An Artist Blog | food & lifestyle Feature
An interview with Kenneth Ayere, Founder of HomeBaze African Cuisine, Sandton City, Johannesburg, South Africa
You have to be excellent to stand out in the crowd and I know from experience, what it means to create awareness for my Art in a country that is filled with a lot of creativity and ideas that compete for attention.
I discovered here in Johannesburg to succeed you have to be authentic, honest and confident in who you are and what you do.
Mr. Kenneth Ayere
A prime location, in the same premises of the World Famous Nelson Mandela Square, we were beyond proud and it was validation that focus, confidence, diligence, and hard work pays.
Homebaze Sandton City
I met Kenneth and his beautiful wife together some 9yrs ago. Mr ken was already an established entrepreneur in Johannesburg. Owning the Homebaze restaurant chain in three highbrow locations then, Sandton Village Walk, Brightwater commons Randburg and Pretoria area, with a Caltex Petrol Service Station in Krugersdorp.
Homebaze African Cuisine Signature dishes: Snails, Jellof rice|plantain, Goat head, stewed cow heels and traditional African Palm drink (Palm wine)
What struck me about him as we got to know him more was his humility and quiet demeanor yet confident in his knowledge of what is possible.
Ken comes from a fulfilled Journalism and public service background, a well-traveled man with years of experience spent both in senior Editorial Positions at the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) and his secondment as Communications and Media Advisor to Ministers and other top-level Government Officers back in Nigeria before being posted to South Africa as Bureau Chief of the News Agency of Nigerian(NAN)
That perhaps underscores his understanding that good service in business transcends culture, race, ethnicity, religion, and country.
Armed with that street knowledge, he has built service driven businesses that take care of high profile people. These business interests include luxury car hire, property|real estate, a guest house and recently, hotel management at a very high level.
He knows his demographic and target consumers and the ability to create good service for this demographic is enough to be admired.
I sat down with him, reminiscing about how he gave me a rare opportunity to have my first solo art exhibition in Johannesburg, at his other highbrow restaurant in Parkmore also in Sandton way back in 2014, and I let him know that that singular gesture opened a lot of doors, for my creativity to thrive for which I am grateful.
In his usual unassuming amiable nature, he brushed that off happy to have been of help to me. Instead, he was more interested in educating me on how confidence in oneself, can be a key to respect from others towards you.
We talked about why it was difficult for most people in the diaspora to attain success in business and maintain it at a certain level, and his answers were simple; lack of confidence, inability to study the culture of the City or Country you live in, lack of respect for others and the need for overnight success.
He pointed out these facts poignantly because of what he sees happening to his fellow countrymen around him.
Ken draws from his experience, and how he has had to work extremely hard in a different culture and adapt in many ways in order to create a path that others like myself can learn and follow.
His general take on the diaspora is simple as he points out.
Make a plan, keep to that plan, understand the people and culture you are in, understand the mindset, be humble and adapt when necessary.
Obey the laws of the land, come out of your comfort zone and pitch your flag in the arena of healthy competition, knowing without a doubt that you too can offer something.
These life lessons expressed by Ken are enduring and can be applied by those in the diaspora seeking greener pastures.
I hope this brief interview sheds light on how to succeed away from home as ken stresses how failure is not the end of everything. That there was a time he lost his first two homebaze outlets and sat with a huge ton of debt to deal with, but that led to several lessons in life and business he learned which he is grateful for.
He then goes on further to say, when we encounter such huge losses and failures, don't quit! it might be God preparing you for a much better path.
For my international audience, If you are on a trip to the Motherland aka South Africa, please drop by and experience African food at its best in a fantastic, vibrant and safe place which is Homebaze African Cuisine in Sandton City, the service is excellent and the food is absolutely divine...Enjoy.
Contact details:
Homebaze
Shop 310 Legacy Corner Mall
Da Vinci Sandton City
Open 9am-11pm, daily
Call:0118831495
Miabo Enyadike
www.artmiabo.com