Deaf take part in 2nd annual cook-off

The Ability Hub recently hosted its SA Cooking Competition at the Ditsong Museum in Silverton in honour of Deaf Awareness Month.

Building on the momentum from last year’s inaugural competition, this year featured 15 contestants and over 40 guests.

Miss Deaf SA Lisa Msiza was among the judges for the day, as well as Miss Unseen International Queen 2024/2025, Nasmirha Bhamjee.

The competition is aimed at both deaf and hearing participants to foster a spirit of unity through a shared passion for cooking.

Contestants were split into separate teams, with the red team consisting of several members emerging victorious.

Chef Simphiwe Coka, leader of the red team, said she was thrilled over the win and credits her team members for their contributions.

Coka is also an executive chef at the South African State Theatre, a position she believes gave her an edge in the competition.
She said her position prepared her to coach other people.

“Having new people to manage today didn’t give me any issues because I deal with that every day. I knew we were going to bring it. I feel great about the win, but I have to give it to my teammates. Most of the things they did, I simply pointed out here and there. They did most of the cooking, and I like that,” she said.

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Coka added that it was her first time working with deaf cooks, and said communicating with them was not as difficult as she originally thought.

“I learnt a lot today.

She said previously, especially at work, she had to call someone to interpret because she couldn’t understand.

“It’s not as bad as you think, just get the basics, your few ABCs, and you’ll be completing sentences,” Coka added.

Miss Deaf SA said her experience was refreshing, being able to teach hearing contestants how to speak with their hands and not their mouths.

“In future for a deaf competition, the deaf need to get involved because they need to teach the hearing about the deaf world. [Hearing people] don’t know what the culture is like. Hearing people don’t know sign language, we need to teach them so we can be more connected.”

Msiza also said it was exciting to sign with a visually impaired person. Miss Unseen would feel the signs she would make to understand.

“I feel that the hearing world needs to get more involved with the deaf. It’s a small world, and the hearing world is big. We can look into the hearing world and know what it’s like; hearing people can’t do that with us. If a child is born hearing and their parents are deaf, they would need to adjust to hearing and a deaf world; we need to make that easier,” Msiza said.

Bhamjee said it was an enjoyable experience for her to be a first-time judge at a cooking competition, and ironically, her disability gave her an edge.

“As you know, being visually impaired makes your other senses heighten, so this was a great way to showcase that.”

Bhamjee works for Unisa at the Advocacy Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities, so it was not her first time working with the deaf.

“I also love being around the deaf because, like today, I got the opportunity to learn how to sign, and that was beautiful. If you don’t want to come for the cause, at least come to meet new people, have new interactions, and for the food,” Bhamjee added.

Ability Hub founder Zena Forbes expressed her delight with how the competition went. “Some of the participants have never been in contact with deaf people, so it was exciting to see that they were so eager to learn. That is what the hub is about: bridging the gap between differently abled people.”

Forbes said this was only the start of events of this nature and encouraged residents to reach out and help where they can.

The hub is planning a cooking competition in Kuruman, where the winners will compete against other teams. Though the date is not yet confirmed, they aim to host it in December.

The NGO is planning on taking the competition nationwide, where people will learn South African Sign Language in a fun way and how to communicate with deaf people, with an open invitation to all deaf individuals to join.

To join future initiatives or updates on upcoming events, send a WhatsApp to 065 839 1836.

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