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Furnishings & DecorAn established and esteemed institution in the culinary industry in South Africa, this year’s Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year takes place around the country in August, with finals scheduled for September in Durban, and Unilever is challenging chefs across all levels to showcase their cutting edge cuisine.
With the standard of the competition reaching higher and higher levels each year as the prize money increases to become the richest and most prestigious culinary competition in South Africa, the talent, creativity and competitive spirit of chefs around South Africa will be put to the test once again this year.
The winner of last year’s Unilever Foodsolutions Senior Chef of the Year, Dilene Boyd (nee Cranna) of Salon de Culinaire in Johannesburg, recently walked away with R40 000 in the Unilever Foodsolutions By Invitation Only Chef of the Year 2010, proving that, against all odds as a pastry chef and the least experienced hot kitchen chef of the six, this is a competition which can make dreams come true.
With R40 000 of the R130 000 prize money won by Dilene Cranna, there’s still a whopping R90 000 up for grabs in the Senior, Junior and Team of Four categories.
The regional cook-offs of the Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year will be held in Cape Town on 2 August, Johannesburg on 6 August and Durban on 8 August 2010, with the finalists from these three semi-finals competing in the Mystery Basket National Finals at Unilever Foodsolutions in Durban on 17 September. In addition, three senior entrants, one each from Mashreq (an area encompassing several countries in the Middle East), Pakistan and Arabia, will be selected on the basis of trials within each of their respective countries to compete in the Senior category, making this a truly multi-national competition.
The three categories of the competition allow for entries by all levels of chefs – the Senior being for chefs with more than five years of professional culinary experience and the Junior being for chefs with less than five years’ experience. Applicants in both these categories are required to submit recipes for a three-course meal using Unilever Foodsolutions products in order to qualify for selection for the semi-finals where they will be required to prepare a three-course menu for three people using a mystery basket of ingredients, as well as ingredients from a communal table.
The ultimate winner in the Senior category following the finals in September will walk away with R15 000 and the title of Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year, while second and third place will win R10 000 and R5 000 respectively. The first prize in the Junior Chef of the Year is R10 000, second prize is R6 000 and third prize is R4 000.
The Team category is open to teams consisting of four members; a team manager (or executive chef), senior cook, junior cook/assistant and a waitron from any hotel, canteen or restaurant across South Africa. Regional cook-offs are not held for the Team of Four category, and six teams will be chosen to compete in the mystery basket national finals in September from all national entries received. The six Team of Four finalists will be required to present a starter, main course and dessert for six people, as well as a unique table setting designed to dazzle the judges. The winners in the Team category will win a cash prize of R20 000, second prize R12 000 and third prize R8 000.
Competitors in all three categories, at both semi-final and final level, will be scored on taste, number of Unilever products use and the novel use of these products, originality of the recipe, degree of difficulty and skill required, fusion of flavours, portion size and, in the case of the Team category, table presentation.
Are you at the cutting edge of cuisine? An innovator in your field? Then get out your knives, sharpen your skills and enter the 2010 Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year. Whether you’re a qualified cook, trainee or an aspiring chef currently registered with a training institution, this is your chance to put yourself in the spotlight!
To enter simply create your starter, main course and dessert recipes using Unilever Foodsolutions products and submit, with accompanying photographs, by logging onto www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.za, where you can either enter online or download an entry form to be completed and faxed to 031 570 2395. Alternatively, please email entries to coty@unilever.com, or post to Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year Competition, P.O. Box 1547, Durban, 4000. Entries close 23 July 2010. Contact Kusturie Naidoo on (031) 570-2751 for further information.
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