Flora Park resident, Terrance Mabaso is ready to take on Disneyland
Terrance Mabaso will soon be living every young chef's dream as he jets off to the United States for an internship at the Walt Disney Resorts and Lodge Company in Orlando, Florida.
POLOWKANE – For Mabaso who is from Flora Park, his love for cuisine started at the age of five, when he used to watch his mother cook for the family and guests. “Sometimes I’d force her to let me help her with one or two of the dishes she was making. I’d say it’s a gene I inherited from her, cooking is one of the ways I express my creativity and test my skills, yet it’s also comforting and therapeutic for me,” he said.
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The international city and guilds chef enrolled with the International Hotel School for the Culinary Arts for a year long programme, in 2017, which he finished in record time. In 2018, he enrolled for a food and beverage management course, which was also for a year with the same institute. He will miss his graduation ceremony as he will be in the States.
He shared that he got the internship after one of his lecturers, chef Pierre van Heerden recommended him to Walt Disney Resorts and Lodge Company. “He sat me down and explained that it would be a great foundation to start my career. I was sent an application form to complete, which was then followed by an interview with the Disney recruitment team, which came to South Africa at the school. From there I went through a secondary telephonic interview with chef Tim Oakley, the Executive Chef for Disney and within two hours, I received a letter stating that I had been selected to be part of the one year culinary internship programme with their company,” he explained.
Speaking of his feelings about this new chapter he is about to embark on, Terrance said that it has not sunk in yet. He is excited but also nervous because it’s the biggest thing he has done in his life so far. “It all comes with being humble, obedient and submissive towards the industry giants, as well as good communication. I’m done with all the preparations for my departure, from immigration procedures and documentations, Visa processes of which was approved last year December, flight tickets, travel insurance and medical insurance, including all necessary finances needed. For now I’m going to the gym to prepare my body for the industry while I wait for the departure date,” he said. He will be in the US for 12 months and he is looking forward to learning as much as he possibly can about the industry as he plans to one day own a restaurant.
