Two learners from Crawford College Sandton have been named Taste Bud Battle’s Senior Chef of the Year and the Taste Bud Battle Mini Chef of the Year.
The Taste Bud Battle began in January when, through a social media and print campaign, children were encouraged to create a ‘character dessert’ – a dessert inspired by a fictitious character or fantasy story.
Ten finalists from each of the three categories (senior chef, junior chef and mini chef) were selected to compete in the final at the Capsicum Culinary Studio. On 14 September, the contestants had the opportunity to show off their cooking skills in the final round. Sixteen-year-old Trezar Bhana and five-year-old Yusri Zunai, both from Crawford College Sandton, were awarded top honours.
Trezar, who was one of the front-runners right from the start, won in the senior category by not only serving a delicious chicken ballotine with a burnt-butter mash but by also displaying master culinary skills in the kitchen and master design skills in his plating.
Yusri cooked a steamed lemon curd flapjack with gratinéed meringue, which he blow-torched to perfection all by himself.
Competition director Donna Verrydt said, “Some of the dishes that these children produced in the Taste Bud Battle Final Cook-Off, in a highly competitive environment and under challenging time constraints, would make even [celebrity chef] Gordon Ramsay proud.”
The competition, which was originally planned as a Gauteng-based competition, quickly went viral and the Taste Bud Battle team ended up on a roadshow to Durban, Cape Town and George to meet with excited entrants and to taste their unbelievable creations.
Verrydt added that it was amazing to see the unbelievable talent displayed by the contestants. “We are so pleased with the reaction to the Taste Bud Battle because it shows that kids are not all about screens. They do want to be in the kitchen, spending quality time with family members, and being creative. You will not believe the level of creativity and talent that we’ve uncovered.”
The prizes awarded to each of the winners included an R5 000 Nicolway voucher, R2 000 in cash sponsored by Snowflake and a range of kitchen accessories including a Kenwood mixer.
Details: Crawford College Sandton 011 784 3447.
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