SA chefs cook up a bronze

SOUTH AFRICA’S national culinary team cooked its way to a bronze medal at the Culinary Olympics in Germany this week, despite being faced with serious logistical challenges.

Just 24 hours before their cook-off with the world’s best chefs, the South Africans were scrambling to source lobsters. The imported crayfish they were going to use in their menu masterpiece was blocked on arrival in Germany, but the team of seven chefs still managed to do South Africa proud against 59 competitors.

They were awarded a diploma for their culinary art display in the Cold Table category, and a bronze medal in the Hot Kitchen component.

The Culinary Olympics is regarded as the greatest culinary competition in the world, with more than 2 000 chefs from all corners of the globe representing their countries.

Heinz Brunner, the manager of Culinary Team South Africa, said the chefs had put on an impressive display of culinary art and had prepared a three-course menu for 110 people during the four days of the competition.

“Precision and accuracy are crucial, as each item is coated in aspic, a gelatine-like substance, to preserve and finish off each dish.”

Teams are judged on presentation and innovation, composition, correct professional preparation and serving arrangements, each of which carries a potential 25 points, to reach a total of 100.

“Our team prepared a menu that reflected the diversity of our country. We learnt an enormous amount, and we came away enriched by the experience, and committed to passing on our knowledge.”

First held in Frankfurt in 1900, the competition takes place every four years in Germany. South Africa competed for the first time in 1980.

Stephen Billington, president of the SA Chefs Association, said the association was “extremely proud” of the team. He said the chefs “represented not only the industry, but the entire country”.