Being a chef is not always regarded as a ‘good’ income-earning profession, and many parents fail to realise that one can earn a decent living by preparing meals for others. Furthermore, no matter how impressive your cooking abilities are, it can be challenging to persuade a traditional African parent that you aspire to pursue a culinary career.

Most parents probably expect their child to pursue a career in law, medicine, engineering, or architecture, while disregarding other professions like being a chef, artist, sportsperson, or model, and often push for studying a different field at university, only allowing the pursuit of passions or talents later on.

It is a scenario many people relate to; some African parents are relentless in wanting their children to follow in their footsteps, or even be better than them in terms of career aspirations. In most cases, talent is sacrificed and substituted for ‘formal’ education.

Ethiopian-Rwandan chef and entrepreneur Nicole Ansoni knows a thing or two about this, as she faced a major dilemma growing up— follow her parents’ career path or pursue her passion.

Born in New York, US, 36 years ago, to an Ethiopian father and a Rwandan mother, both diplomats working for different organisations, the stakes were high for Ansoni, whose wish to be a chef was not appealing to her high-achieving mother.

Before venturing into her current field of hospitality, and later on becoming a chef at her restaurant, Ansoni had to first join university to study a course of her parents’ liking.

"I majored in something that has nothing to do with what I do now, absolutely nothing. I did political science and international relations,” said Ansoni, a University of Pennsylvania graduate.

The course would allow her to follow in her parents’ diplomatic footsteps but today, she is an entrepreneur and chef in the hospitality sector.

Ansoni is the proprietor of Inka Steakhouse, a high-end restaurant located in Rugando, Kimihurura, that specialises in offering top-notch, fine dining experiences.

Ansoni has not only achieved her dream—doing something she had always been passionate about since childhood—but she also defied the odds and proved that children can pursue their dreams, even if their parents do not approve of them.

Children have dreams

It required her to do something that would please her parents before pursuing her own desires. This time, she didn’t just aim to be a chef; she aspired to own a venue employing numerous chefs, waiters, bartenders, and more.

"I am delighted that I followed my childhood passion which was to become a chef and own a restaurant, and I think the little girl today would be proud to see that I’ve come a little bit further than the original dream.

"I wanted to become a chef and to my African mother, that made absolutely no sense. That was not a career. That is not a respectable job. That is not something that will give you a future,” Ansoni recalled.

Ansoni could have also told her that she wanted to be an artiste, instead of a chef, but that too wouldn’t have been approved.

"Coming from such an educated background, she really didn’t see how I could make a life for myself cooking for other people. And so, when we had the conversation, she was like, ‘listen, you either go to school or we cut you off’,” she said.

So she went to school and did what she was supposed to do. But as it was destined to be, she ended up doing what she loved after all.

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"I think today, my parents see that it’s important to let your kids dream and that, maybe, if you let them pursue their dreams, they could go a little bit further,” Ansoni said.

Coming home

Upon finishing school, she worked for international organisations, and then in 2013, she decided to come back to Rwanda and reconnect with her family and also embark on her entrepreneurial journey.

In Rwanda, she first worked with her brothers before venturing into her own businesses, starting with a small cleaning company, and taking up corporate cleaning jobs, and it was from there that she started saving for her bigger project—opening her own restaurant.

"We cleaned offices and so on, and that was my first opportunity to really engage with local human resources, and what it took to open a company that needed certain kind of resources or equipment that wasn’t found locally, staff that would be able to communicate in multiple languages.

"The second company that I opened was an event management company which now was on a larger scale and involved more people than the cleaning company. The third business, that is where we are right now, Inka Steakhouse, my restaurant,” a satisfied Ansoni said.

It took bravery, self-belief, and determination for her to defy odds and venture into something she loved rather than what she studied. It was a lifelong dream and some friends encouraged her to take the leap of faith.

However, the big question was, where would the capital come from because setting up a good restaurant requires a lot of money. Today, she has more than one restaurant.

Starting small

"I was able to use my savings to start that first business. And so, the second business sort of ricocheted from the first business and then the third, which required larger capital,” Ansoni said.

It is the advice she gives young people who want to venture into entrepreneurship—your bigger dream might require a lot of money. To achieve it, one has to start with smaller projects from which they can save and eventually be able to pursue the main dream.

"Through my other businesses, I was able to start this restaurant, which then led to other opportunities in hospitality,” she said, adding that as her business portfolio grew, she decided to form Ansoni Group, an umbrella company for her businesses.

Beyond cleaning and events management, she is investing in start-ups of young entrepreneurs, particularly in the hospitality sector, investing in real estate, and her newest venture, beverage products, mainly spirits and liquors, which will hit the market early next year.

An idea first

To be an entrepreneur, Ansoni said it starts with a good idea, which can be something you are passionate about or something that will offer a solution to a problem in your particular society.

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The first question one has to ask is; is it adding value? If it does, the second question is; is it something that you believe that you can do? Once you have an answer to those questions, you hit the ground running.

