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Ebrahiem du Toit from Eastridge in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, was just three days old when he was sent to live with his grandmother. His father had been shot and killed and his mother wasn't in a position to take care of him. But when his aging gran could eventually no longer provide for them, he started selling drugs to keep the wolf from the door.
The 26-year-old has turned his life around and is now cooking on gas at one of the country's top-rated restaurants.
This is his story.
“Growing up, I didn’t have a relationship with my parents and lived with my grandmother, Zainap Daniels.
She did her best to take care of me but whenever I went to school, all I could think of was our home life. There was no food to take to school, so I started selling drugs at the age of 13.
This landed me in trouble, and I was arrested for drug possession on a few occasions.
I wasn't convicted of any crimes but every time I was detained, I asked myself if this was the place I wanted to be and if this was the life I wanted to live.
Prison isn't a good place, but because I had nothing I didn't really care about my life and kept making bad decisions, until I met my wife, Mushfiekah.
When she became pregnant with our firstborn, I knew I needed to change for the better. I knew I couldn’t do the same things my parents did to me. I wanted more for myself and my child.
One of my friends then told me about The Test Kitchen in Cape Town and suggested I try to get a job there. I made an appointment to see the head chef and told him about my past before asking for a chance.
I was stunned when he gave me a shot.
I was hired as a cleaner in the scullery in 2015, cleaning all the restaurant's dishes, which I did for a year and two months. The chef then gave me an opportunity by teaching me to bake bread.
He saw potential in me and offered me chef's training, which took about two and a half years.
Before I knew it, I'd slowly moved up the ranks until I became senior sous chef at The Test Kitchen in Johannesburg last year.
It's been an amazing ride. I'm so proud of how far I've come.
READ MORE | MY STORY: I couldn’t find a job, so I became my own boss – this is how I did it
Food is my passion. When I’m in the kitchen, there’s no other place I want to be.
But as much as I enjoy it, being a chef isn't always easy because not everyone will love your food, so you must make sure that you keep innovating and improving dishes. The criticism is hard to swallow, but it also forces you to be better and make better food.
My goal is to open my own space one day so I can give back.
I'd love to have a restaurant in Cape Town where I appoint underprivileged people or people with no matric and train them, so that in six months’ time they can walk into any restaurant and have the necessary skills to work there.
READ MORE | MY STORY | I am an average student who worked hard to become a doctor
My family, especially my wife and two kids, have been so supportive and played a massive role in my success. I’m grateful to my wife for sticking by me through everything because it wasn’t always easy.
I'll never forget what one of my teachers told me. He said, 'You'll never go anywhere in life with your attitude.' It would’ve been true had I stuck to what I did.
But I chose to make a change and now here I am.
If I can do it, anyone can. You just need to want to change and believe in yourself.”
