Our Olympians of the food world, the South African National Culinary Team are sharpening their knives and honing their skills to once again compete in the IKA Culinary Olympics, which is taking place in Erfurt, Germany in 2016. With a new team in place, under the leadership of renowned chef, Heinz Brunner, the team is set for culinary gold.
Over two years of preparation, 1,600 rival chefs from all over the world in glass-fronted kitchens, 1,800 seats in restaurants in the halls and 1,700 set menus freshly prepared and served each day; the IKA Culinary Olympics is an event that brings together chefs and patissiers from over 50 nations once again come together.
South Africa has had a National Culinary Team for over 30 years, and competed in the IKA Culinary Olympics for the first time in 1980. Since then, the team has regularly taken part in culinary competitions across the globe, in which the team has proudly held the South African flag high.
Chef Heinz Brunner took over as Team Manager earlier this year, and he is using his vast experience to train, guide and assist the team on their quest for gold. Heinz is excited about this new chapter for the South African National Culinary Team, and with the new team in place, as well as great partners such as Imperial, LSC and N1 Restaurant Suppliers, he is confident that the team will enjoy great success in the future.
After rigorous culinary trials and interviews, we are pleased to announce the new South African National Culinary Team:
Blake Anderson, HTA School of Culinary Art
Jerome Norton, Four Seasons The Westcliff Hotel
Kirstin Hellemann, The Mount Nelson
Dion Vengatass, The Mount Nelson
Allistaire Lawrence, Overture
Vusumusi Ndlovu, The Saxon Hotel
Henrico Grobelaar, Cavalli Estate
Arno Ralph, Sprungli SA
N1 Restaurant Suppliers are the official meat partners of the SA National Culinary Team, and will be providing the top-quality cuts of meat to be used during the team’s Hot Kitchen practices. The team will need to create a three-course menu for 110 people as part of the IKA Culinary Olympics, and they will be bringing in unique flavours of South Africa through proteins such as Karoo lamb and shellfish.