Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge winners

Our panel of judges who travelled throughout SA was headed by Heinz Brunner (honorary lifetime president of the South African Chefs Association, past vice-chairman of the World Body of Chefs and team manager of the Culinary Olympics team), Alan Romburgh (hospitality consultant), Marieta Human (nutritionist representing South African Pork), Higgo Jacobs (chairman of the South African Sommeliers Association), Sandy Harper (CWM) and Germain Lehodey (sommelier).

Regional cook-offs took place in June in Johannesburg at the International Hotel School, in Durban at Unilever Food Solutions state of the art, and in Cape Town at the International Hotel School.

“There is an art to designing a balanced menu,” says Annette Kesler Editor Showcook.com. “Describing dishes precisely, exciting both the palate and the imagination using choice ingredients; premium SA Pork in myriad ways. Lancewood soft white cheeses, Rio Largo Olive Oil and Khoisan Sea Salt. Talent, creativity, skill and enthusiasm are what our candidate chefs and wine stewards brought to their splendid entries.

All the awards:

Best tables

‘Reflects the ethos of the hotel’ – Arabella Hotel
‘Wish to Dine At’ – Beverly Hills
‘Most Glamorous’ – Cape Grace

‘Man of the match'

Nancy Gaylard, Protea Hotel BALALAIKA Sandton – Marriott

Best team

Beverly Hills

Chef category:

Best bread

Third Place - Clinton Bonhomme, Southern Sun Elangeni & Mahrani Tsogo Sun
Second Place - Cecelia Adams, Cape Grace
First Place - Togara Mabharani, Belmond Mount Nelson

ScanPan excellent kitchen practice

Aphelele Dlungana and his assistant Farznah Harris, Sun International Table Bay

Best presentation

Jennifer Robb, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve

Best starter

Courtney Horne, Sun International The Maslow
A symphony of Beetroot with truffled goat's cheese, Lancewood Cheese crème fraîche paired with Zonnebloem Sauvignon blanc.

Best pork dish

Qhubokuhle Ntshangase, Southern Sun Elangeni & Mahrani Tsogo Sun
‘Three Little Piggy's’ - Roast bacon wrapped pork fillet, prune purée, crumbed Lancewood Cheese pork frikkadel on red cabbage, slow cooked pork belly on apple and sweet potato mash with Khoisan Natural Sea Salt crackling brûlée, carrot and cauliflower purée, asparagus spears, brussel sprout leaves and beetroot jelly served with Dijon mustard pork jus paired with Zonnebloem Chardonnay 2015

Lancewood best dessert

Lennox Mbanga, African Pride Arabella Hotel & Spa
Lemon Coconut Cheesecake, malva pudding and crushed honeycomb paired with Van Ryn's 10 Year Old

The most promising chef

Simamkele Twani, Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton – Marriott

Best chef

First Rusita Naidoo, The Beverly Hills Tsogo Sun (Nederburg & Van Ryn’s)
Second Gizelle Els, NH The Lord Charles (Plaisir de Merle & Black Bottle)
Third Qhubokuhle Ntshangase, Southern Sun Elangeni & Mahrani Tsogo Sun (Zonnebloem & Bisquit)

Wine steward category

South African Sommeliers Association Award for the most “Up & Coming Wine Steward” Anita Thomson, Vineyard Hotel (Fleur du Cap & Bisquit)

First Sibonele Wonga Nongqotho, Cape Grace (Zonnebloem & Bain’s)
Second Donald Xaba, Protea Hotel Edward (Durbanville Hills & Black Bottle)
Third Alfred Kudzani Mswaka,Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, (Nederburg & Bunnahabhain)

The winning chef, Rusita Naidoo representing Beverly Hills, Nederburg & Van Ryn’s, will be jetting off to the Michelin starred Radisson Blu Alcron in Prague for a three-week working visit.

The winning wine steward, Sibonele Nongqotho representing Cape Grace, Zonnebloem & Bain’s will be embarking on a ten-day travel experience with Distell including London, a two-day stay at The Montague on the Gardens - Red Carnation while working closely with the 67 Pall Mall sommelier team, then on to Scotland with visits to distilleries; Deanstone and Bunnahabhain. Also on the itinerary… France, Bisquit in Cognac and finally an introduction to a world of wines in Bordeaux, La Cité du Vin. He will be awarded with a bursary from the Cape Wine Academy and have the opportunity of attending the launch of the Platter Wine Guide, tasting a large and varied selection of South Africa’s finest wines in the company of some of the country’s most experienced and trusted palates.

Skills development

Mentorship, recognition of talent and enthusiasm has been a part of the Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge from the beginning. The skills upliftment has had a huge ripple effect on our Tourism Industry, one of the major growth areas in our economy. South Africa has become recognised as a top culinary destination, while food and wine tourism is growing dramatically.

Message from our Deputy Minister of SA Tourism Tokozile Xasa, “While I cannot be with you tonight I share in your excitement. This competition acknowledges the talents of some of SA’s most creative young chefs and wine stewards and at the same time recognises the crucial role of mentorship. This has indeed gathered momentum and become well respected in the industry. Our department will work hand in hand with you to grow this dynamic sector. I have had the pleasure of being part of a number of previous events and am appreciative of the commitment of industry. I wish to thank you for this and pledge my support for your role in better positioning SA for economic growth, skills development, job creation and investment potential and ultimately a destination of choice. May it only grow from strength to strength.”

2015 saw the launch of the Skills Exchange Development Programme at the Beverly Hills with the Deputy Minister Tokozile Xasa where we invited leading chefs from Seychelles, Mauritius and Abu Dhabi. This year Nobu at the One&Only, Cape Town was the home for our skills development day where some leading executive chefs demonstrated to a captivated audience of candidates from around South Africa. Among them was chef patron Franck Dangereux (FoodBarn), Kyle Hickman (One&Only) patissiere of note, executive chef Christo Pretorius (The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa), South African bread maker, Togara Mabharani (Belmond Mount Nelson) and from Hartford House, Constantijn Hahndiek, who showed off his expertise with Midlands trout.

For the wine stewards, an in-depth wine blending workshop with Guy Webber at Stellenzicht and where Owen O’Reilly, a mixologist from Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky shared cocktail secrets.

The Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge was sponsored by Cape Legends fine wines and choice Distell artisan spirits. Rudi Liebenberg and his team prepared the fine dinner introducing dishes from the candidates’ menus. Each table was themed ‘Platinum & Pearls’ and designed by individual hotels. The theme highlighted the rich resources that we are fortunate to have, both natural and particularly the people of South Africa.

Richard Rushton, MD Distell announced that in 2017 the Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge will become the ‘Cape Legends & Artisan Spirits Inter Hotel Challenge’.