Kirsten cooks up a R225 000 storm
Matric wins hotel school bursary
AHUDSON Park High School matric pupil has cooked her way to a bursary after she competed in a nerve-racking Masterchef - style cook-off in Durban during the school holidays.
Kirsten le Roux, 18, had always had her heart set on becoming a chef and now her dream is one step closer, thanks to her innovative chilli parmesan sauce and mouth-watering cinnamon apple crumble.
Le Roux, of Milner Estate, beat four other Grade 12 finalists in the International Hotel School (IHS) bursary competition final and bagged a R225 000 bursary to study for a traineeship in professional cookery at the IHS in Durban next year.
“I have always dreamt of working in the culinary industry and becoming an executive chef,” said Le Roux.
“I honestly needed the bursary. I would still have pushed myself to get to my goal, but I could not have afforded to go to such an internationally recognised school.”
In the final, Le Roux and four others were sent into the Gateway Mall for two hours with R120 to buy ingredients for a two-course meal of their choice. “It was a lot of pressure. First I got lost in the mall and then we had to cook our dishes in the Gateway Hotel kitchen – there were real chefs making dishes for the guests around us. But I work well under pressure.”
The fledgling chef created a main of steak on a bed of asparagus with deep fried mushrooms and a chilli parmesan sauce, followed by a cinnamon apple crumble and caramel sauce desert.
“We had to serve a panel of judges including the GM of the hotel and the executive chef and the GM said my parmesan sauce was very good and that my asparagus was crunchy, not soggy. They also liked that I used almond flour in my apple crumble.
“It was a bit like Masterchef because we had a two-hour time limit and a judging panel.”
In the early stages of the competition, applicants were required to job shadow and Le Roux worked in Grazia Fine Food and Wine’s busy kitchen.
Once she made the semi-final shortlist, she flew to Durban where she stayed at Umhlanga’s Gateway Hotel and spent a week working in various departments including front desk, room cleaning, banqueting and bar.
“I enjoyed the banqueting and serving people and making sure guests were having a good time.”
Le Roux, who loves watching Masterchef Australia and the Great British Menu on TV, said her goal was to be a judge on one of them. “I want to be a celebrity chef one day,” she added. —