Breco Seafoods supports aspiring young chefs
A team of three students at Cooktastic was announced as Seafood Masters at the Breco Seafoods Master competition, a seafood-inspired cook-off that took place on 23 August 2023.
L to R: Timna Sele, Jabulile Makhanya and Amyna Salomo. Image supplied.
The winning team members are Amyna Salomo, Timna Sele and Jabulile Makhanya, who competed against six other teams to create innovative seafood dishes using products from Breco Seafoods. The winning team created a saucy mussels and prawns dish with harissa and chermoula paste that wowed the judges with its flavour and taste.
The competition aimed to provide aspiring young chefs with a platform to display their knowledge, skills and talent for preparing and cooking seafood from sustainable sources while following the correct food safety procedures.
Through the culinary school, students were provided with the experience of learning how to prepare and cook seafood correctly. At the same time, the competition serves as a test and showcase of these new skills.
Cooktastic runs a culinary training school to empower talented youths from disadvantaged backgrounds. With the goal of 80% job placement for graduates, they also offer job placement support to springboard students to entrepreneurship in the hospitality field.
Trainee chefs devote countless hours to honing their craft, pushing their limits, and expanding their product knowledge.
Participating in the Breco Seafood Masters Competition gave them a precious opportunity to learn from industry professionals and gain invaluable experience, including a factory tour of the Atlantis facilities, fish filleting and hygiene training.
Their hard work and passion paid off as they presented the judges with delicious gastronomic inventions prepared with Breco's finest seafood selection.
Judges included Jocelyn Myers-Adams, chef and founder of JMA Consulting, Ruben Brown from Chefs Warehouse Group, Pavitray Pillay from WWF SASSI, and Sadiqa Fredericks, Quality Assurance Manager for Atlantis Foods.
The students’ dishes were evaluated on criteria like unique and original recipes, good execution of the dish, appearance and presentation, taste, texture, and aroma. The application of food safety rules and the sustainable and responsible use of ingredients, water, and energy were also critical factors.
Each winning team member won a six-piece Grunter knife set, with the second-place team winning vouchers valued at R1500 each from Bank’s Catering to help them start their hospitality career with quality equipment.
Breco Seafoods is proud of its involvement in developing, supporting, and training young chefs, specifically in helping them better understand seafood as a product choice and encouraging them to awaken their inner master chefs.
