War of the boerewors
Boerewors Championship winners announced.
Ten boerewors experts battled it out in the blistering heat, each with their special recipe boerewors sizzling over their perfectly prepared fires, the cheers of the crowds urging them on, all anxious to find out who will be crowned boerewors champion for 2013.
After five nerve-wracking months of mincing, spicing and braaing, the coveted title of Boerewors Champion was awarded with great fanfare at the exhilarating grand finale, held at Sun City’s Valley of the Waves, on October 5.
Bob Makheta (37), from Durban, a first time entrant in the competition, was crowned the 2013 Boerewors Champion.
Makheta’s prize included a brand new Toyota Hilux 2.7 Double Cab Raised Body Raider, a R25 000 holiday voucher from All Gold, a R2 000 Coca-Cola cash prize and R750 worth of Simba vouchers.
This truly South African event is presented by Shoprite and Checkers annually, to provide all aspiring boerewors makers with an opportunity to show their flair for producing the tastiest traditional boerewors in the country.
This national competition, now in its 21st year, also helps the supermarket groups to find a traditional boerewors recipe that will appeal to the ever changing tastes of their consumers.
Makheta, a senior meat technician at Shoprite Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal, said: “I decided to enter the competition to test myself and my ability to make boerewors.
“I set out to find the perfectly balanced boerewors and winning proves that I did just that.”
The runner-up and second runner-up did not leave the competition empty-handed.
Second place was awarded to Arend Esterhuizen, from Vereeniging, who won a R10 000 holiday voucher from All Gold, a R5 000 Coca-Cola cash prize and R1 500 worth of Simba vouchers.
Derrick Khumalo, from Katlehong, who was awarded third place, received a R5 000 holiday voucher from All Gold, a R3 000 Coca-Cola cash prize and R1 00 worth of Simba vouchers.
This year the Championship Boerewors competition proved to be as popular as ever, with over 1 000 entries received.
It took 88 regional and 10 provincial rounds, during which 400 judges had to taste and assess 51 000 pieces of raw and cooked boerewors, to eventually find the 10 best boerewors makers in the country.
An independent judging panel, comprising top food experts Martin Kobald, Carmen Niehaus, Arnold Tanzer, Francois Ferreira and Lungile Nhlanhla had the daunting task of selecting this year’s number one boerewors.
They all agreed that singling out one winner was an extremely challenging task this year,due to the unique and outstanding qualities of each of the finalists’ entries.
Entries were initially judged in raw form, followed by a braai-off,during which contestants had to prepare their own boerewors to the best of their abilities.
The other seven finalists who competed for the title were Olivier Kritzinger from Joubertina, Henna Pick from Worcester, Johan de Villiers from Kathu, Sakkie Schutte from Welkom, Jordan Nkadimeng from Lephalale, Theresa Nell from Reyno Ridge and Eddie Hawkes from Vryburg.
The 2013 Shoprite Checkers Championship Boerewors will receive the South African Chefs Association’s Seal of Approval, guaranteeing that the ingredients for South Africa’s best loved boerewors are of the highest quality.
The country’s many loyal boerewors lovers can, meanwhile, start preparing for yet another taste sensation, because the 2013 Championship Boerewors, produced according to the winning boerewors recipe, will hit the shelves of Checkers, Checkers Hyper and Shoprite stores countrywide, from October 11.
For more information on winners, prizes and competition events, visit the Championship Boerewors web site at www.championshipboerewors.co.za.
