GALLERY: Healthy kota competition held at HTA

The City of Joburg hosted the final round of a cooking competition on 10 October at the HTA School of Culinary Art in Ferndale.

The competition that started in June 2015 was held to encourage healthier options for the traditional kota being sold mostly in townships.

A kota is a half-loaf of bread of which the soft inside is removed and mostly filled with meat or other food items.

Matloto communications chief executive Penny Tshongweni said the goal of the competition was to create healthier fillings for a kota.

“The aim is to minimise non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and obesity,” said Tshongweni .

There were seven competitors from seven township regions.

Tshongweni said contestants from Orange Farm, Soweto, Diepsloot, Ivory Park and Alexandra took part in the final round.

Thatho Molotsane won the competition and received a R20 000 voucher to spend on catering material.

Judge and dietician Stefan van der Merwe said the competition was a fantastic way of promoting healthier food options in townships.

Contestants used items such as brown bread instead of white bread, chicken breast, lean meat, vegetables and fruit to fill their kotas.

Tshongweni said each contestant was judged on their creativity, healthy filling choices and the taste thereof.

She added that all the participants had access to training classes prior to the final round and eagerly showed off their newly learned skills.

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