Not only talented Young Chefs from South Africa, but also some of our top celebrity chefs will be involved in judging the best S. Pellegrino Young Chef in the Middle East and Africa, taking place in Milan from 25 – 27 June.  Cape Town and the Winelands have four of ten Young Chef nominations for the judging region, and one celebrity Chef international judge.  A total of 3000 Young Chefs entered the Young Chef competition globally.

The four Cape Town and Winelands Young Chef nominees, having to be under the age of 30 years to qualify, are the following:

*   Amoré Botha (South African) Chef de partie,  Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa

*   Angelo Scirocco (South African) Sous Chef, Chefs Warehouse & Canteen

*   Darren Badenhorst (South African) Chef, Grande Provence

*   Katlego Sebastian Mlambo (South African) Sous Chef, Rust en Vrede Restaurant

Chef Darren’s signature dish for the competition is Parma-wrapped slow cooked rabbit with palm sugar, Szechuan rabbit liver brûlée, and pumpkin seed gremolata (main photograph).  He described it as follows: ‘I have a serious soft spot for this dish. Rabbit is a very underutilised ingredient in South Africa, yet is has great potential in a variety of preparation and cooking methods.  I start with the whole rabbit and use every aspect of it from bones to livers, loins to saddles, etc. I think the key to cooking rabbit is the cooking method. I sous vide it at 63.5°C for 3 hours-ensuring perfect tenderness, and add natural fats to moisten the otherwise lean animal to ensure both tenderness and optimum flavour. It takes hours of preparation, but the end product is well worth the effort‘.

Chef Darren applies an Asian twist to classic French cuisine. ‘I found my culinary clarity when I decided to settle in Franschhoek. I immersed myself in the area, the terroir, the ingredients, the seasons and the unique lifestyle surrounded by vineyards. At this point I have entered into a bigger ideal than just cooking food for guests, but rather to ensure that they are able to experience at least some of the aspects that made me fall in love with food during their culinary journey at Grande Provence. It is also important to pay respect and reflect your surroundings in food. I do this by using what I have available to me; venturing out to cut old vine trimmings to smoke local trout and collecting flowers, herbs, and fruits growing between the vines which create a unique depth in flavour’, Chef Darren explained.  Chef Darren is known for his masterful plating: ‘I draw inspiration from art when composing dishes making sure all elements harmoniously play together to paint a picture before and during the meal’.

The other six Africa and Middle East chef finalists are the following:

*   Constantijn Hahndiek (South African) Chef, OSA restaurant at Fairmont Zimbali

*   Eka Mochamad Chef, Pepper Fine Dining Restaurant by Jumeirah

*   Rahil Rathod Chef de Partie, Restaurant Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek-Boulvar

*   Sanjay Thakur Chef, Restaurant Etihad Airways

*   Simone van der Merwe (South African) Sous Chef, De Kloof Restaurant in Pretoria

*   Vusi Ndlovu (South African) Sous Chef, Saxon Qunu Grill in Johannesburg

Chef David Higgs from five hundred at The Saxon Boutique Hotel is one of three judges for the Africa/The Middle East regional judging, with Chef Uwe Micheel of the Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek, and Joe Barza, who runs the Top Chef TV Show and is executive chef to a number of restaurants in the Middle East.  They have to select one of the ten Young Chefs, to go forward into the international challenge.

A star-studded cast of seven Celebrity Chefs will judge the top 19 regional S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2015 nominees, and South Africa, and the Winelands specifically, can be proud that Chef Margo Janse from The Tasting Room is one of them, alongside World’s 50 Best Restaurant top Chefs Massimo Bottura, Gaston Acurio, Yoshihiro Narisawa, Yannik Alléno, Joan Roca, and Eric Ripert. We wish all our South African Young Chef nominees, and those from Cape Town and the Winelands in particular, all the best for S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2015.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Tel (021) 433-2100, Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Facebook:  click here