The Nestlé Professional Golden Chef’s Hat competition took place on Monday, 14 May, just before the Hostex Cape 2012 exhibition held at the CTICC from 15 to 17 May. This is the second year since the competition was relaunched, and showcases the skills and creativity of up and coming young chefs. It is a competition of long-standing that has launched the careers of top chefs such as Andrew Atkinson and Citrum Khumalo.

The competition is targeted at chefs under the age of 25 years. They enter in teams of two, submitting recipes for dishes for a starter, main and dessert using Nestlé Professional products, to the South African Chefs Association. These are then short-listed to six teams of two chefs, who took part in the cook-off on Monday. The winners were announced at a gala dinner this evening (17 May) at One&Only Cape Town following the last day of Hostex Cape, attended by Hotel & Restaurant editor Andrew Moth.

The contestants were:

• Chesley Chetty and Erica Shone from Southern Sun’s Sandton Sun in Johannesburg
• Emmarentia O’Neill (By Word of Mouth) and Kylie Debbo (The Food Design Agency) in Johannesburg
• Justine de Bruin and Jonathan van der Merwe, both first year students at HTA School of Culinary Art
• Megin Meikle (HTA) and Warren Naested (Foodiction) in Johannesburg
• Liezl Bruce and Tlali Masakala from UJ in Johannesburg
• Nik Tonglet and Romy Jansen from The Test Kitchen in Cape Town

The compulsory products used in their recipes included: duck livers, duck, trout, lentils, aubergines, Maggi Mash, Peppermint Crisp Dessert Topping and Maggi Spicy Liquid Seasoning. These were revealed on Wednesday, 9 May at the Foodiction kitchens at Nestlé Professional head office in Johannesburg. The chefs had one hour to write their menus and submit them to the judges on that day, to be prepared in competition conditions on Monday, 14 May in Cape Town.

Janet Rose, marketing manager for food at Nestlé Professional, says of this year’s event: “The standard was very high of the menus that were put out. The prize is a trip to the UK, having a learning experience with Ramsay Holdings, eating in the Gordon Ramsay restaurant and spending a few days soaking up the culinary scene in London. The prize is valued at R60 000 but the learning experience is priceless.”

Competitions like these are the foundation on which top chefs build their careers. Just entering makes them all winners, for pushing their creativity to the limits and beyond, and for finding new and innovative ways to use convenience quality ingredients. Sometimes the winning concept is deceptively simple. Always the winning concept is tasty, visually appealing, balanced on the plate, prepared correctly, demonstrate many hours of practicing skills in the kitchen, and then the chefs’ personal flair and ability to handle pressure on the day.

Last year’s winners were Kelly McErlaine and Andrea Mansfield from the HTA School of Culinary Art, who took top prize of R10 000 each, a Russell Hobbs microwave plus a trip to France worth over R60 000. While in France, the team attended a top culinary school in Paris, enjoyed a range of culinary and cultural experiences, plus a train trip to Lyon that included meeting world-famous Paul Bocuse in his restaurant as well as a back of house tour of his kitchen.

The applications which link directly with the group’s Central Reservations System provide a live, real time interface for the user ensuring the transaction is quick and convenient for booking agents and visitors wanting to secure accommodation at any of the group’s 14 different hotels in South Africa and Botswana.

“The landscape of travel is evolving all the time and consumers and travel operators require state-of-the art online applications and solutions. Access in real time to best value propositions is what our applications and systems provide as well as the ability to book, modify or cancel reservations online. The system integrates all our accommodation offerings providing visitors and operators with fast and easy access to our hotels,” says Imtiaz Amod, Peermont reservations manager.

There are three different online booking options to meet the needs of different sectors of the travel industry.  The Peermont Online Business Partner Programme serves tour operators, travel agents and corporate travel planners by providing real-time online access to negotiated rates and is available for free on request to qualified travel partners. Popular features and recent enhancements to the programme have ensured that booking and administration is easier, especially for tour operators.

Handy improvements include the system’s capacity to handle multiple bookings as well as a weather widget, a currency converter and flexible billing options. Tour operators have access to their negotiated rates online and save an additional 5% when they book online.

