Potjiekos competitions are not for the faint-hearted

Potjiekos competitions are not for the faint-hearted. This I discovered when making my debut, together with a friend, on Heritage Day at a charity event on a farm.

Yes, I know that everybody else in the country was having a braai and making a potjie seemed a bit treacherous, perhaps bordering on treason. But we were committed to fulfil our duty and feed the needy.

As neither of us had any experience in this sort of thing, we didn’t know what to expect. The competition was stiff. First there was Team Lamb Potjie.

Watching them set up, I realised that a potjiekos competition is a team sport. The captain of their team must have been a general or field marshal in a previous life. The wife and children were the foot soldiers, following every order barked by the general. The general was also the self-appointed commander-in-chief of the entire operation, even ordering the other teams when and where to prepare coals for him.

ALSO READ: Recipe of the day: Delicious chicken potjiekos with a pot bread

Next was Team Security. Dressed in uniforms, complete with batons, walkie-talkies, and sidearms, they looked more than just a tad intimidating. But looks can be deceiving, and they turned out to be some of the friendliest folk I’ve met in a long time. Their trademark dish is a biltong and pasta pot and this was the seventh time they were cooking this concoction in a competition. Turns out the leader of Team Security and his wife have seven sons and potjiekos is their staple weekend diet.

Then there was Oom Vegetable. A big strong man, his pot was on a gas cooker, the height perfectly matching his camping chair. Oom Vegetable planted himself on his chair and there he remained rooted, not even getting up when the judges did their rounds.

My mate and I, being Team Indifferent, explored the farm, did some target shooting and supported the local craft beer maker. Somewhere in between we did manage to make a pot. Now that we know how it works, Team Indifferent will definitely be back. After all, we have a title to defend.