The cook-off for the competition took place on 21 August and the prestigious prize-giving event was held last week.
“This is the first time in 10 years that Cape Town Hotel School has won and we are extremely proud of the students. We are building and working towards our vision of being the best hotel school in South Africa and beyond, said Danielle Barkhuizen, Acting Executive Chef of the CTHS.
CPUT students won the following prizes:
- Jadon Lee Harilall and assistant Afika Xashimba won the One and Only Young Stars of the Year. Jadon will be going to The Winslow’s Tavern, Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
- Harilall and Xashimba also won Best Food and Wine Pairing – Starters
- Professional Cookery student, Saudiqah Gelandt, won the Ultimate Lancewood Pastry Chef of the Year. She will be going to La Creuzette in France as one of the prizes.
- Second-year Food and Beverage student, Liyanda Madakane, won 2nd Place/ Runner-Up Beverage Student of the Year.
CTHS was invited to join the event in March 2021. The team started practising in May, after attending a briefing session hosted by One&Only and Showcook explaining the rules of the competition:
The requirements were as follow:
- Starter Pasta dish using Bio-Wheat Flour.
- Main course vegetarian meal working with Denny Mushrooms and incorporating Rio Largo Olive oil
- Dessert working with Lancewood Dairy Products and LemonGold Lemons
- Butter cake using Lurpak butter, ClemenGold Mandarins and Lancewood dairy.
- Three loaves of bread using Bio-Wheat Flour (Ciabatta, Seed Loaf and Baguette)
Once the rules were established Barkhuizen and the three participants, Jadon Lee Harilall, Afika Xashimba and Saudiqah Gelandt started the process of creating innovative and current ways to incorporate these elements.
“We were paired with Neethlingshof Wine Estate and we had to best pair their wine with our menu to showcase their excellent wine. We invited Neethlingshof to the Cape Town Hotel School after finalising the menu and asked them and industry partners for their feedback to see if what we created showcased their wine and our food. The importance of pairing these two is very important,” said Barkhuizen.
Heidi Janse van Rensburg, Acting Operations Manager of the CTHS, headed up the training for the Beverage students.
“The One&Only Hotel made us feel extremely special and important with the help of the beverage students that were finalists of the competition. In the midst of this pandemic, this prestigious event carried on and was so well organised and hosted,” said Barkhuizen.
