A ’POEDING’
A competition to find a good South African dessert recipe dished up some sweet surprises, writes Hilary Biller.
The recent Sunday Times Goodlife Gautrain Taste Experience competition brought together a group of 10 finalists from around the country for a live cook-off of their special dessert recipe. It took place at the Pick n Pay Good Food Studio in Sandton and had all the makings of a MasterChef-style cook-off. Each finalist was allocated a cooking station and 60 minutes to make and present their dessert to a panel of four judges. The judges, in a room next door to the heat of the kitchen, had a tough job selecting a winner and runners-up, but no sugar overload could stop them savouring each of the finalists’ dishes.
“I never knew how stressful it is cooking in front of the cameras,” said one contestant, wiping her brow. “It looks so easy on TV,” she said.
After much consideration and consultation, the judges chose as the winner a pudding made in a potjie pot — balls of sweet dough studded with dates and nuts and cooked in a sweet syrup. It contained all the elements of a good South African pudding — flame, potjie, jam, fruit and syrup. Winner William Boonzaier was elated. “I enjoy cooking on the fire, especially in the bush, and this is a treasured family recipe I’ve shared over and over again,” he said.
This time Boonzaier brought a potjie pot into the kitchen and cooked the pudding on a gas cylinder.
Boonzaier won R7,000 and the two runners-up received R3,000 and R1,000, respectively.