South African Catering industry deals with the process of preparing, arranging, maintaining hygiene and serving different menus or cuisine for private and public consumption. They deal with both indoor and outdoor catering services. Common Catering roles in South Africa industry include catering assistants or general assistants, cooks and chefs, catering team leaders and managers, sales executive and business developers.
Catering job positions in South Africa requires at least 1–2 years of experience in a similar food service or hospitality role with a Grade 12 certificate and other relevant hospitality, catering certificates and diploma like NQF L5. All caterers must also have a strong communication in English and Afrikaans, also knowing how to manage time with the ability to work under pressure is very important.
Finally, all caterers must adhere strictly to health and safety regulations. If you a seeking for a logistics role or position in any catering industry, you must have a driver’s license. In this article we will discussing on current catering job in South Africa, Companies or organization hiring caterers, their qualifications and other related details.
Latest Jobs Opening in South African Catering Industry
1. Catering Unit Manager
- Employer: Western Province Caterers
- Location: Eastern Cape, South Africa
- via SimplyHired
- Job Type: Full-time
- Work Location: In person
- Degree: No Degree Mentioned
- Experience: Minimum 2 years Catering Management
2. Sales Executive – On-Site Catering Division
- Employer: Swift Recruitment (Pty) Ltd
- Location: Pretoria, South Africa
- Basic salary: R25 000 to R30 000
- via Pnet
- Job Type: Full-time
3. Catering Manager
- Employer: Feedem Group
- Location: Worcester, South Africa
- via LinkedIn
- Job Type: Full-time
- Degree: No Degree Mentioned
3. Catering and Kitchen Position
- Employer: Sodexo Southern Africa
- Location: South Africa
- via Trabajo.org
- Job Type: Full-time
- Work Location: In person
- Degree: No degree required
- Pay: R6 000,00 to R35 000,00 per month
4. Equipment and Beverage Packing Manager – Inflight Catering Industry
- Employer: Newrest Group
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- via Careers Website Newrest Group – Newrest
- Job Type: Full-time
- Degree: No Degree Mentioned
5. Assistant Catering Manager- Maternity Cover
- Employers: Feedem Group
- Location: South Africa
- via LinkedIn
- Job Type type: Full-time
6. Cook “Chef” – Retirement Centre Catering Unit
- Employer: Central Baptist Church Welfare Association (CEBACWAS)
- Location: Pretoria, South Africa
- via Pnet
- Job Type: Full-time
- Degree: No Degree Mentioned
- Experience: 3 years of experience in food and beverages service
- Salary: R9000.00 per month depending on experience & qualifications
Qualification/ Skills Required for Catering Career Opportunities in South Africa
1. A catering assistant and helper beginners must have at least a grade 10 to 12 (Matric). Having a national certificate (N4-N6) or national diploma in hospitality and catering services, professional cookery or food technology from TVET colleges is highly recommended. All caterers must also have level 2 or 3 food safety and hygiene training certification. For specialized chef, SAQA ID: 101697 – Level 5 is usually required, and this involves studying for not less than three years which is equivalent to 18 in school or any catering industry.
2. Caterers must have culinary and food preparation skills. They must have knowledge of different kitchen technique such as grilling, baking, frying and so on. They must know how to use the the knife and also have the ability to follow different recipes. All caterers must have knowledge of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and other local health regulations.
3. They must be able to plan menu and costing, they must be able to supervise and manage kitchen staff, also organizing and planning events. All caterers must be able to stand for long hours, they must be physically stable, they must be able to lift heavy object, work under high-pressure and fast-paced environments. Caterers must also be a computer literate, they must have knowledge of MS Office, especially for inventory and Point of Sale (POS) systems.
4. In South Africa, specialized roles like catering manager or controller would be needing a degree or national diploma (NQF Level 6 or 7) in Catering Management with at least 3–5 years of relevant experience, and strong financial acumen which are budgets and procurement.
5. It’s required of chef or cook to have knowledge of specific cuisine and a valid driver’s license for online and offline catering delivery. Food service assistant must have at least a year experience in relevant role with hygiene and customer service in mind.
