Half a century in the hospitality industry

Tom Mutavdzic is the founder and director of the Silver Spoon Hospitality Academy and a lecturer at the academy. He has been in the hospitality industry for about 50 years. He is a well-known hotelier who was inspired by his parents, who were also part of the industry while he was growing up.

“My parents were in the hospitality trade and had a small country hotel, the Otavi Hotel” said Mutavdzic.

Mutavdzic said it never crossed his mind to enter any other career.

Hard work

During his time in the industry, a major challenge has been identifying and employing well-trained staff, especially in smaller towns.

“You had to spend a lot of time training your staff and getting them to understand to prepare ahead,” he said.

The Silver Spoon academy is a hospitality vocational training institution that opened in 2016. The school is affiliated to the Chef MLK School of Cooking in Johannesburg, South Africa, to ensure strict standards.

The courses offered are based on the International City and Guild curriculum, which is internationally recognised.

Mutavdzic’s aim, through the academy, is to uplift Namibian cuisine to the next level; chefs are taught to experiment with Namibian indigenous foods. At a recently held graduation dinner at the academy, students prepared mahangu pasta for the attendees, a culinary experienced that was widely praised by those present.

Jo-Marie Ortner, one of the delighted guests, said every time a tourist visits Namibia and asks for a taste of Namibian cuisine, this is what they are supposed to be served. “I love to see that the academy is creating a name for Namibian cuisine, this way we can introduce ourselves internationally and create a name in the foreign market,” she said.

Mutavdzic enjoys the fact that there is never a boring or uninteresting moment in the hospitality industry, seeing as one constantly meets new people. “There is never a dull moment, no day is the same.”

The academy does not only focus on teaching cooking skills, but students are also trained in other aspects of the industry, including how to serve guests.

He explained that it is important to acquire front-of-house skills, and learning how to deal with customers directly.

Mutavdzic cautioned that working in the industry must be seen as more than just another job.

"It must also be viewed as a profession rather than a job, as you will most likely advance into management faster than through the culinary arts route," Mutavdzic said. "There are many opportunities in the hospitality industry worldwide."