Singing chef wins ‘imifino’ cooking competition

“Singing chef”, Jurgen Ellis, won the amaranth cooking competition organised by African Indigenous Produce in April.

Nelson Mandela Bay chefs were invited to explore delicious recipes made with amaranth leaves, also known as imifino, morogo or wild spinach.

For his winning dish Ellis of Baakens Valley’s The Harbour Master bistro created a jalapeno popper stuffed with a cheese imifino filling, a beef burger with crispy deep fried imifino garnish, accompanied with an imifino salad.

He said yesterday he was thrilled with his win and thanked “our loyal customers, my beautiful wife and those that involved me in this cookoff. It is such a honour”.

He described the taste of the leafy green as a “wild spinach”.

“It’s got lovely flavourful nutty flavour to it, which adds a different dimension to a dish,” he said.

“It’s got the slight bitterness of spinach … [I] love the nuttiness of it.”

He plans to include it on the menu, and diners may get the bonus of music with their meal.

“I sing every night in my restaurant – it costs me nothing!” he says of the acoustic sessions when he is able to leave the Harbour Master kitchen and pick up his guitar.

Other Gqeberha chefs also whipped up unusual and delicious dishes using this humble leafy green. For Petronella Catering, creative Annelie Oosthuizen served hot imfino potstickers with a gremolata and pesto, both made with the green. Grant Foong whipped up Foong’s chicken and amaranthus leaf chop suey, while Malabar’s Khan’s Caterers used imfino in a rich winter curry.

Fresh Food Corner used the leaf to make imfino with feta cheese, chakalaka and spicy basmati rice and Fat Cats Caterers made imifino rissoles.

Ellis’s prize was a meal at the Coachman on the Bay to the value of R1,000 giving him an up-market night off from his own pots and pans. — Mcainsh

It’s got the slight bitterness of spinach … [I] love the nuttiness of it