Founded in 2018 in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands by Nicky Cawood;
The brain child behind the Service Excellence vision.
Nicky Cawood returned home at 27 with a remarkable amount of experience into the service industry after spending 5 years on the yachts. Her experience in the field gave her a fresh outlook on the potential the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands area presented. A 27-year-old go-getter and natural entrepreneur, Nicky has recently started her own service business, where she trains and hires out her waitering staff for weddings and corporate events in and around KZN.- “Candice Buckle
“It all started when I moved back home a few months ago, and I wasn’t really sure of what I was going to do next”, Nicky says. “Laura Cole extended an invite for me to work in her kitchen at Chef & Thyme and that’s where I was first re-exposed to the hospitality industry in the Midlands. After realising the low standard of service in South Africa the idea dawned on me to start up my own Service company. Having worked in a 5-star industry in the US, I noticed the lack of training and skill that some of the staff presented”.
While many of us South Africans know there is a lack of job opportunity for the youth of South Africa , Nicky saw the opportunity to create jobs for the local community in which she lives. “Our family knew of a group within the local community that were in a constant search for job opportunities ,but lacked experience within the careers they chose to study, they have always been in the back of my mind”, Nicky says, “so I got them all together and thought, I’m going to start a platform for local youth to come in, train with me, and eventually be upskilled within the service and hospitality industry”, she explains. Nicky compiled years of yachting experience into a bespoke program which she used to teach a group of students at night for three weeks, eventually getting them into the kitchen for training until they were ready for the floor in three short months. – Candice Buckle
Nicky’s vision grows into an training element where she helps many South African youth obtain jobs and specialised skills for the hospitality industry. Her intention is to provide a platform that youth all over South Africa can obtain. Her service course is called Service Mastery , the business will be the platform for practical experience where the youth will be paid for the front of house experience. The Goal is to get her students into mainstream hospitality by partnering with hotel branches all over South Africa.
