If you are an aspiring chef or want a change of career, then you have to enter Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Chef Talent Scout Competition to stand the chance of winning one of six bursaries – with the combined value of R740 000 – including the ultimate prize of a three-year bursary towards the study of the school’s Advanced Culinary Arts Programme valued at R200 000.
The other five prizes will be one-year bursaries for a Professional Chef Programme or Professional Patisserie Programme, awarded to regional finalists to study at one of Capsicum Culinary Studio’s six campuses across the country – Boksburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, and Rosebank.
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To enter the competition, contestants must create a dish, sweet or savoury, using a red capsicum pepper or any other red ingredient.
Take a good, clear photo of the finished dish and upload it onto their Instagram page, tagging @Capsicumcooking and using the hashtag #CapsicumTalent.
Entrants must be 17 years or older.
The competition closes at midnight on November 30, with the names of the 10 finalists from each region announced on December 9.
Those finalists will then be invited to participate in a cook-off on January 20 at the Capsicum campus closest to them, where they will have to prepare the dish they entered, using their own ingredients.
The winner from each campus will then compete in a cook-off to be held at Capsicum’s Rosebank campus for the final cook-off on February 6, where they will have to create the ultimate dish using ingredients from a mystery basket.
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Travel to Gauteng will be sponsored for those living outside the province.
“This is an amazing opportunity for six individuals who are passionate about cooking and want to study further to realise their dreams of a career in the hospitality industry at one of South Africa’s best culinary schools,” said Capsicum Culinary Studio academic head Candice Adams
Entrants must enter an image of their red dish on Instagram and tag #CapsicumTalent and @Capsicumcooking in order to qualify.
All details and terms and conditions can be found at https://www.capsicumcooking.com/chef-talent-scout.
To get the creative juices flowing, here’s an easy recipe for raspberry tartlets:
Ingredients
For the pastry
• 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 100g butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
• 1 free-range egg, beaten
(If you’re short on time, use shop-bought tartlet cases)
For the crème pâtissière
• 150ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 25g caster sugar
• 25g plain flour
• 1 free-range egg
• 75ml double cream
For the topping
• 4 tbsp raspberry jam
• 450g raspberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
To make the pastry, put the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and blend again until it is just combined and forms a ball.
Dust a work surface with flour and tip the dough onto it.
Roll the pastry out with a rolling pin. Cut it into eight rounds a little bigger than the tins (as you will need to line the sides also).
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Line each tin with a disc of pastry and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
To bake blind, prick the pastry bases, line the tins with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the beans and paper and return the bases to the oven for five minutes until cooked and a pale golden-brown. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, to make the crème pâtissière, put the milk and vanilla in a saucepan.
Heat until it is just scalding.
Put the sugar, flour and egg in a mixing bowl and whisk.
Pour in half the hot milk and whisk until smooth. Pour in the remaining hot milk.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring all the time, until very thick – this could take about two to three minutes.
Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until cold.
Once cold, pour in the double cream while whisking constantly.
Spoon the crème pâtissière into the tart cases and chill in the fridge.
To make the glaze, heat the jam in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water and whisk to combine. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a small bowl.
Arrange the raspberries standing upright on the crème pâtissière and brush the warm glaze over the top.
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