The Distell Inter-Hotel Challenge 2021, established in 2013, develops and promotes skills in wining and dining service as well as in cuisine. Contestants are exposed to specialist skills provided by the Cape Wine Academy, the Sommelier Academy, mixologists, top chefs and bakers, baristas, and concierges.
The 2021 winners are:
DISTELL INTER-HOTEL CHALLENGE WINE STEWARD OF THE YEAR 2021
1st: Sylvain Kapompa (Ellerman House) (Pongrácz & Amarula)
2nd: Tapiwa Jamu (Ivory Manor Boutique Hotel) (Pongrácz & Klipdrift Premium)
3rd: Nkosinathi Dube (The Oyster Box) (Zonnebloem & Klipdrift Premium)
MOST PROMISING WINE STEWARD
Odwa Gongo (The Capital, 15 on Orange) (Nederburg & Richelieu Brandy)
MOST UP & COMING WINE STEWARD ‘THE WONGA AWARD’
Manduleli Solani (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town) (Fleur du Cap & Three Ships)
EXQUISITE SERVICE
Lethukuthula Ngubane (The Beverly Hills) (Durbanville Hills & Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky)
BEST COCKTAIL
1st: Manduleli Solani (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town) (Three Ships Whisky & Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa)
See Cocktail Recipe Below ~ 1886 Wellington
2nd: Salem Leba (TAJ Cape Town) (Scottish Leader Whisky & Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa)
See Cocktail Recipe Below ~ Spicy Leader
3rd: Odwa Gongo (The Capital, 15 on Orange) (Richelieu Brandy & Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa)
See Cocktail Recipe Below ~ The Man with Spice
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Nomawonga Tibe (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani)
Cape Wine Academy top 10% results
1. Nomawonga Tibe (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani) 100%
2. Prudance Ndlovu (Hartford House) 100%
3. Mzothule Mhlongo (Hartford House) 98%
4. Prince Mashatola (Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch) 98%
5. Nkosinathi Xaba (The Oyster Box) 97%
6. Lethukuthula Ngubane (The Beverly Hills) 97%
7. Monique du Preez (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel) 95%
8. Mboniseni Ntshangase (Hartford House) 95%
9. Nombuso Mabunda (Sun Time Square) 92%
10. Eid Dube (De Hoek Country Hotel) 92%
11. Londeka Mkize (The Beverly Hills) 92%
12. Wandile Mncwango (International Hotel School) 92%
Sommeliers Academy top 10% results
1. Monique du Preez (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel) 96%
2. Nomawonga Tibe (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani) 95%
3. Liyanda Madikane (Cape Town Hotel School) 95%
4. Tapiwa Jamu (The Ivory Boutque Hotel) 93%
5. Mzothule Mhlongo (Hartford House) 93%
6. Sylvain Kapompa (Ellerman House) 91%
7. Prince Mashatola (Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch) 91%
8. Nobuhle Maphumulo (International Hotel School) 91%
9. Zanelda Kok (The Independent Institute of Education - The IIE School of Hospitality and Service Management) 90%
10. Aphelele Shezi (International Hotel School) 90%
DISTELL INTER-HOTEL CHALLENGE CHEF OF THE YEAR 2021
1st: Asanda Khanyile (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani)
2nd: Riantha Chetty (Beverly Hills)
3rd: Lisa Tauro (The President Hotel)
MOST PROMISING CHEF
Nthombenhle Zuma (Hartford House)
SCANPAN EXCELLENT KITCHEN PRACTICE:
Chef Siyabonga Sithole & assistant chef Mfundo Gcwensa (Durban ICC)
BEST MENU PRESENTATION:
Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Team
BEST MENU PRESENTATION: Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani Team (Left to right: Shanice Roberts, Wandile Mthembu, Asanda Khanyile, Nokwazi Gigaba, Mentor Executive Chef Shaun Munro (Shaun Meintjies and Dolly Nomawonga Tibe)
ULTIMATE LANCEWOOD PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR 2021
1st: Prenolin Naidoo (Beverly Hills)
2nd: Sindisiwe Mbili (Durban ICC)
3rd: Chelsea Smith (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town)
MOST PROMISING PASTRY CHEF
Shanice Roberts (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani)
DISTELL INTER-HOTEL CHALLENGE BIO-WHEAT BAKER OF THE YEAR 2021
1st: Chadwin Simmers (The Vineyard)
2nd: Kay-lee Nieuwoudt (Grootbos Private Nature Reserve)
3rd: Nokwasi Gigaba (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani)
KITCHENAID AFRICA MOST PROMISING BIO-WHEAT BAKER
Kirstin Hellemann (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town)
BARISTAS
Avanti Coffee SA Western Cape
1st: Sisipho Dumse (I Love Coffee)
2nd: Lulama Njamela (Ellerman House)
3rd: Jack Bednall (Grootbos Private Nature Reserve)
BARISTAS
Avanti Coffee SA Gauteng & North West Province
1st: Prince Zondo (InterContinental Johannesburg O.R.Tambo Airport)
2nd: Kagiso Mudau (De Hoek Country Hotel)
3rd: Grace Meloko (Sun City Resort)
BARISTAS
Avanti Coffee SA KwaZulu-Natal
1st: Thobelani Zaca (Hartford House)
2nd: Lebogang Mahoko (Sun Coast Towers)
3rd: Philile Ngongoma (Beverly Hills)
BEST FOOD & WINE PAIRING
Dishes using Lancewood, Denny, Bio-Wheat and Rio Largo Olive Oil
Starter:
Chef JC Fourie & Wine Steward Fortunate Shambamuto (Grootbos Private Nature Reserve)
Open Ravioli whipped smoke egg yolk, roasted garlic and parmesan ricotta, raw beetroot salad, pangritata and an Allesverloren Beurre Rouge ~ Allesverloren Tinta Barocca
