READY, STEADY, COOK
Action-packed Walmer Park event brings out best in Bay chefs
Bucket-loads of enthusiasm and mystery ingredients as Kitchen Maestro gathers steam:
NERVES tempered by bucket-loads of enthusiasm, mystery ingredients, a “theme” song sung by MC Niqui Cloete-Barrass and even a spot of load-shedding – all of these contributed to making last weekend’s Walmer Park Kitchen Maestro cook-off, the first in a series of them, an exciting event for contestants and audience members alike.
The competition, which is sponsored by First Choice in association with Weekend Post, saw five amateur cooks chosen from a pool of entries competing in Saturday’s live event. There will be four more cook-offs – including one at 11am today – featuring a fresh crop of five contestants each time.
Each weekly winner will then take part in the semifinals on May 23, after which the top two will vie for the overall 2015 Kitchen Maestro title on May 24.
Last weekend’s contestants included Chantel Cuthbert from Fernglen, past finalist Dallas Land from Jeffreys Bay, Carmen Woods from Chatty, another 2014 contestant in Liza Vermaak from Lorraine, and Karl Ricks from Greenshields Park.
Guest chef Jacques van Rooyen, sous chef at Ginger Restaurant and one of three judges on the day, showed the audience what a professional chef might do with the box of mystery ingredients chosen by Kitchen Maestro’s main judge, chef Dewald Hurter.
Each contestant including the guest chef were presented with a mystery box of ingredients which included pork fillet as the protein of the dish, First Choice butter sponsored by Woodlands Dairy, pak choi sponsored by Rocket Seed and black bean garlic sauce.
After the 40 minutes of allocated cooking time was up, the judges – Jacques, Dewald and 2014 Kitchen Maestro winner Martinette Magnee – tucked into the contestants’ dishes, rating them according to presentation, flavour, creativity and use of the mystery ingredients.
At the end of nail-biting deliberation the winner of cook-off 1 was announced: Liza blew the judges away with her dish of pork prepared two ways – stuffed loin along with pork strips with an Asian sauce and stirfry veggies on a bed of crispy noodles. “The winning dish was packed with flavour and creativity,” Martinette pronounced.
Liza not only secured her place in the semi-finals on May 23, but also walked away with a Walmer Park shopping voucher and hampers from Woodlands Dairy and Cerebos.
The public is encouraged to attend the four remaining cook-offs every Saturday at 11am until May 16, with a crop of five new contestants competing each time for a chance to join Liza in the semis, Walmer Park’s Deveda Bloem said.
Audience members who came out last weekend to encourage the hopeful cooks won spectator prizes including a Woodlands Dairy hamper, Cerebos Salt hamper, 12-month e-edition subscription from Week- end Post, Café Dulce cappuccino vouchers and a John Dory’s meal voucher. More audience prizes will be up for grabs each weekend.
Home cooks who want to have a shot at the competition may enter each week for the coming Saturday, with the cut-off for entries noon every Wednesday for that weekend’s cook-off. Entry forms are available from the info kiosk at Walmer Park or at www.walmerparkshoppingcentre.co.za – follow the link to the Kitchen Maestro page to download a form.
Email completed forms to dbloem@growthpoint.co.za or drop them off at the info kiosk.
The winning dish was packed with flavour and creativity