Darcy is the potato king
The competition aimed to encourage young cooks to explore their own creativity by conceptualising imaginative potato recipes.
Delicious when wrapped in foil with a boerie on the braai, perfect in potjies with chicken or beef, a critical component of Cape (and Durban) curries, and of course, a must-have in pap en vleis, Sunday roasts and simple but scrumptious fish and chips. What would these South African dishes be without potatoes?
This year Potatoes South Africa (PSA) launched its first Pop-Up 2013 competition where aspiring and young foodies under the age of 35 were invited to create the ultimate potato dish and stand in line to win R10 000.
Darcy Els, a chef at the Saxon Boutique Hotel in Johannesburg won this prize for his delicious and creative dish, which was a mouth-watering cumin and sweet citrus smoked potato sponge.
Darcy is from Randfontein and completed his studies at the Chef School for Food and Wine in Krugersdorp North.
A total of 16 finalists were selected to participate in a cook-off at The Cooking School in Bryanston.
The finalists hailed from various restaurants, hotels and cooking schools and were judged by a high-profile judging panel that featured Andrew Atkinson, Arnold Tanzer, Anna Montali and Sasha Zambetti. The dishes were assessed according to taste (40 points), the use of the potato with their chosen ingredients (30 points), preparation (20 points) and presentation (10 points).
“The competition aimed to encourage young cooks to explore their own creativity by conceptualising imaginative potato recipes. It formed part of our objective to getting all South Africans to include potatoes in every meal, as the youth is a key target segment for the campaign,” says Immaculate Zinde, PSA Marketing and Promotions Manager.
