After four years of blood, sweat and tears, the South African National teams have departed for the IKA Culinary Olympics to compete against 32 nations.
The IKA Culinary Olympics is the oldest and most prestigious global culinary competition; an event that, like the sporting Olympics, takes place only once every four years.
“The South African National Culinary Team is honoured to participate once again. They have been hard at work for four years, fine-tuning and practicing our Olympic menu to prepare ourselves for one of the toughest challenges on the culinary calendar,” explains the President of the South African Chefs Association, Stephen Billingham.
The chefs on the South African National Culinary Team are:
- Henrico Grobbelaar of Southern Sun The Cullinan
- Dion Vengatass of Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel
- Blake Anderson of 3SIXTY and Billy G, Montecasino
- Trevor Boyd of Michelangelo Hotel
- Minette Smith of HTA School of Culinary Art
- Kirstin Hellemann of Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel
- Arno Ralph of Lindt & Sprungli SA
The Junior Team under the guidance of Klaus Beckmann comprises:
- Zandria Platt
- Tayla Schou
- Thabang Masango
- Thapelo Aphane
- Jasmin Marsal
- Tevin Evans
In the spirit of the wording on the team emblem “Masakhane” – which means let’s build each other – the South African National Culinary Team is inviting the nation to follow their journey to the IKA Culinary Olympics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under their newly-launched hashtag #SAOlympicChef.
“A strong show of support and interest on social media by our fellow South Africans and foodies will give our team a tremendous boost towards bringing home the gold. Messages of encouragement should include the hashtag #SAOlympicChef,” adds team manager Heinz Brunner.
The South African National Culinary Team brought back a gold medal in the Hot Kitchen section in 2008 – the first gold to be won by South Africa in 16 years. In the same year, the South African National Culinary Team was awarded the official South African team status by the Department of Arts and Culture’s Bureau of Heraldry.
The 2016 Culinary Olympics will take place from 22 to 25 October in Erfurt, Germany, with 32 countries competing. The teams will have six hours to prepare their three-course menus to serve 110 people.
“We are on our way now. We are nervous. Many of the team have never left the country. We will face the entire world elite in cooking and culinary arts. We have tried to prepare as well as possible with the intention to make our country, South Africa, proud.”
“Still, being able to do ONE training per month is a challenge already and spending some of that time raising funds even more so.”
“Our hopes and aspirations are high. All involved live for the cause.”
“Our dream is to find more support beyond the Chefs Association and small suppliers that all do their best, but we want to gain support that enables us gives credit to South African food culture and heritage and be a true representation of our cultural and ethnic diversity.” Says Klaus Beckmann, Coach and Manager Junior Culinary Team South Africa.
“We are going to the Olympics as proud ambassadors of South Africa and representatives of a great heritage of culinary excellence in this country,” says Brunner. “We will put in all the necessary hours to do our country proud – and we’re delighted at the growing support we are getting from people within the culinary industry and from the general public. It’s inspiring!”
Both the Senior and Junior South African National Culinary Teams will be participating in the IKA Culinary Olympics under the auspices of the South African Chefs Association. Their Senior Team’s participation has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of headline sponsor LSC/Imperial, along with partners City Lodge Hotel Group, ChefWorks, Turn ‘n Slice and N1 Restaurant Suppliers.
The Junior Team’s participation has been made possible through sponsorship of BOSASA, Sir Fruit, Sun International: The Maslow and The Palace, Turn ‘n Slice, Ecolab, Braeside Meats and Maestro Chef.
For further information log on to www.saca.co.za.
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