Today, he is the proud owner of Anda Kigali, a 24-seater restaurant that employs 32 people.
Treasure Makwanise, a young Zimbabwean chef working in Kigali, recently opened doors to his own restaurant Anda Kigali and according to a review by Rwanda's biggest news site New Times, the restaurant is promising to be among the most sought-after places in Kigali.
Makwanase left Zimbabwe in 2009 with his thumb in the wind at the tender age of 16, to settle illegally in Cape Town, South Africa. He believes in Bruce Lee's philosophy that simplicity is the key to brilliance. He first landed his restaurant job as a cleaner at One and Only Restaurant. After volunteering to work in the Kitchen at the same establishment, he worked his way up the ranks under the mentorship of Jason Miller to become the Permanent Assistant to the Chef, a role he kept for four years.
He then left South Africa in search of more lucrative opportunities in the Middle East, where he landed on his feet at the Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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| Treasure Makwanise. Photo by Willy Mucyo |
He later returned to South Africa, upon Jason Miller's request where he worked for a few months and landed a promotion as One and Only opened a property in Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda. He worked at the establishment until the Covid pandemic hit. He decided to stick around in Rwanda where he explored available opportunities including starting his own business.
Today he is the proud owner of Anda Kigali, a 24-seater restaurant that employs 32 people.
His art is not high-end or anything, but rather based on passion and bringing together individuals who have the same drive and history.
His goal is to have clients emotionally connect with the location and return for the same reason, and it appears to be succeeding. For Makwanise, cooking is not just an industry but rather something satisfying in many ways and young people should not be discouraged if they feel passionate about it.
Check out his story below courtesy of New Times Rwanda.