The South African National Culinary Team, scheduled to participate in the October 2016 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany, presented a three-course Olympic menu to 110 guests at a dinner held at the 3SIXTY Lounge in Montecasino.
The dinner event staged on 20 June was part of the preparation towards the October competition to be held in Erfurt from 22 to 25 October. The team will compete against 32 countries for the highest accolades the culinary industry has to offer.
“As any other Olympic athlete would, this team of seven extremely dedicated and talented chefs trains relentlessly in the months leading up to the most prestigious culinary competition on the global culinary calendar,” said the team spokesman, Thabang Kekana.
Kekana said, “With just four months until they board a plane bound for Germany, the South African National Culinary Team is getting in as much practice as possible. On 20 June, as part of this intense preparation, the team presented their three-course Olympic menu to 110 extremely fortunate invited guests at a glamourous dinner held at 3SIXTY Lounge in Montecasino.”
What set this practice apart from previous practices was the format of the evening. The conditions under which the team will compete were replicated at the dinner and the meal was served restaurant-style, just at it would be for the Olympic judges and patrons at the Restaurant of Nations in the Olympic Village during the IKA Culinary Olympics.
In line with Culinary Olympic rules, the team had six hours to prepare their official three-course menu.
The South African National Culinary Team’s Olympic Hot Kitchen menu features:
- Starter Cape Crayfish ‘Malay’ – poached crayfish, pressed carrot terrine, carrot mayonnaise and Malay curry sauce.
- Main Course
Springbok ‘Masakhane’ – pan-roasted loin of springbok, rolled veal sweetbreads, red cabbage and cider purée, savoy cabbage and boulangére potato.
- Dessert
Textured splash of raspberry, rose, coconut and white chocolate – coconut sand, coconut sorbet, coconut sponge, rose jelly, rose meringue, raspberry mousse and raspberry jelly.
The objective was not only to showcase the team’s culinary prowess, but to garner the national support they so richly deserve for flying the South African flag at Olympic level.
Read more:
Hirsch’s and Defy host junior cooking competition
Amanda A-mangia: Guacamole salsa with a twist
