Food Lab, the first-ever cooking studio in Swakopmund, is adding flavour to the tourism scene and creating opportunities for unemployed youth.

Located on Moses ||Garoeb Avenue of Swakopmund, the Food Lab is a place where people can participate in the process of creating any type of dish as it offers tailor-made cooking classes for any age or interest group.

Dalene Stephanus, the Food Lab founder, also initiated the annual Swakopmund Food Festival, which creates a platform for food lovers and entrepreneurs.

The event, however, is seasonal. As a result, Stephanus has decided to set up another revenue stream, the food lab, instead of being unemployed during some parts of the year.

"Every time we have an event, we focus on unemployed youth to empower them through our catering scheme, so every time we do catering, we do take unemployed youth from the location and from COSDEF; the ones that have completed their studies but are not working are the ones that can come in to work for those 2 or 3 days, and also our training side of things is very, very much focused on youth, on the youth and empowering SMEs, empowering unemployed youths. So I just want to tell everybody out there, the youth, that it is never just a dark road; there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and really just apply your mind. There is always a small way to start; you can start very small, and eventually you will achieve your dreams."

In the near future, Stephanus hopes to expand the food lab into a culinary school on the coast.