Peermont is committed to continual improvement in their online services for business partners, and enhanced reporting functions and group booking tools are currently in development, for release later this year.

PeermontConnect is an interface with Peermont Central Reservations designed for travel aggregators with their own web sites, and is free upon request while the ResBooker is available for the general public on www.peermont.com and all resort and hotel websites, including Facebook.

Currently operating 14 properties, nine in South Africa and five in Botswana and offering well over a one thousand five hundred hotel rooms, three thousand plus slot machines and nearly 150 gaming tables Peermont is renowned for providing visitors from all over the world with a wide variety of choice. The resorts has in its portfolio hotels, casinos, convention centres, retail outlets, restaurants, bars, and sport and entertainment facilities.

“The group continues to develop on-line booking applications based on customer feedback from all of our market segments,” says Amod. “The Peermont accommodation booking facility has made travel planning easier for the regular traveller and is on its way to become a one-stop shop providing complete travel solutions for agents and visitors alike. We hope that operators will enjoy the pleasure of seamless booking of hotels across the group with this advanced online system.”

Benefits of the Peermont Online Business Partner at a glance:

*  100% online 24/7:  Book, modify or cancel a reservation on-line, anytime

*  Multiple room types are now available within a single reservation, making it easier for tour operators to manage diverse client requirements

*  All guests can have rooms booked under their own names within a single reservation

*  Rooms can be added or removed from an existing reservation

*  The booking page now includes a current weather widget

*  A handy currency converter displays value in US Dollars, British Pounds, Euros, Chinese Yuan, Australian Dollars, Botswana Pula and South African Rands

*  Billing arrangements are recognised and tour operators are not forced to pay in advance by credit card

For more information visit www.peermont.com.

Seen above are the Peermont executive management team celebrating high online booking and reservation sales at the 2012 Tourism Indaba: (from left) Jegie Padmanathan, Mark Jakins, Nigel Atherton and Wayne Hill.

In celebration of this remarkable achievement, Carling Black Label has launched its new “Stand Out” 440ml Special Edition bottle which is now available across South Africa.

The Carling Black Label 440ml Special Edition contains the same full-bodied, award-winning real beer taste, now packaged in a truly rewarding bottle for those occasions that call for extra refreshment.

“We conducted extensive market research on this new addition to the Carling Black Label family to understand what our customers were looking for. The 440ml Special Edition was first revealed in the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal regions. Judging by the overwhelming response we received from our loyal consumers, we knew that it was time to launch it nationally. We see this as the perfect way to celebrate our 23^rd international award,” explains Andrea Quaye, Carling Black Label’s general manager.

Berge Farrell, a leading packaging design agency in South Africa, developed the slick 440ml Special Edition bottle. Its most prominent feature is the use of an embossed logo instead of an ordinary label, making the bottle noticeable in any occasion.

“All champions deserve recognition and reward for their efforts. We are celebrating the achievements of Carling Black Label with a special bottle. A bottle that is the true reward for champion men who stand out,” says Quaye.

Carling Black Label has enlisted the assistance of 30 “Stand Out Men” across South Africa to help promote the new 440ml Special Edition. “Thanks to our sales representatives and our loyal Facebook fans, we have identified influential men who share the brand’s champion values. They have been tasked to help us spread the word of our 440ml Special Edition over the next few months,” concludes Quaye.

The ambassadors came together at an exclusive launch event on the evening of Thursday, 10 May at the Venue in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg to celebrate the national launch in true Champion style.

The 440ml Special Edition is available at selected outlets nationwide.

For more information and a chance to win stand out prizes, “Like” the Carling Black Label Facebook page & follow the brand on Twitter.

Celebrating 30 years of winemaking excellence this year, the Guild, an association of some of the finest winemakers recognised for their high standard of craftsmanship, comprises 45 members who jointly represent the pinnacle of South African wine achievement. Only wines crafted exclusively for the Guild by these exceptional winemakers are sold at the annual Auction which is open to the general public, wine collectors as well as the liquor and restaurant trade.

