Neil Jewell, from Bread and Wine in Franschhoek, took first place with his Aubergine and Confit Karoo Lamb with Buchu, along with the title of 2010 Global Pizza Challenge South Africa Champion. Jewell is set to travel to Melbourne, Australia, to represent southern Africa, in the next international competition.
In the specialised Peppadew Pizza category; Tammy Henton, from the Piccolo Mondo, Michelangelo Hotel, walked away with R10 000 for her winning creation of Slow Cooked Duck, Sweet Potato Crisps and Peppadew Dressing.
Under the auspices of the South Africa Chefs Association (SACA), a panel of accomplished chefs assessed all 70-odd entry recipes for originality, balance, creativity as well as excitement factor. A total of 20 finalists were selected to move forward to the next GPC round.
Each competing finalist produced four pizzas, two for the judges' table and two for the supporting crowds. Supporters were encourage voluntarily to “pay” for slices by donating to this year's chosen charity, the Uitsig (Animal) Rescue Centre.
This year, R1300 was raised and the money will be put towards Uitsig's Mobile Sterilization Unit, soon to be operational in Fisantekraal. This Unit will serve the impoverished communities of Bloekombos and Fisantekraal; and the money will be spent on purchasing much needed vaccinations for the districts' domestic animals.
“This year it was Cape Town's turn to produce a knockout pizza recipe and it's a far tougher international competition as there are now more countries entering the race,” explained chef Martin Kobald, honourary president of the SACA. “In this year's event, pizza will also be tossed up in the air in Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Melbourne, Sydney, Dubai, Windhoek and Auckland. Ho Chi Minh City took place in December 2009 and Singapore follows straight after South Africa, in April 2010.”
Australian chef Glenn Austin founded the competition in 1999, as an Australian cookery concept to promote the fastest growing fast food group in the world. Since inception, Austin's brainchild has spread to Africa and Asia as a challenge to chefs to expand their imagination beyond the standard Margarita cheese-and-tomato offering.
“What is tremendous about this competition is that South African chefs are offered the opportunity to compete against countries and flavours that they would not normally experience. We feel sure that, sooner rather than later, South Africa will bring home the main prize, simply because we love to experiment and try out new culinary ideas,” added Kobald.
This year, the Global Pizza Challenge has again received the support of the 94.7 Rude Awakening Team and Mimmos Italian restaurant franchise, with the creation of the RAW Pizza by DJ personality, Jeremy Mansfield.
The Moroccan-inspired RAW Pizza has been launched and is currently being served in select Mimmos outlets across Gauteng, from the beginning of March 2010, for a period of four weeks. A percentage of proceeds raised will be donated to Food4Africa - a feeding scheme that supports hungry children. Through Food4Africa, each pizza is able to feed a child for a month. Last year, just over 1800 children were fed through the collective efforts of the initiative and the NGO, which aims to provide balanced meals to hungry children across Africa. In 2010, the goal is to feed an estimated 3000 underprivileged for a year.
To add to the excitement, this year (2010) chef Martin Kobald competed in a hotly contested cook-off against KFM DJ, Ryan O' Connor, as Kobald took on the responsibility of recreating Mansfield's RAW Pizza in a battle for the best celebrity pizza topping.
No competition of this nature could flourish without its sponsors. This year's include: Clover Fonterra, Prenox, Unilever FoodSolutions, Nestlé Professional, Hychem, Patleys, Goldcrest, Golden Cloud, Pepsi, Original Iced Cocktails, Little Leaves (microgreens), Peppadew, Tiger Brands, Bose, Gearhouse, Mc Brothers, Southern Sun Hotels and Hostex.
The excitement of this year's first entrants from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam can be seen on the YouTube clip www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LZAVLAS8Bg and the festivities at last year's competition, along with guest chef and celebrity radio DJ, Jeremy Mansfield, can be viewed on www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUQ3h49XloY.
For further information, go to www.globalpizzachallenge.co.za.