Companies/ Organization Hiring Caterers In South Africa
1. The Central Baptist Church Welfare Association (CEBACWAS): They usually supply home made meals everyday for different client and events in their both center. This organization offer position for cook and chef in the catering department of the organisation.
2. Western Province Caterers: The western province caterers offers diverse catering services in the healthcare, retirement, corporate industrial and education section. They mostly recruit cooks and chef within south Africa.
3. Bidvest Catering Service: The Bidvest catering service is a national catering industry located at Johannesburg, they offer food services for corporate, healthcare, and education sectors.
4. Tsebo Solutions Group: this is another top national catering organization that provides catering solutions and workplace management across different African countries.
5. Servest SA: The Servest SA offers integrated facilities management, including catering, across South Africa.
6. Empact Group: This organization deals with commercial food solutions and contract catering and they’re currently employing staff to fit in various diverse area.
7. Feedem: The Feedem is a catering industry that manages catering over 319 sites across various industries. The recruit staff for various banking position.
8. Red Star Wholesale Catering Services: The red star catering service is a shoprite Group company that provides bulk, wholesale, and, in some cases, direct-to-consumer catering products.
9. Destiny Cuisine: This destiny cuisine is a national catering industry that’s specializes in corporate and private event catering with over 15 years of experience.
10. The Gathered Table (Cape Town): The gathered table is a boutique catering, located in cape town and they deals with seasonal, locally sourced, farm-to-table food.
Average Salaries For Catering Jobs in South Africa
Yearly, a caterer can earn an average salary of R123,506 per year which is equivalent to R11,871 per month. A new caterer can earn an average salary of R100,367 annually while senior role or position may earn R142,694 or more. A general caterer can also earn around R59 per hour.
A catering manager can earn an average salary of R208,800 to R295,471 per year which is equivalent to R22,500+ per month. Executive chef can earn around R350,000 to R492,000 per year at average which is R41,000 per month.
Monthly, a sous chef can earn around R18,000 to R18,794 per month at average, head chef usually earn around R28,773 to R29,425 per month. Waiter and waitress can earn around R5,699 per month. Caterers should know that salary are determined by location, experience, and sector such as contract catering, hotels, and specialized event management company.
Challenges Faced by Caterers in South Africa
1. Lack of or insufficient supply of basic Infrastructure and Operational Resources: Catering industry in rural location mostly face challenges like poor power supply and this can affect cooking, food stuff kept in the refrigerator or freezer, and the entire services being rendered as a whole. Many event and venues, especially outdoor or rural locations, face water shortages and inadequate sanitation or waste disposal infrastructure. Also, transportation is another major problem, industry might find it difficult to transporting food securely due to bad road, maintaining the cold chain (food safety), and ensuring timely delivery.
2. Economic and Financial Pressures: Industry face food inflation which has lead to poor cost management. Caterers or catering industry find it difficult to maintain margins while trying to keep prices competitive. They find it very difficult to balance the rising costs of labor, ingredients, utilities, and fuel in a volatile market
3. Human Resources and Staffing: There’s shortage of qualified and skilled labor like chefs, cooks, and qualified, reliable service staff in the catering industry. Also the organization face problem in retaining experienced staff because most employees usually complain of physical and mental stress and training new inexperienced employees can be time consuming and challenging.
4. Health, Safety, and Compliance: Some caterers might find it hard to strictly adhere to HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and food safety regulations. Maintaining these standards, especially under pressure during peak times, can be very challenging.
5. Client Expectations: Caterers might face pressure for perfection. Clients usually expect high quality food, perfect presentation, and precise timing, with very little room for error.
Conclusion
Catering industry in South Africa is currently hiring competent workers for common roles like catering assistants or general assistants, cooks and chefs, catering team leaders and managers, sales executive and business developers. To be qualified you must have met all the basic requirements which includes 1 to 2 years of experience, certification, relevant skills and degrees or diploma in relevant roles. Although for those without formal training, it is advisable to start as a kitchen helper in other to gain better experience.
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