Casino pastry chef joins SA Culinary Team
This is a great opportunity for any young chef who wants to know what it's like to compete in a competition on a global scale, while also increasing your knowledge.
Proving yet again why the Silverstar kitchen is one of the finest in Johannesburg, Senior Chef de Partie Jasmin Marsal has been selected as part of the South African Junior Culinary team.
The Junior Culinary Team SA has six participants that will travel to Seoul, South Korea in November where they will participate in the International Young Chefs Challenge that takes place from 6 to 9 November. This competition is viewed as a platform to promote the skills and abilities of young chefs from around the world; it also provides the young chefs with an opportunity to network with their global peers.
This is not the first time the establishment has had a chef selected as part of the South African culinary team. Another chef from Silverstar was part of the Senior Team that went to the culinary Olympics 2012. Clearly something in this kitchen is creating world-class chefs in the making.
Executive Chef George Georgiou says that he is immensely proud of Jasmin and the young chefs that were selected as it gives them great exposure and a chance to further their culinary skills.
“This is a great opportunity for any young chef who wants to know what it’s like to compete in a competition on a global scale, while also increasing your knowledge,” he says.
In preparation for the international young chef challenge in Seoul, South Korea in November, chef Jasmin says that she and the team representing South Africa will design various menus showcasing all the team’s talents to display truly South African-inspired food.
“There are no individual sections in this competition and all the team members practice together. We have monthly practice sessions and also practice individually at home. I have been very lucky because Chef George has been very accommodating and is allowing me to practice at Silverstar too,” Jasmin says.
Jasmin doesn’t really have a favourite dish but does love cooking with seafood mostly because it’s versatile as long as the fish is on the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) list. She is quick to note that she doesn’t cook any kind of offal.
“I do what I love and my job allows me to meet new people. It is filled with learning as there are always new trends in this industry. I am inspired by my chef, George Georgiou as he has done nothing but encourage and guide me along my culinary journey. I really do hope to follow in his footsteps and one day also to be inducted into the Academy of Chefs. On an international front I really admire Gordon Ramsay because of what he has achieved at his age, I also like his personality,” she says.
Jasmin also has some sound advice for young chefs: nurture your talents, be knowledgeable about trends and new methods of preparing food in the kitchen and never be afraid to try something new. She adds that young chefs need to enter competitions much like she did not only to make a name for yourself but also to network with fellow chefs.
“I always have loved food and was always my daddy’s little helper. I decided to make my passion my career,” Jasmin concludes. Jasmin is a senior pastry chef at Silverstar.