The Showcases in Cape Town and Johannesburg afford wine lovers the opportunity to taste these rare and innovative Auction wines as well as other acclaimed flagship wines of Guild members in an informal, walk-around tasting hosted by the winemakers themselves.

You will also have the opportunity to bid on rare signed bottles from previous Guild Auctions during the Silent Auction in aid of the Nedbank CWG Development Trust. Founded in 1999, the Development Trust assists with education, training and empowerment of young people from wine farming communities and includes the Guild’s Protégé Programme, a mentorship scheme for young, upcoming winemakers.

Cape Town Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction Showcase

Thursday, 23 August 2012

Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)

18:00 – 21:00

R170 per person including a tasting glass

Bookings via www.WebTickets.co.za

Johannesburg Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction Showcase

Thursday, 30 August 2012

The Atrium, Nedbank, 135 Rivonia Road, Sandton

18:00 – 21:00

R170 per person including a tasting glass

Bookings via www.WebTickets.co.za

The Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction will take place on Saturday, 6 October 2012 from 09h00 at Spier Conference Centre in the Stellenbosch Winelands and is open to the public.

To find out how you can attend the Auction to obtain these rare and exclusive wines, visit: www.capewinemakersguild.com, email info@capewinemakersguild.com or call Tel: +27 +21 852 0408.

Indaba was held over four days, during which the show theme of “Shaping our Future Together” was embraced by the 1 500 exhibitors from across the Southern African tourism industry. It is estimated that millions of rands worth of tourism business in nearly 4 000 scheduled meetings held during the course of Indaba was conducted. By the start of business on 15 May, the final day of the show, some 10 700 people had passed through the show. The number of visitors and exhibitors are slightly down from 2011, as to be expected following what was declared as one of the toughest years in the hospitality industry worldwide since the global economic downturn in 2008.

Indaba 2012 focussed on consolidating 2011’s solid arrivals growth and placed the emphasis on partnerships geared to ensure South Africa’s global tourism competitiveness and future growth. Indaba is all about showcasing the country’s people, culture and lifestyle.

Pictured above are Zimbabwean Minister Mr Engineer Walter Mzembi signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Africa’s tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk to strengthen cooperation between the countries and grow tourism to the SADC region. Also pictured above is Lesotho’s Minister of Tourism Ms Mmanete Malethole Ramaili shaking hands with van Schalkwyk following the signing of a similar MOU.

A number of innovations were introduced for the first time at the trade show this year to provide the industry with more platforms from which to make valuable contacts, collaborate, navigate Indaba and focus on profitability and industry growth.

The theme of the show was set at the opening ceremony on 12 May, when National Tourism Minister Marthinus van Shalkwyk invited the sector to collaborate in the face of strong competition and to work together to remove barriers to international tourists to southern and South Africa.

Van Schalkwyk strongly emphasised the importance of partnership among all the different components of South Africa’s tourism value chain to achieve the country’s tourism targets of 15 million international tourist arrivals, 18 million domestic tourists and 54 million domestic trips by 2020.

“Achieving these 2020 targets will not simply fall into our laps. Over the next eight years, we will have to work harder than ever before; we will need to work together as we have done in the past. Together, we must keep our eyes on ever-changing consumer preferences, diversify our products, maintain excellent service, innovate our distribution channels, and ensure that we continue to deliver value for money. We must ensure that all our people share in the benefits of our new growth,” van Schalkwyk said in his opening ceremony speech.

The 2012 opening ceremony put on a big show for visitors, with a strong industry message from the minister of tourism and South African Tourism CEO Thulani Nzima, interspersed with entertainment from the likes of MiCasa, Slikour, RJ Benjamin, Judith Sephuma and Thembisile, as well as choreography from the popular Somizi Mhlongo.

Key drivers for partnership and collaboration at Indaba this year were the Shongololo Speed Marketing Sessions, a first by SA Tourism that gave exhibiting companies access to more than 200 hosted international buyers in a series of short meetings, much like speed dating sessions, which were declared a success.

