In the RCL’s Young Chef and Young Baker competition, local chefs Leandre Mari Engelbrecht and Tebatso Antoinette Mamabolo from Guvon Academy have advanced to the final stages.
The RCL FOODS Young Chef and Young Baker competition finals, where 26 young chefs and bakers will fight against one another for a portion of the R110 000 prize pool, will take place in Durban on October 13.
While the Young Baker final brings together two individual finalists from three regions, the RCL FOODS Young Chef final involves two teams of two contestants from five regions.
The winning team of two in the Young Chef category will receive R15 000 each in prize money, followed by R10 000 each for second place, and R7 500 each for third place. The first-place winner of the Young Baker Prize receives R15 000, second place receives R15 000, and third place receives R10 000.
At the core of these two events, according to RCL FOODS Head Chef Chef Brad Kavanagh, is RCL’s enthusiasm for fostering, investing in, and upskilling young chefs and bakers in their chosen culinary professions.
RCL FOODS is collaborating with a variety of organizations to ensure that the most value is added to the young chefs’ culinary careers. The competition is organised by the SA Chefs and SA Bakers associations, with Chef Adrian Vigus Brown, SA Chefs’ Competition Director, serving as the overall head judge.
“We kept in touch with the entrants throughout the stages of the competitions, and held webinars for them, explaining the expectations, assisting them to be as competition-ready as possible, and ensuring they put their best foot forward in the competition,” Kavanagh adds.
SA Chefs managed the competition entries and ensured that each one was professionally scored, as well as that the judges’ notes and feedback were made available to the entrants if they desired it in order to evaluate their performance and possibly consider making changes to help them stay on top of their game.
RCL FOODS is an ideal host for both the Young Chef and Young Baker competitions because many of the group’s brands and products are commonplace in professional kitchens.
The finals include both predetermined elements and a mystery basket component. Before the competition, competitors in Young Chef submitted recipes for a restaurant main course and an innovation dessert course, which they will cook on October 13 along with a mystery basket starter. The competitors in Young Baker submitted recipes for two types of breads and two types of baked confectionary, which they will bake on the day, as well as the mystery basket element of six cupcakes and a flavored buttercream.
The finals will be held on Thursday, October 13 at the Coastlands Umhlanga Hotel & Convention Centre, where the winners will be announced.