Main:
Chef Nishaad Samaai & Wine Steward Ronald Muchechemere (The Vineyard)
Savoury oat risotto with Denny oyster mushrooms, shitake and button with a hazelnut vinaigrette, exotic mushroom cracker, avocado crème, and garlic truffle labnar ~ Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve The Lighthouse Merlot 2018
Dessert:
Pastry Chef Phumla Zakwa & Wine Steward Prudance Ndlovu (Hartford House)
Citrus butternut cake, pistachio yoghurt mousse, glass tuille, LemonGold curd ice cream and blueberry gel ~ Pongrácz Noble Nectar
SHOWCOOK (WO)MAN OF THE MATCH
Maretha Langenhoven (Hartford House)
MENTOR OF THE YEAR
Shaun Munro (Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani)
THE DISTELL INTER-HOTEL CHALLENGE CONCIERGE OF THE YEAR 2021
1st: Muchi Gubwe (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town)
2nd: Siphokazi Mhambi (The President Hotel)
3rd: Sihle Ngubane (Beverly Hills)
THE KITCHENAID AFRICA BEST TEAM AWARD Presented by Dr Susanne Reuther of KitchenAid Africa:
Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town
THE DISTELL INTER-HOTEL CHALLENGE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR 2021
Roy Davies (The Vineyard)
JUDGING PANEL
Wine and spirit service
Sandy Harper and Jean-Vincent Ridon
Wine and food pairing
Aubrey Ngcungama, Penelope Horwood, Germain Lehodey, Kristina Beuthner, Karen Bloom and Mark O’Flaherty
Food
Hugh von Zahn, Jane-Therese Mulry, Fatima Stanley and Jocelyn Meyers-Adams.
Kitchen skills
Carl van Rooyen, Candice Adams and Chanelle Boucher
Barista
Alison Douglas, Caroline Ncube, Leah Nabakwe, Paula Visser, Robert Shazi, Tarryn van der Toorn and Wayne Abrahams
Concierge
Horst Frehse, Jeff Rosenberg, Mike Waller, Hugh von Zahn and Vicki Hooper.
COCKTAIL RECIPES
1886 WELLINGTON
Presented by Manduleli Solani (Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town)
75 ml Three Ships Whisky
50 ml Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa, chilled
50 ml fresh orange juice
25 ml cranberry juice
12,5 ml freshly squeezed LemonGold juice
12,5 ml sugar syrup
It is a combination of all the ingredients mentioned, stirred and served on ice!
SPICY LEADER
Presented by Salem Leba (TAJ Cape Town)
50 ml Scottish Leader
25 ml Triple sec
25 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
2 bar spoons tamarind chutney
2 dashes Tabasco
6 crushed cardamoms
Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa, chilled
Garnish cinnamon stick
4 cardamoms
Mix all ingredients, except the Italian sparkling drink, in a shaker with ice (shake well). Strain into a highball glass with ice. Top with Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa. Garnish with cinnamon stick and cardamom pods.
THE MAN WITH SPICE
Presented by Odwa Gongo (The Capital 15 on Orange)
75 ml Richelieu Brandy
Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa, chilled
25 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
2 slice fresh ginger
4 blackberries
20 ml sugar syrup
Fill serving glass with ice to chill in advance (Remove ice before serving). Muddle slices of ginger with fresh blackberries. Add Richelieu Brandy, lime juice and sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice. Shake for 10 to 15 seconds. Double strain into pre chilled cocktail glass. Top with Sanpellegrino Aranciata Rossa.
Note to the editor:
Additional prizes not mentioned above
The Distell Inter-Hotel Challenge Baker of the Year 2021 will receive a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer while the hotel collects a KitchenAid commercial mixer.
The top three concierges each receive a diamond-studded, hand-crafted gold lapel pin by The Diamond Works Institute.
The top three baristas are rewarded with prizes by Avanti Coffee, KitchenAid Africa and AL&CD Ashley.
The best team overall receives the KitchenAid Africa floating trophy, while the GM of the Year receives exquisite hand-crafted engraved gold cufflinks by The Diamond Works Institute.
The International Hotel School’s R30 000 online bursary, designed to give candidates the tools to further their business aspirations, will be awarded for academic excellence (i.e., the top achiever for the Cape Wine Academy and Sommeliers Academy examinations).
‘The Wonga Award’, presented to the most up-and-coming wine steward, who also receives a R30 000 bursary from the South African National Youth Development Agency to pursue an online business course with the International Hotel School.
The Mentor of the Year wins a weekend at Lanzerac Hotel & Spa with flights, permitting by British Airways operated by Comair.
Prizes from Dr Susanne Reuther of KitchenAid Africa including KitchenAid Artisan Mixers, Gadget & Utensils, Ceramics, Bakeware and more, as well as prizes from AL&CD Ashley including Scanpan, the finest of Global Knives and Brabantia, The Hall Collection, Penguin Random House, Platter’s South African Wine Guide, Didactix and Von Geusau Chocolates.
Watch the 9th Distell Inter-Hotel Challenge Awards broadcast on 9 December 2021 from the glorious Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town:
#InterHotelChallenge #DistellIHC2021 #DistellInterHotelChallenge2021