makes me very excited.”
started thinking about transforming my parents’ home, Give it your all
in Hilton, into Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine.” Learning curves
Jackie added with a laugh, “I think that I know how to Jackie’s journey has not been without challenges; however, In guiding her students, Jackie comments that the ages
20 to 30 are the most important time of your career life.
cook, but my calling has always been teaching.” she says that she is able to get over anything negative
extremely quickly. She commented that she sees every “You’ve got to put your head down and give it your all.
Motivation from within challenge as a learning curve. Every day chefs go to work, wanting to be better, quicker,
faster than the person on each side of them. You’ve got
She went on to say that much of her motivation came One of the challenges Jackie has experienced has been to be focused and you’ve got to know what your aims
from her parents. “It’s my upbringing, I never, ever want learning to manage difficult students. She explains that and goals are. But it’s only going to happen if you’re not
to disappoint my parents, they’ve kind of devoted their she enjoys managing each student completely differently scared of hard work.”
entire lives to my sister and me. They even lived on a to get the maximum out of each individual.
Jackie is grateful to her husband, Ben, and their baby girl
building site for 10 years.” She added that she believes in leading by example. Jasmine. She explains, “If they weren’t in my life, I think
Her three-year-old daughter is now also an important “There’s no way that my students would do what they I would work every minute of every day. It’s fantastic
source of motivation, as Jackie says, she is watching every do with smiles on their faces, and with as much energy to get balance, to have them and to spend family time
step she takes. and excitement, if I didn’t also wash the dishes.” with them.”
In addition, Jackie says motivation has to come from Another challenge that Jackie experienced when she In her spare time Jackie does a lot of cooking. “I bake in
within – we have to have self-motivation. “As a family, opened her school, was handling the perception – due my free time,” she says, as her blue eyes light up. “It’s not
we’re always excited to go to work. I have never worked a to her “blonde hair, makeup and earrings” that she always because I’m a chef, but how I was brought up. If we were
day in my life because I’m passionate and I love my work has on – that she was providing a finishing school. craving something sweet, we didn’t go the cupboard –
to the point of being obsessive.” we made it ourselves.”
“Some parents thought if they sent their daughter to my
Commenting on her many achievements over the years, school, it was going to be a quick copy and paste, and Jackie concluded that she gets inspired by having
Jackie says that waking up in the morning and making a their daughter was going to be a Jackie Cameron. That conversations with people who are doing well and wants
beautiful plate of food is fulfilling and obviously brings was never going to happen.” People soon realised that to learn from them. She is excited to be part of KZN Top
pleasure to the people sitting in the restaurant. However, Jackie was offering an internationally accredited chef’s Business Women 2023.

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