Three Shongololo Sessions were held, each focussing on a particular group of experiences: ‘sustainable and responsible tourism’; ‘adventure tourism’ and ‘culture and heritage tourism’. Each session was oversubscribed, with the most popular session – the heritage and culture session – kicked off by South African musical legend Johnny Clegg, who emphasised the importance and opportunities presented by a strong future focus on cultural tourism.

The electronic matchmaking diary was also a success, with more than 3 700 business meetings set up through the diary that went live some six weeks ago before the expo.

Another business-relevant and valuable offering this year was an SA Tourism-hosted e-marketing workshop presented by Damian Cook, MD at e-Tourism Frontiers. The TripAdvisor workshops with the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa that offered the travel trade insights and tips on how to make the most out of this global travel platform were also immensely valuable, giving substance to the tourism minister’s message that the industry needed to ‘harness the power of technology to take the hassle out of travel’.

Indaba made a good impression on the social media front, with the #Indaba2012 hashtag trending for three days on Twitter.

SA Tourism introduced its Indaba App for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android devices this year. The App helped to keep Indaba as sustainable and green as possible by minimising the need for printed collateral. It also gave delegates instant access to Indaba on their mobile devices. Within a day of its launch, the App had made the list of the top 20 Apps for download on the online Apple App store and by the third day of Indaba, it had been downloaded in more than 110 countries. It will be fine-tuned for use at other big global travel trade shows that South Africa attends and will be available at WTM (in London in November).

While wildlife remains one of South Africa’s flagship tourist offerings, Indaba 2012 gave members of the international media insight into the country’s urban cultural experience with a lunch at the popular Max’s Lifestyle in Umlazi. SA Tourism also addressed its marketing plans and market performance in four regional media briefings that focused on Africa, Asia and Australasia, Europe and the Americas.

“This was the Indaba at which the industry truly came together to share the strong affinity and common objectives that binds the industry together; to collaborate for future growth, to share ideas and to work for a future shaped by all who work in tourism, and by all who are affected by tourism. Our preliminary feedback has been very good, with delegates emphasising the value of their interactions at Indaba and the quality of the networks made and business relationships forged,” says SA Tourism chief executive Thulani Nzima.

US buyer Michaela Brown commented: “This was the best trade show I’ve attended in years, perhaps the best ever. I have never left a trade show so energised and filled with so many ideas. I am blown away by the friendliness yet professionalism of the suppliers.”

The entry criteria for the categories include:

• Junior Chef of the Year – less than five years’ professional culinary experience; three course meal entry using Unilever Food Solutions products.
• Senior Chef of the Year – more than five years’ professional culinary experience; three course meal entry using Unilever Food Solutions products.
• Team of Four – open to restaurants and canteens; no qualifications required, but must be cooks; three course meal entry using Unilever Food Solutions products; themed table décor.
• Creative Canapés – more than five years’ professional culinary experience; hot and cold canapés.
• Confectionary Showcase – more than five years’ professional culinary experience; focus on cakes and cake decorating.

To enter the competition, participants in the Junior and Senior Chef of the Year categories and the Team of Four category are required to create recipes using Unilever Food Solutions products and submit their recipes for a starter, main course and dessert with accompanying photographs. For the remaining two categories, chefs are required to submit their recipes for the respective items.

From the entries, candidates will be selected for the three semi-final mystery basket cook-offs, which will be held for three of the five categories – in Durban on 31 July, in Johannesburg on 1 August, and in Cape Town on 3 August. There will be no regional cook-off for the Creative Canapés and Confectionary Showcase categories. Selected entrants for these two categories will be judged at the competition finals, which will be held in Johannesburg on 14 September.

Some of South Africa’s most esteemed chefs who have a wealth of experience behind them will be on hand to help judge the entrants in the bid to find the chefs and cooks worthy of the titles and excellent cash prizes. The most coveted title – Chef of the Year – goes to the person who wins the Senior Chef of the Year category.

Each category of the competition will take the form of a mystery basket competition, in which contestants will be required to showcase their skill and creativity using some of Unilever Food Solutions’ ingredients. The entrants will have half an hour to design their menu, and then three hours to prepare a starter, main course and dessert.

