Dr Hema Kesa

FERL Director
Name: Hema Kesa
STH Staff Hospitality Department  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: +27(0)115591050

Email: hemak@uj.ac.za

About Dr Hema Kesa

Dr. Hema Kesa holds a Doctorate and Master’s in Food Service Management (Specialising in community Nutrition) and a Master of Science in Food and Nutrition Security. She is the Director of the Food Evolution Research Laboratory (FERL), a virtual research lab located within the School of Tourism and Hospitality, UJ. She supervises postgraduate research projects and lectures Gastronomy (Nutrition) and Sociology of Food and Beverage (Nutrition) to undergraduate students. She has been recently elected as a council member for the Nutrition Society of South Africa (NSSA). She is an area consultant representing the Southern African regions of EuroChrie, the official federation for Europe, the Mediterranean basin and Africa of the International Council for Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.

Her research interests are in community nutrition and food security. She and the FERL play a key role in encouraging the awareness of good nutrition in communities and the Food Service Industry. She has a keen interest in the use of technology in research as well as teaching and learning. Her current projects are linked to Extended Reality (XR) technology and mobile applications as tools for data collection, training and nutrition education for students, communities, and industry.

FERLs Website: www.ferl.co.za