Moud Kgomo from Vosloorus Tavern walked away with top honours at the Mzansi Tavern Chef Grand final at Nederberg Wine Estate in Paarl.
Kgomo wowed the judges with her “Jack of all Trades” creation that featured our meats, creamy samp and dumplings, showing excellent technique, balanced flavours and textures, as well as a fine attention to detail in her presentation.
Read: Grace Telana crowned as Western Cape’s tavern chef champion
She saw off a fierce challenge from rival champion tavern chefs from four provinces across South Africa to clinch the national title and an R100 000 tavern makeover that will upgrade her tavern’s food-serving offering.
The Mzansi Tavern Chef competition is a partnership between HEINEKEN Beverages, the National Liquor Traders and Nederburg Wines, with the aim of promoting food serving in taverns as a way of moderating alcohol consumption and combating binge drinking.
Eating while consuming alcohol helps to reduce the likelihood of drinking to excess and becoming intoxicated. Serving food also diversifies the outlet’s revenue streams, creating a more sustainable business and growing employment.
Western Cape Tavern Cook-off champion, Grace Talena
Judges for the national cook-off were master chefs Pete Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng, along with the CEO of the Drinks Federation of South Africa, Angela Russell.
Along with a newfound respect for tripe, the judges said they were impressed by the intricacy of the food prepared in the taverns they visited throughout the country as well as the cooks’ technical culinary knowledge throughout the country.
Any fool can learn how to prepare and cook a steak properly, but a cook needs to have a sound knowledge of cooking when it comes to preparing knuckles or chicken feet and then serving something delicious.
Goffe-Wood said the standard of cooking throughout the competition, which kicked off in the Western Cape in February, had shown the wealth of untapped talent in the tavern environment. ‘Bennie and I have absolutely loved the experience of travelling to five provinces to taste authentic township cuisine in the places where it is served and hearing some of the extraordinary life stories of these chefs,’ he said.
‘Serving food in a tavern contributes to a more sociable environment and helps to regulate how much patrons drink, as well as helping to prevent intoxication. It’s a simple but practical way of building a culture of responsible consumption,’ said Millicent Maroga, Corporate Affairs Director of HEINEKEN Beverages. ‘We hope this competition inspires many more tavern chefs around the country to sharpen their skills and dream big about where their talent can take them.’
There is a drive to change the narrative around taverns as acceptable places to go after church on a Sunday for a wholesome meal or to catch up with friends.
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