Durban — Two Durban chefs were among the winners of the RCL Foods Young Chef and Baker Challenge finals held in uMhlanga recently.
Eighteen of South Africa’s top chefs under the age of 25 went head-to-head for coveted titles.
Amaara Sulaiman from Greenwood Park and Lalana Santana from Verulam, both students at Capsicum Culinary Studio in Durban, secured second position and won R20 000.
Catherine Sainsbury and Robert Zituta from Silwood School of Cookery in Cape Town secured the first-place position.
Winning a well-deserved prize of R30 000, for their exceptional skills and outstanding performance equally split between the two participants. In the third-place spot, Marna Brandt and Micaela Ntuli from CTIA in Gauteng secured third place and R15 000.
In the finals, the chefs were required to prepare a starter, main course and dessert from a mystery basket of ingredients. This culminated in the announcement of the three winning teams.
Chef Bradley Kavanagh, head chef of RCL Foods, congratulated the young chefs and stated that the challenge was aimed at empowering young chefs.
“Culinary competitions are more than just a showcase of culinary talent, particularly when they are aimed at the youth. Through the extensive feedback that is shared with competitors and the seed it plants in young minds to strive for better results and to perfect their craft, this competition helps to uplift standards in our hospitality industry and sets ambitious young chefs on a path to a successful, goal-driven career,” said Bradley.
Chef James Khoza, president of SA Chefs, was satisfied with the participants’ outstanding performance.
“The competition’s success and the impressive performance of the winners underscore the importance of culinary competitions in developing young talent in South Africa’s culinary industry,” said James.
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