THREE students from 1000 Hills Chefs School bagged first, second and third place at the prestigious Unilever Chef of the Year competition.
Second year student, Richard Ellis won the competition, Aaron Subroyal came second and Amerae Vercueil was placed third.
“The competition was close, I saw my seniors competing last year. I was in awe of them and was inspired to compete this year. I was really happy to go back and take the win,” said Ellis.
“I can see that I have come a long way since starting out last year and I learned so much from Chef Jade and Chef Dixi,” said proud Subroyal.
Subroyal’s father and grandmother who are both chefs attended the event and were pleased with his achievement.
Amerae Vercueil who came third in the competition graduated in 2015 and has launched her own food blog, Ameroozle.
She said the competition took her out of her comfort zone and allowed her to stretch her creativity.
“I have gained more confidence and this has proved to me that I am pursuing the right career,” said Amerae.
Senior lecturer at 1000 Hills Chef School, Chef Jade van der Spuy said she was extremely proud of all her students.
“It is reaffirming to see their success and know that we are on the right track. We set out to equip our students with the skills they need to succeed in industry, and it is with the help of competitions like Unilever COTY that we can motivate and inspire them to be the best they can be.”
Chef Jade was one of six finalists in the Senior Chef of the Year competition, which was a very close contest with just one per cent difference in scores separating all six places. She won the Senior Chef of the Year title in 2015, and previously won the Junior Chef of the Year title in 2011.
“This fantastic achievement marks the fifth time a young chef from 1000 Hills Chefs School has won the Junior Chef of the Year title, and marks the second time we have claimed all three top places (the first time being in 2007),” said Chef Jade.
