The Netherlands Win Chocolate Masters 2011 In Paris

Frank Haasnoot of the Netherlands proudly wins the Chocolate Masters Toque 2011 in Paris.
His masterpiece is called Warrior and he describes it as, 'Warrior of darkness is in search for cocoa in the mysteries of the jungle'.

Canada Looks Set To take Top Honours

Veronique Rousseau is the first female candidate to represent Canada at the World Chocolate Masters Final.

World Chocolate Masters 2011

One of the incarnations of the God Quetzalcoatl.

This 1,8 metre masterpiece is one of 19 created live in front of a studio audience.

Created by Mariusz Buritta representing Eastern Europe, the showpiece presents one of the Quetzalcoatl's incarnations, the feathery snake. The snake symbolises the earth, and the feathers symbolise the wind. The gold coins and the fruits of the cocoa tree represent prosperity.

One of Quetzalcoatl's gifts to the Aztecs was the ability to use the calendar, which I have shown in my showpiece. Techniques I used are poured chocolate, modelling chocolate, sculpturing, plastic chocolate, and coloured elements.

Goldcrest Young Chef Of The Year

The annual Goldcrest Young Chef of the Year competition is a big event on the chefs school calendar. It took place yesterday at the South African Chefs Association’s Bill Gallagher Demo Theatre at the Centre for Culinary Excellence, in Johannesburg.

Entrance is open to students currently studying at a recognised chef school and under the age of 25 years. They had to submit recipes and photographs of a starter, main course and dessert using Goldcrest products.

From the 110 entries, 12 chefs were selected to compete in the finals, to demonstrate their understanding of and creativity using Goldcrest products in a starter, main course and dessert.

The winner is Zama Ngwane, a 23-year old second year student at HTA School of Culinary Art.

Her winning menu was:

-       Starter: Citrus cured salmon on pickled plums on a lentil salad

-       Main course: Smoked mushroom chicken ballontine, potato fondant, baked sweet corn custard and seasonal vegetables

-       Dessert: Lemon tart, strawberries in sauce and passion fruit cream

Ngwane says she became a chef because she always loved being in the kitchen and cooking, and has devoured recipe books and the BBC Food Channel for years. Prior to joining HTA, she completed a BA Degree majoring in Politics and French at Rhodes University.

Her first place prize is R7500 as well as a two-week all-expenses-paid work experience trip to one of Reuben Riffel’s restaurants in Cape Town. This is an opportunity to learn from this award-winning chef and spend time absorbing information while working in a top restaurant.

Ngwane says with a competition of this nature, where you have developed the recipes beforehand and practiced them intensively, there is tremendous pressure on the day as “everything has to be extra-perfect”. She says her recipes were a combination of ingredients she likes as well as ideas she has seen in industry. She also looked for recipes she could manipulate to maximise the flavour of Goldcrest’s ingredients.

In second place is Jade van der Spuy from 1000 Hills Chefs School, who wins R5000. In third place is Jasmin Marsal from Capsicum PE, who wins R3000.

The contestants included: Tracey Leigh Keet from Northlink College; Gregory Oberholzer from Capsicum PE; Sonel Venter from HTA; Dustin Clayton from 1000 Hills Chefs School; Cassey Goliath from Capsicum PE; Roxanne Roussouw from Capsicum Boksburg; Kirsten Howell from HTA, Mikhail Adriaanse from HTA; and Bonnie Danskin from Capsicum Sunninghill.

This year a prize was awarded to the school with the most entrants into the finals – a Thermomix worth around R12 000 to R15 000 – which was won by HTA School of Culinary Art, with four finalists.

Judges for the competition were: Jodi-Ann Pearton (head judge and SACA competitions director); Nicky Gibbs (kitchen judge); David Keir (Fedics); and Alistair Esau (BOSASA and SACA vice-president).

Jannicke van As, brand manager at Patley’s, says of the competition: “We would like to inspire the chefs and grow the business. It’s a good opportunity for the chefs to experience competition work and grow. It’s also good for the schools, as they also get the exposure.”

Goldcrest supports the industry and is involved in various other cooking competitions competition.

Stephen Billingham, SACA president, says the purpose of competition is the culinary experience, journey and education. He says it is about being pushed and learning to push yourself as a chef.

Pearton congratulated all of the finalists and reinforced the fact that they are all indeed winners, have stood out from over 100 entries. She urged them to continue entering competitions as part of their ongoing education.

Platters 5 Star Winners

Well done to the following wine makers in the Hermanus Wine Route for receiving Platter 5-Star rating for their wines for 2012. The amount of 5-Star winners reduced from 58 in 2010 to 45 in 2011. A total of 7,000 wines were evaluated for this year's Platters Guide.

Pinot Noir

Newton Johnson - Domain, 2010

Red Blend

Bouchard Finlayson - Hannibal, 2010

Sauvignon Blanc

Hermanuspietersfontein - No 5, 2010

Ocean Basket Opens Branch In Mauritius

The Ocean Basket franchise is ready to open yet another international branch at the newly developed Bagatelle Mall in Mauritius.

This major offshore mall covers an area of  40 000sqm and has a number of local South African retailers and restaurants.

Ocean Basket’s menu will offer fresh line fish daily, as well as traditional Mauritian scampi.

“Patrons can look forward to the taste of South African flava’ the Ocean Basket way,” says the chain’s management.

Joburg And Cape Town Go Bavarian

Around 10,000 litres of beer was downed at the Oktober Bierfest in Cape Town this past weekend and now the organisers of the event are expecting Gauteng’s beer lovers to show they have a bigger thirst at the Montecasino Outdoor Event Area in Johannesburg at the end of the month.

Over 6,000 people attended the Cape Town festival which took place on the Newlands Brewery Village Green.

In addition to the beer, 400 bottles of wine were sold and helped to wash down 3,000 sausages, 2,000 portions of chips and 2,000 portions of chicken strips.

The South African events are modelled on the annual Oktoberfest in Munich which is the world’s biggest beer festival and this year attracted 6.9-million visitors who each drank more than a litre of beer.

While the two South African events may be smaller, they offer many traditional features, such as frauleins serving armfuls of Bavarian-styled beer, an Oompah band and an array of German cuisine.

The German ambassador to South Africa is scheduled to open the Montecasino event on October 27 which will run for three days.

Oktober Bierfest has partnered with the South African Breweries Ltd (SAB) which has brewed three Bavarian-styled beers for the event. SAB’s chief brewer Martin Brooks said: “SAB has a long and established tradition of brewing excellence in South Africa. Behind the big brand names at SAB are some of the country’s best brewers, who are responsible for making the micro-brewed craft beers that we are showcasing at the Oktober Bierfest.
“They have harnessed their passion and expertise to produce the Munich Dunkel, Krystal Weiss and Oktoberfest Bier which will delight beer lovers.”
Raith Gourmet’s German chefs are responsible for the food at the two SA events and Southern Sun is offering discounted rates at its hotels to Oktober Bierfest ticket holders.

From Back Of House To Front Of House

From back of  house to front of house this show has it all.
The annual INFOCHEF Careers day will take place on 20 October 2011 from 08h00 'till 14h00.  The venue is the Protea Auditorium at the School of Tourism, Bunting Road Campus, The University of Johannesburg.

If someone you know is considering a career in the tourism hospitality industry, then this is the show to attend.  Entrance fee is a very affordable R20.00 per delegate and the widest range of topics will be under discussion and on exhibit.

For more info contact Charl Kriek events@saca.co.za