The inspirational Johannesburg Culinary & Pastry School aims to train chefs to be productive, independent, and employable. It is a true drawcard for both students who wish to master the art of cooking and the general public, who love sampling great cuisine. The school was founded in June 2012 and started out in the Maboneng Precinct as one of the newfound pioneering small businesses.

It also featured at the Sunday Market on Main, giving local and international patrons a taste of a variety of yummy treats. 

The school has since moved to the banking district in 2019, occupying the old Barclays Bank Head Office.

The school hosts coffee tours at Conception Restaurant, its on-site restaurant, and boasts a hydroponic rooftop garden where it grows micro-herbs and lettuce for the students’ practical classes. 

It is frequented by tour groups due to its building’s rich history.

“The Cocoa Bar is our small batch bean-to-bar section where our students roast cocoa beans and process them to make delicious chocolate bars, bon-bons, and other treats. Guests are welcome to book a chocolate tasting experience to sample these hand-made delights,” says Jarlyne Joel, who co-founded and co-owns the school with her husband Kelvin.

Joel says they had a clear dream with its establishment: to make it a world-class permanent landmark in Johannesburg.

“We’ve worked tirelessly at building the brand and striving for excellence. It’s as though we’ve stepped into the role of being part of the history of our magnificent city, and we’re excited for the many possibilities of becoming a world-class culinary school,” she adds.

The Johannesburg Culinary & Pastry School is located at 85 Commissioner Street in Marshalltown, in the heart of the Johannesburg CBD. 

Joel says locating the business in the city centre is meant to ensure accessibility, especially for students from the CBD and surrounding suburbs.

“Post Covid-19 and everything the experience of a pandemic has taught us; we saw the need to change our motto to ‘Training Future Leaders Who Will Challenge the Status Quo’. This is because we realised that only making people employable is no longer good enough; we need leaders who can step up and create employment and challenge the way things have been done. Especially with the Fourth Industrial Revolution on our doorstep,” explains Jarlyne.

Joel’s school is constantly buzzing because it has become a popular site for tour guides routing through Johannesburg. She says one of the major benefits of being based in the Johannesburg CBD is the school’s access to a market that has been overlooked for a long time. There are also a multitude of exposure opportunities in the surrounding area.

The target market of the Johannesburg Culinary & Pastry School is quite vast, as they have had various applications from all over Gauteng and even abroad, including students from as far as Israel and Angola. 

There is currently a staff complement of 21, with about 150 students enrolled.

The school offers international and nationally accredited diploma and certificate courses. It has had over 1,000 graduates to date. It also hosts corporate events, team-building exercises, year-end parties, and short courses that give the public a real-life feel of operating within the culinary industry.

“This enables students to hit the ground running when they are placed at hotels, restaurants, and other food establishments,” she adds.

Joel says she and her husband have always had an interest in the food and beverage industry, having moonlighted in the catering business while her husband worked as a chef for 17 years. She held a 9-to-5 job in the insurance industry before venturing into a bakery and then culinary school.

It was her husband’s dream to give the youth of Johannesburg the opportunity to gain experience by learning the intricacies of the food industry and becoming chefs.

“Our mission was to stand for something and play an active role in improving our communities. I’m from Eldorado Park, and Kelvin is from Westbury, and the city has always been a part of our lives. Stepping into the role of proudly representing our communities is an honour. To make an impactful difference and give young people an opportunity at greatness is indescribable,” says Joel.

The couple had big plans for the near future.

“We are excited about where we are and what the future holds. We would like to convert the Johannesburg Culinary & Pastry School into a university in the next few years. We also aspire to own a building in our great city to design our school to our own specifications,” she says.