Culinary skills at cook-off wow judges

Chefs cooked up a storm at the Wild Coast Sun Hotel and Casino Resort.

3 hours ago

Sugan Naidoo 1 minute read

Winner of the first cook-off competition at the Wild Coast Sun Hotel and Casino Resort are mother and son, Renesh and Tishana Manilal, congratulated by Anandh Perumall (middle).

The first-ever cook-off competition at the Wild Coast Sun Hotel and Casino Resort was a blast. Some 12 teams from mothers and sons, husbands and wives to friends and colleagues tested their culinary skills to wow the judges.

Deejay Keegan Rathnam set the mood before the cooking got intense. Soon after the fires were lit, appetizing scents filled the air. Beyond the cook-off, the day was packed with family-friendly activities.

Dishes were prepared by the 12 teams and meals consisted of mutton curries, potjies, chicken, crab, fish curry, breyani and much more. The dishes went through a rigorous judging process that focused on creativity, taste and presentation. At the end, all the top spots were taken by locals.

Tiara Govender (right) enjoys a crab leg while Samantha Perumal enjoys her meal, with Anandh Perumall looking on.

The panel of judges included Kershnie Govender, a top 3 finalists on Season 6 of The Taste Master South Africa, Nick Dhanlal from Durban and Carmen Mokate from the Wild Coast.

Winner of the cook-off was T. Treats by Tishana Manilal and her son Renesh, who cooked a lamb masala biryani, second spot went to Riya’s Kitchen by Ricardo and Elisha Maharaj with a potjie and joint third place went to Team Thompson Motors for their lamb curry and rice and Rita’s Indian Delights by Rita and Billy Govender for their mutton bunny.

Team Halfway Toyota Shelly Beach sales manager Sanjay Dayanand and service manager Rajen Reddy cooked a mouth-watering mutton bunny.

Tishana Manilal said she was honoured to win the first ever cook-off. “My gratitude to organiser, Anandh Perumall from the Wild Coast, the judges, and the fantastic competition. I thank my sons Renesh and Ranbir for their support. It was a privilege to compete among such talented cooks.”

Getting ready to judge a crab curry are (from left) Kershnie Govender, Nick Dhanlal and Carmen Mokate.

First prize winner took R5000, second R3000 and joint third took R1000 each.

“The event was a huge success with over 150 people attending. The gathering saw everyone connect, share stories and strengthen community bonds. I thank the sponsors and teams for making it a memorable event. It was certainly a tough job for the judges. Here’s to the next event and we are hoping it will be bigger and better,” said Anandh.