Unilever Food Solutions, which has been hosting this competition since the early 1970s, has long been committed to contributing richly to the growth and development of innovative ways of producing masterpieces in kitchens around the country. This competition, says Craig Elliott, executive head chef of Unilever Food Solutions for South Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan, is about that. “For us, it’s about pushing the boundaries of creativity, imagination and skill; about uniting behind our talented chefs and going to great lengths to provide them with solutions and inspiration for use in their own kitchens every day.”

Elliot acknowledges the tremendous contribution that chefs play in our lives by sharing their talent, skills and inspiration with us through the passion they put into their dishes. South Africa has a wealth of world-class chefs. This competition pays tribute to them by offering them a platform from which to showcase their talent in a bid to achieving the respected title of Chef of the Year. “It has been exceptionally gratifying to Unilever Food Solutions to see the positive enthusiasm displayed by chefs when creating recipes with our range of ingredients,” he comments. “This response continuously spurs us on to greater heights in developing products that help to create great-tasting dishes as well as adding convenience to our chefs’ lives in their professional kitchens.”

UFS is also proud of the fact that for the past three years, the competition has attracted chefs from Egypt, Dubai and Pakistan at the cook-offs – as part of the South Africa, Middle East, and Pakistan cluster within Unilever Food Solutions. “This is encouraging on two levels,” says Elliot, “It shows how widely-recognised and valued this competition is, while also demonstrating just how well our South African chefs can hold their own on the global culinary stage.”

To enter the competition, chefs are invited to complete their entry forms on the new easy to use online registration that is functional from 2 May to 24 July at www.unileverfoodsolutionscoty.co.za.

Pictured above is the winner of this year’s By Invitation Only competition, Dion Vengatass from the Mount Nelson hotel (centre), with UFS Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan vice president Eelco Camminga (left) and executive head chef Craig Elliot (right).

McCain’s Tribute to Good Taste 2012 – A Taste of Royalty – finalists have been announced and are preparing for the cook-off and chance to win R10 000 prize and floating trophy at Hostex on Thursday.

The McCain competition, which is run in partnership with the South African Chefs Association, is aimed at creative young chefs who can produce innovative dishes using as many McCain products as possible. It was given a boost this year with a new brand identity and logo to more clearly identify this significant competition for young chefs on the local culinary landscape as well as an increase of the prize money to R10 000.

This year’s entrants are required to create a starter, main course and dessert for six people, with each dish incorporating the McCain Alternatives Chunky Parsnips, and exuding quality, freshness, nutrition, convenience and colour.

The four young chefs who made it through to the finals include Ahsleigh Heeger (Cape Town), Kylie Debbo (Johannesburg), Megin Meikle (Johannesburg) and Phil de Villiers (Johannesburg).

Heeger is from the Transkei. She qualified with a Cordon Bleu Grande Diploma from the Silwood School of Cookery in 2010 and has now just rejoined the school as a lecturer, recipe developer and exam invigilator. She won the Sunday Times Young Chef of the Year competition in 2011 and the Western Cape Chaine Des Rotisseurs Balliage Du Cap Award in 2012. Her menu for the McCain Tribute to Good Taste competition includes a parsnip and sweet corn veloute with blackened corn, crispy parsnips and a corne tuile as a starter, which she describes as ‘a hearty veloute that compliments the autumn season with bright colours and big flavours’. The main course is springbok loin rolled in black pepper with smoked parsnip puree, pomme anna, king oyster and enoki mushrooms and asparagus, served with thyme jus and garnished with a parsnip foam; and the dessert – a parsnip, ginger and cinnamon parfait with caramelised ginger crumb, apple fontants, panna cotta ribbon and yoghurt foam – is described as a sweet and decadent parfait.

Debbo works for The Food Design Agency in Honeydew. Her menu for the McCain Tribute to Good Taste competition is parsnip soup, served with roast parsnip and pancetta tortellinis, brunoise vegetables, smoked paprika croutes, and a truffle oil for the starter; braised lamb short-rib, dried shitake crumbed lamb fillet, parsnip puree and a tasting of vegetables, with a lamb braising liquor for the main course, and finishing with bitter chocolate and almond tart, parsnip and vanilla semi-freddo, a toasted hazelnut praline, macerated strawberries and berry coulis.

