The event, sponsored in the main by One&Only Cape Town, saw pairs of aspiring chefs from the South African Chefs Academy, Hurst Campus and the Cape Town Hotel School at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology take over the resort’s kitchens as they each prepared starters, main courses and desserts. The best of each was served at a media lunch at Reuben’s, which also was attended by Minister of Tourism South Africa - Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the guest speaker at this prestigious annual event, now in its third consecutive year. The other main sponsors are the SA Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) and Allée Bleue Wine Estate and the competition menus are required to reflect pork and the wine pairing element, alongside Khoisan Salt, a long-time sponsor. The competing teams comprise second-year students Josh Wiid and Lauren Case of the SA Chefs Academy; Justine Waison and Robin Alexander of the Cape Town Hotel School, and Frans Braamse and Emma Hofmans of the Hurst Campus (formerly The Culinary Academy). The judging panel comprised One&Only Cape Town pair, resort manager Robin Thomas and signature chef Reuben Riffel; SAPPO’s Marieta Human; television food personality Michael Olivier and Wolfgang Leyrer, hospitality consultant to some of the finest tourism gems in the country. The competition is organised by Annette Kesler and Chania Morritt-Smith of popular online food portal Showcook.com. Each culinary school team was attended by wine stewards and head waiters from the Cape Town Hotel School and Hurst Campus. The Cook-Off between the three teams was held at One&Only Cape Town on Thursday, 22 August 2013. For the most part, the competitors supplement their classroom activities by working at some of the Western Cape’s top restaurants and their menus reflect influences from these restaurants as well as their personal areas of expertise. At 33, Frans Braamse is the most “mature” of the students. Hailing from Swellendam but having worked for four years in Scotland, he works at chef George Jardine’s Jordan Restaurant in Stellenbosch. Emma Hofmans was born and raised in Geneva, Switzerland, and aspires to be a saucier. Emma works at The Greenhouse at the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel in Constantia. Their menu for the competition cook-off consisted of a confit of pig cheek, pea and ham soufflé starter; pork fillet “Wellington” with buttermilk and thyme bread, braisage of pork shoulder, apple cream, caraway vinaigrette and shiraz jus main course; and a pecan nut “pork pie” dessert. Also working at The Greenhouse in Constantia is the SA Chefs’ Academy’s Lauren Case. “It’s quite tricky coming up against someone with whom you normally work as a team but we’re both professional and have undertaken not to be too personally competitive.” Case’s teammate Wiid is employed at Bertus Basson’s popular Overture restaurant at Hidden Valley Vineyards on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountains between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. He reveals that the two of them are “incredibly laid back with one another because we’ve been friends for years”. Their menu kicked off with braised pork cheek with pan-fried gnocchi, celeriac and mushrooms before moving on to a pork fillet with salsa verde, parsnip and cocotte potato. The dessert was a colourful lime parfait with pomello curd, tuile, almond and coconut crumble. “The two of us enjoy making simple food where we can enjoy the base flavours,” says Case. The Hotel School duo are easily the most reticent of the competition entrants as they moved around the kitchen of Nobu Cape Town’s restaurant. Justine was preparing a prawn roulade with crunchy quinoa avocado summer salad dressed with chili-shaped caviar and apple-fennel gel, while Robin quietly got on with his slow-roasted pork belly and smoked apple puree, accompanied by sweet potato and pickled baby vegetables. To finish was a rich, dark-chocolate mousse set on a gluten-free almond base, with orange ice-cream and salted candy pistachio. Waison is familiar with the Nobu kitchen, having successfully completed a six-month in-service stint at One&Only Cape Town. “I did two months at Nobu, two at Reuben’s and the rest in the pastry kitchen,” she says. Of the contestants, she is the only one who specifically wants to work in hotels when she graduates at the end of next year. “It suits me because you get to meet and interact with a lot more people than you would working in an independent restaurant,” she adds. Congratulations to the winning chef team: Josh Wiid and Lauren Case of the South African Chefs Academy. Reaching for Young Stars complements the Inter-Hotel Challenge, also currently in its final stages, in which “home-grown” trainee chefs and sommeliers at top hotels from the greater Cape Town area compete to demonstrate their employers’ commitment towards talent development. “The two competitions operate at opposite ends of the training spectrum but work towards achieving the same goal,” maintains food champion and co-publisher of Showcook.com Annette Kesler. “The one is geared towards students who are more privileged and can afford private tuition, while the other focuses on those young people who climb the culinary ladder the hard way… by starting from scratch in a hotel’s kitchens. However, what all these young people have in common is that they are very single-minded and passionate about what they do.” Orientation prior to the competition was provided by One&Only Cape Town’s Executive Chef Roberto de Carvalho. “This competition is a win-win event for everyone involved,” he says. “It’s wonderful for the resort to have young people come through and show us their capabilities, while the competitors get the chance to see our facilities and get an indication of the standards we set.” AND THE WINNERS & THEIR PRIZES ARE.... CHEFS 1st Prize - Duo of Chefs One&Only Cape Town Reaching for Young Stars Floating Trophy: Lauren Case and Josh Wiid of the South African Chefs Academy ONE&ONLY Overnight stay with a partner. Dinner at Reuben's, spa treatment and breakfast. SAPPO Cheques & Certificates KITCHENAID MIXERS LINDT Master Class The Art of Classic Cakes SCANPAN KNIVES STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 2nd Prize - Duo of Chefs: Emma Hofmans and Frans Braamse of The Hurst Campus ONE&ONLY Dinner with a partner at Reuben’s SAPPO Cheques & Certificates KITCHENAID Blender SCANPAN KNIVES STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 3rd Prize - Duo of Chefs: Justine Waison and Robin Alexander of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ONE&ONLY Sunday Lunch with a partner at Reuben’s SAPPO Cheques & Certificates KITCHENAID Toaster SCANPAN KNIVES STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book WINE STEWARDS 1st Prize – Wine Steward: Freda de Kock of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ALLÉE BLEUE Overnight stay with partner at Kendall Cottage with picnic supper, a bottle of estate wine and breakfast at the Restaurant. KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 2nd Prize - Wine Steward: Anton Bredell of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ALLÉE BLEUE Lunch with a partner at the Restaurant with a bottle of estate wine as well as the gift box of MCC and Rosé KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 3rd Prize - Wine Steward: Rochelle Barnard of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ALLÉE BLEUE A picnic for 2 with a bottle of estate wine as well as a gift box with their lovely MCC KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book HEAD WAITERS 1st Prize - Head Waiter: Benine Koch from the The Hurst Campus ALLÉE BLEUE: Overnight stay with a partner at Kendall Cottage with picnic supper, a bottle of estate wine and breakfast at the Restaurant. KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 2nd Prize - Head Waiter: Howa Parker of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ALLÉE BLEUE Lunch with a partner at the Restaurant with a bottle of estate wine as well as the gift box with MCC and Rose KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 3rd Prize - Head Waiter: Nicole Masekwameng of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ALLEE BLEUE: A picnic for 2 with a bottle of wine as well as the gift box with MCC KITCHENAID Hamper STRUIK LIFESTYLE Choice Book 4th Prize - Head Waiter: Anele Ndlovu of the Cape Town Hotel School Granger Bay part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ONE&ONLY Breakfast for two KITCHENAID Hamper For more photos of the lunch - click HERE. For further information about One&Only Cape Town visit www.oneandonlycapetown.com For press assistance contact Ian or Lise Manley of Manley Communications on 0861 MANLEY (626 539), email ian@publicity.co.za or visit the Press Room of Manley Communications atwww.manleycommunications.co.za