A Hirsch’s and HeronBridge cook-off

PINESLOPES – It was the team with the most 'gees' who came out on top on 5 October during the seventh annual Hirsch's/HeronBridge College Cook-Off competition.

October 14, 2019

Robyn Kirk 2 minutes read

The Cooking with Gees team ultimately won on the day. Photo: Robyn Kirk

It turns out that the special ingredient in fantastic cooking is ‘gees’ – just ask the young chefs in Grade 11 at HeronBridge College.

On 5 October, the seventh annual Hirsch’s/HeronBridge College Cook-off finale came to the Hirsch’s Fourways store and saw four teams of young people – three from HeronBridge and one from Guvon Academy – cook up a storm. This year’s competition was made extra special as Guvon Hotels and Spas came on board to support the young chefs as they prepared starters, main courses and mocktails to wow the judges. The Cooking with Gees team eventually took the title of top cooks on the day.

Nhlanhla Fakude and Mangoba Tshabalala work on the sauce for their starter. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

The Soup-A-Stars team is made up of Kierah Warren, Elise Jack, Greg Tanton and Julian Scholtz. *Photos: Robyn Kirk*

Judges on the day are Simon Crane from HeronBridge College, Pat Tarr from Broadacres SPAR, Grant Sandham the marketing director for Guvon Hotels and Norman Brassell of Hirsch’s. The fifth judge JP Siegenthaler (not pictured) was at the stoves. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

The head of department for life orientation at HeronBridge College and main organiser of the competition Elize Brassell said, “The idea of the cook-off is that these Grade 11 students get some experience working under pressure. I hope the experience teaches them how to problem solve and to learn teamwork.

Chef Leon Koch briefs the cooks on how the kitchen is set up in the Hirsch’s Pineslopes store. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

“It’s also a practical way for them to engage with both tertiary institutions [the Guvon Academy] and businesses.”

The wildcard team from Guvon Academy get to work on their starter, a take on the classic eggs benedict. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

While the youngsters competed, internationally renowned chef JP Siegenthaler shows off his own skills and makes a vegetarian frittata. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

The day’s event was the second leg of this year’s competition – the first leg took place on 3 October when all the school’s Grade 11s (99 learners total) cooked off to decide the four top teams. One of the teams had to pull out before the finale, and they were replaced by a four-person team from Guvon Academy, who joined the other three teams – Cooking with Gees, The Jalapeno Hotties and Soup-A-Stars – on the day.

Kian Steydler, Arielle Pizani, Kayde Davies, Sean de Swardt, Jade Cronje and Taya Blem – who make up the The Cooking with Gees team – are the winners of the seventh annual cook-off competition. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

Each team had one hour to create a starter using ingredients of their choice with a complementary mocktail. During the second round, they again had an hour to create a main course using ingredients from a mystery basket with a second complementary mocktail.

Simon Crane the deputy head and Keith Wilke the head of the college smile as the first round is underway. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

Judges on the day were the marketing director for Guvon Hotels Grant Sandham, Pat Tarr from Broadacres Spa (which sponsored all the food used during the competition), internationally recognised chef JP Siegenthaler, regional operations manager for Hirsch’s Norman Brassell and the deputy head of HeronBridge College Simon Crane.

The Jalapeno Hotties team is made up of Sarah Copeland, Kiera van Eck, Caitlyn Huntley, Rachel Otter and Joshua Ferreira. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

The public relations officer for the Hirsch’s Fourways store Marjone Barnard said, “This was actually my first Hirsch’s/HeronBridge Cook-Off, and I’m so glad it went well. For the children it was a chance to learn that you don’t always have to go to university after school, but instead can go into something practical as well.

The Wildcard team from Guvon Academy is made up of Promise Mpinga, Nhlanhla Fakude, Nonkululeko Majova and Manqoba Tshabalala. *Photo: Robyn Kirk*

“A huge thank you to the sponsors for making this day so special. The winning team received a R500 Hirsch’s voucher and a cookbook [each] and the runners up received a R300 voucher.”

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