Meikle is studying at the HTA School of Culinary Art and last year represented HTA at the Sunday Times Food Awards 2011. Her innovative entry for the McCain Tribute to Good Taste competition includes butter poached crayfish tail served with a frozen parsnip and lemon mousse, sweet corn salad and saffron vinaigrette for the starter; pan fried duck breast paired with vanilla parsnip puree, spring roll, honey charred plums and potato fondants for the main course; and dark chocolate and hazelnut semi-freddo with a parsnip macaroon, raspberry gel, and Italian meringue.

The fourth finalist, Phil de Villiers, is a sous chef at Southern Sun Montecasino (Johannesburg), whose entry consists of Korean barbeque salmon with a parsnip and Asian pear puree, parsnip coleslaw and cucumber for the starter;  buttermilk poached chicken breast and cauliflower puree confit drumstick with sautéed vegetables, and spinach and feta roularde with chickpea and parsnip cake for the main; and an apple, parsnip and Frangipani tart with roasted fig and oatmeal, and honeyed parsnip cheesecake for dessert.

The star of the competition is the McCain Alternatives Chunky Parsnip, which resembles an ivory-coloured carrot in appearance. It has a mild celery-like fragrance, rich creamy colour, sweet nutty flavour, versatility and exceptional nutritional value. The product is ideal for use in soups and stews, on canapés and in casseroles, as a substitute for white potatoes, carrots or turnips in any recipe, used to enhance a main course and entrees, or served as an innovative and unique accompaniment to speciality dishes or desserts.

The four chefs will compete on Thursday, 17 May between 13:00 and 14:00.

“We are delighted with the team of the Desert Jewel receiving this award as it recognises their hard work, dedication and the commitment they display not only to their guests, but to the property as well,” says Paddy Brearley, managing director at Legacy Hotels and Resorts.

The awards are the culmination of a research process whereby companies and institutions are rated based on the perceptions and experiences of respondents, with a strong focus on evaluating and measuring customer service and customer satisfaction.

According to PMR.africa, the awards serve as an indicator of the competencies of the company or destination for its recipient. The organisation’s aim is to create awareness of the destination through the awards as well as recognise its staff and people for their contribution to creating the perception that it is a leader in its field.

“Africa is a big focus of Legacy Hotels and Resorts and the commitment displayed by the Namibian team at the Windhoek Country Club Resort’s Desert Jewel Casino, speaks volumes to what we as a business want to achieve across the continent,” adds Brearley.

“Jacky’s track record in growing businesses and brands is clear and her knowledge and experience gained as CMO in other high growth businesses using all available marketing tools (digital, social, PR and offline) will be invaluable to the rest of the &Beyond team as we embark on our ambitious Mission Statement. We now have a seasoned and highly experienced CMO on board which is very exciting.”

Humphries holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honours in law and religion. She has an MBA in strategy, IT and marketing and is currently completing her dissertation for her Doctorate in Business. She has successfully lead various marketing teams from across the globe to positively impact revenues and branding of the respective businesses, including Oracle Corporation, Motorola, Neotel and Nakheel Property in Dubai (The Palms), among others.

Some of her successes include doubling turnover at Oracle and improving Motorola’s revenues by 3025%, while spearheading the ‘HelloMoto’ campaign which grew market share by 30%. At Nakheel, revenue increased by 460% in her first year and more recently, in her time at Dimension Data, revenues grew by 15% within one year.

Humphries is also senior vice president of finance at the Internationally Accepted Marketing Standards Board (IAMS) as well as senior vice president of finance at the International Institute of Marketing Professionals (IIMP). She has the ability to lead and direct large workforces and understands the nuances of different cultures and their needs.

“What attracted me to &Beyond was not only the opportunity to become part of a conservation company with strong ideals but to also help lead it to greater heights. I want to build on the success already achieved and strive to provide an even better guest offering and improved marketing and business efficiency going forward. I believe that the soul and essence of the company is seen in the people I have encountered at &Beyond’s lodges and I look forward to making a real difference,” says Jacky Humphries.