CHROs enjoyed an evening of making sumptuous meals while networking and sharing ideas.
On Thursday, 29 September, a group of HR executives met at The Cookery in Craighall, Johannesburg for the second CHRO South Africa cookout, where they had the opportunity to mingle with their counterparts while they prepared mouthwatering meals.
The evening started with introductions and a bit of networking over drinks.
Emilio Coccia, business partner and chef at The Cookery, laid down some ground rules and shared safety tips with the guests before the kitchen got heated up.
The Cookery, Emilio said, is the brainchild of the Secret Jozi Chef. “We do social cooking experiences in Johannesburg. We believe we can make cooking fun again. We can bring people into the kitchen and let them fall in love with the process of making food. It’s not just about cooking, but about loving cooking,” he said.
“Tonight we hosted CHRO guests and we created a 13-course dinner with them and everybody participated in creating a beautiful meal,” said Emilio.
Tshepang Molepolle, HR administrator at Bosch, said she mostly enjoyed interacting and networking with HR counterparts. “It was so amazing. I enjoyed the food and I like how the chef explained the different dishes we were making.”
Phumzile Hlatshwayo, head of human capital at Altron Systems Integration, said she enjoyed her experience at The Cookery. “My team member and I made an apple cake, chicken broth and a salad with very nice and light ingredients. I really enjoyed the day – good company and we learnt a lot in terms of cooking skill. I realised that cooking is actually an art.
She said the good thing about the event was networking with other professionals in the HR space. “We shared common themes personally and professionally. This is the place to be.”
Elsie Pule, group executive: HR at Eskom, said: “It was great for HR professionals to meet on a neutral platform and look back at the value they add in organisations.” She said she enjoyed cooking with fellow colleagues and discovering that she is actually not a bad cook.
Dr Penny Mkalipe, chief medical officer at Eskom, said she had a “wonderful time. I enjoyed the company, the ambience and the food we prepared, which was very sumptuous. Being taught how to cook food we never thought we could cook, was just awesome. It was a lovely evening. Thanks to everyone.”
Elvina D’ Almeida, finance operations analyst at Bosch, said about the event: “It was a nice event where I got to meet a lot of nice people. I personally love cooking and tonight I got to cook a lot of nice stuff. I also learnt cooking tricks I did not know before. All the food we made was amazing. The drinks were amazing. I had a really nice time.”
