Mbango chefs come second in nationals
Their 'consider the earth' theme was well received.
TEAM Mbango kept the South Coast’s culinary flag flying high when it won second place in the Feedem Pitseng national cooking competition in Cape Town recently.
Tracey-Lee Williams, Sanjeev Sewnarayan and Gcobisa Madolo, who are the chefs responsible for the delicious meals served up at Tuesday Rostrum lunches and other functions at Mbango, were thrilled to win their company’s KwaZulu-Natal competition in October this year. This meant they would compete against the other top Feedem Pitseng teams from all over South Africa, in the national finals. The contract catering company has more than 200 sites throughout the country so competition was stiff.
Taking part in the national cookout entailed choosing a theme and creating and cooking up an imaginative three-course meal that would please the Cape Town judges. They also had to decorate their table according to the theme.
The three aspiring super-chefs decided to highlight the importance of sustainable eating by going with the theme, ‘Consider the Earth’, which impressed the judges. They underlined their green message by using a green colour scheme and natural materials for their table decor.
A hessian tablecloth set off the greenery and the wooden cut-outs, boxes and table mats but it was the centrepiece that really caught the judges’ attention. A beautiful brass antique scale, used as a planter for a little garden of succulents, mushrooms and dainty flowering plants, reminded dinner guests to weigh up their nutritional options and to choose food that was produced sustainably.
The judges were also blown away by the team’s delicious food. Tracey-Lee, Sanjeev and Gcobisa served up a deconstructed carpaccio as a starter, following this delicious course with spiced tuna for mains and a wickedly scrumptious chocolate ginger pecan-crusted blueberry torte for dessert. The Mbango chefs were thrilled when they heard they had won second place overall – but another surprised followed. They also received the award for the best team spirit.
“I was extremely excited after winning the KwaZulu-Natal finals and earning a place in the national finals and a chance to compete agaisnt the best teams in Cape Town. I was thrilled with our awards,” said Sanjeev. This is the second year that Gcobisa has represented Mbango in the finals. Last year Mbango was placed third. “Wow! Team Mbango has done it again,” she said.
This year, it was the first time Tracey experienced the excitement of taking part in the Feedem Pitseng national culinary competition. She was not surprised they did well. “We worked efficiently as a team to achieve this honour,” she said, adding that they had taken food and dining to a new level. Perhaps next year our Mbango super-chefs will bring home the gold.
