The students, most of whom take hospitality as a subject, were competing for a R150,000 International Hotel School National Bursary.
The students competed with each other in a cook-off session in which they prepared a chicken dish and salad.
They also made nonalcoholic cocktails and set tables for a formal lunch.
Six finalists were selected: Ashley Greenberg, Vincent Kozakiewicz, Danielle Vereb, Nadine Marx, Devlin O'Reilly and Jia Jia Nan. They will compete in the final at the Indaba Hotel on 3 July.
The finalists will stay at the hotel for a week and work in various divisions of the hotel unaided during their stay.
“I am passionate about cooking. I want to be a pastry chef,” said Marx.
She designed a table with a coffee shop as theme.
Nan, a Chinese immigrant, said: “I love cooking and even though there is no hospitality studies at my school I asked my maths and science teachers to help me with the competition.
“All the things I used for the competition were borrowed from my teachers.
“I came to South Africa three years ago and asked someone to lend me R20,000 to start a restaurant. When I am at school my mother runs it and I take over after school.”
Source: Sowetan
Published courtesy of
