Bongiwe Zama Shange from Leon’s Tavern in Inanda has been crowned the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Mzansi Tavern Chef champion.
Shange served up a lovingly prepared dish of mutton curry with steamed bread and salsa salad that saw her walking away with a prize to the value of R30 000 towards food serving in her outlet and the right to compete in the national grand final for the chance to win the ultimate prize of a tavern makeover to the value of R100 000.
The KZN provincial Mzansi Tavern Chef cook-off took place on Tuesday at Chefs Training and Innovation Academy in Durban where 15 tavern chefs battled it out to become the ultimate winners.
Shange learnt to cook as a schoolgirl, helping her granny to feed their family of 17 when she arrived home from class in the afternoons, and went on to cook in a restaurant before joining Leon’s Tavern last year.
Judged by master chefs Pete Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng and Premium Wines marketing manager Jackie Olivier, the competition is a partnership between Distell, Nederburg, and the National Liquor Traders.
Commenting on the competition, Goffe-Wood said they have been simply blown away by the standard of cooking they have experienced here today, and picking a winner has been tough.
“We are discovering just how much cooking talent we have, which just needs the right encouragement and support to shine, and I hope this competition becomes a catalyst for township food culture to grow,” he said.
Distell KZN regional general manager, Dave Cairns said the competition builds on the company’s food-serving campaign through its Bansela customer rewards programme, in which taverners are rewarded with prizes and incentives for serving food and water, as well as complying with liquor licence trading principles.
“Our aim with this competition is to amplify the message to drink responsibly and in moderation. From the talent on display here today and the standard of cooking we have seen, I can only say that tavern chefs in the rest of the country are in for a real battle for the ultimate prize of an R100 000 tavern makeover,” said Cairns.