Young UK chefs have been challenged to develop a South Africa-inspired menu and win training at one of South Africa's top restaurants.
Now in its fourth year, the South African Cuisine Young Chef of the Year competition - previously known as Cook South Africa - asks chefs up to the age of 25 years old to develop a three-course South African menu, using fruits from the country.
The best chef wins a week-long trip to Franschhoek in South Africa to join Margot Janse's team in the kitchen at the Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français.
Entrants do not need any previous experience of South African cooking but are expected to research methods and ingredients from the country, while menus should include South African plums, peaches, nectarines, apples and pears, with at least one of these used in each course.
A panel of food writers and chefs will judge the competition, selecting up to eight finalists from the paper-based first round to compete in a cook-off final in London in April 2017.
The South African government and fruit producers run this competition to raise awareness of the use of South African fruit as chef's ingredients, and highlighting the part fruit farming has played in the development of South Africa and its rural communities in the past 20 years.
Last year's winner, Kieran McGarrigle, a student at Westminster Kingsway College, said: 'The trip was amazing from start to finish. I didn't want to leave because I enjoyed working at the restaurant that much.'
No comments yet