"To be an entrepreneur is to be a doer,” Ansoni said, adding that from the inception of the project to developing it, to being able to run it, and managing all the details, one has to be hands-on and 100 per cent involved.

Some ideas require having to work for somebody or an organisation first to grasp or refine your own idea, get mentorship, or study the market—all these and more are part of the initial thought processes that you need to have before you venture into entrepreneurship.

"But the biggest advice I have is, first believe in yourself. If you have a vision, all the rest will follow. If you are strong enough in your will and you have a vision, people will invest in you financially and emotionally,” the businesswoman said.

Along the way, she has been lucky to have some mentors and people who offer her advice and help her to make certain decisions, which is why as an entrepreneur, one has to have the right network and connections. She wouldn’t have done it on her own.

As an executive female chef, she had to navigate her way through kitchens in a male-dominated world. Ironically, while cooking is traditionally seen as a female role in most African societies, it is often men who are most prominently recognised as top chefs in the hospitality industry.

It is only today that women are breaking barriers in the hospitality sector, with women entrepreneurs like her taking their place.

"In hospitality, we find that there are many women in the sector. However, they’re only in service jobs. They’re not in managerial positions.

"A lot of times it’s because there’s been lack of opportunity for higher education, to go into management positions and really, that is where we need to do more.

She believes that people like her and other women in the hospitality industry can open doors for more women and girls to join the sector, which still largely remains male-dominated.

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Parental advice

Ansoni encourages parents and guardians to listen to their children’s dreams and support them. Today her mother is her biggest champion.

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Given the societal biases that already put girls in a disadvantaged position, not supporting their ideas can be a double blow. Ansoni calls for the need for parents and guardians to be more understanding.

"We should celebrate our girls and we should celebrate them in whatever field that they want to go into. I think there’s a lot of pressure on African women in society to be multiple things.

"You know, we have to be good daughters and good mothers and good wives, and that is a priority,” she said, adding that at the same time, women have to grow their careers, and Rwanda stands out as one of the countries that have proved that it is possible.

Give women a chance

She says it is about time African society realises that women can do it all and very well.

"We don’t have to just be mothers and wives but we could also have successful careers,” she said, pointing out that it starts at home, when parents are talking to their daughters about what is possible.

She added that allowing children to be what they want to be, regardless of whether a parent likes it or not, is the first step to supporting them to be successful in whatever they do.

Her sector is not an easy one, as it requires a lot of planning, investment, human resource management, and maintaining high standards.

"There are many challenges,” she said, pointing out that the majority of them are technical and logistical challenges, including access to high-quality products.

"Most people in the hospitality business will tell you that the biggest challenge we have is human resources,” she said, revealing that one of the challenges they face is training staff but they end up leaving.

Ansoni said it takes about 10 years to build a solid hospitality business, which is known for certain standards and has reliable human resources.

Luckily, today Rwanda has more hospitality schools that are churning out more graduates but Ansoni said unlike most crafts, hospitality skills are mostly learned on the job, rather than in school.

"To be a really good waiter, you have to have experience. You can’t just learn it in school to be a good chef. You have to work your way through kitchens to be a good manager. You have to have some experience.

"There’s only so much that you can learn,” she said, adding that there is a lot that goes into on-job training, in terms of cost and time, to give staff the right skills and conduct that matches the facility and expected services.

It is an intricate business that requires full-time engagement but regardless of the hurdles, it has been rewarding in many ways for Ansoni. Today she can only look back and feel proud.

While there is still a long way to go, Ansoni is confident that Rwanda’s hospitality sector is on the right track and she has been there long enough to see the growth and improvement.

However, she would love to see more women in managerial positions or as owners. She said Rwanda and Africa in general have brilliant women who have so much more to offer.

"As women, we bring something different to the table. We bring a different energy, we bring a different charisma, a different kind of empathy, and patience -all that we bring to whatever career we go into.

"I think we are ready. We’re on the right path,” said Ansoni, who also serves on the Rwanda Chamber of Tourism and sits on the board of the Rwanda Hospitality Association, representing restaurant owners.

More women in hospitality

Ansoni said that seeing more female hospitality business owners in different provinces, not just in Kigali, is what makes her proud and should inspire more girls and women to join the sector.

"We always highlight what is happening in Kigali, but there are a lot of hospitality businesses that are opening up in other provinces led by women.

"So, to any young girl dreaming of entering the hospitality business, whether it’s a restaurant, whether it’s the hotel business, my advice to you would be first, you decide exactly what it is that you want to do in this business.

"If it is something that’s going to require you to get a specific education or specific training for, go for it and skill up. If it is something that requires you to learn on the job, seek out opportunities.

Financing is a challenge, especially for young girls and women starting out, and who are most likely not going to be trusted by banks, starting small with one’s savings is the easiest option, just as she did.

"With self-belief and determination, the dream can easily become a reality. It is equally important to remember that if you have a vision, people will believe in you and invest in you.

"Sometimes you don’t need to have the money. To you women and girls, surround yourself with like-minded people, people who are knowledgeable and can mentor you to achieve your entrepreneurial goals, but first it starts with you,” Ansoni counselled.