Can you Chef

A couple of months ago I entered a competition "Can you Chef". I certainly didn't hold out any hope of getting through, so when I got a phone call telling me I had been chosen, I was blown away!

The event was held at the new Cape Quarter centre in Green Point.

The competition was stiff, and in both rounds I found myself up against 2 very confident and organised gentlemen! The format was, you were given a selection of ingredients, and 30 minutes to prepare at least one dish.

In the first round I prepared a Thai chicken green curry and a fillet steak salad. Cooking under pressure is not really something I am not used to, you had to think and cook at the same time - so there was no time for smiling at the camera!

Despite the fact that my curry was a little too hot for the judges (those chillies were hotter than I thought), they still decided I'd done enough to win and so I was through to the finals. My prize, amongst other things, was a new slow cooker - which is fortuitous, because my old one I inherited from my mother, and it's ready for retirement.

Even though I knew what to expect the next day, I still remained nervous. The other finalist, Justin, was not going to be easy to beat - he knew his stuff and the judges loved his food the day before and could not fault it.


I kept it very simple in the second round - fried kingklip with coleslaw, topped with fried capers and a second dish of simple chicken curry. After seeing what Justin had prepared, I didn't think for one minute I could win. I sat there waiting for the judges, and I kept saying - "I wish I had done more"!

To my surprise and delight, I was announced as the winner - and I won the most amazing prizes, the best being a cooking course at Jenny's cook school! I also received a gift voucher from Spar, 2 black truffles, a Crystal wine decanter and a whole bag filled with of the most wonderful goodies from various shops at the Cape Quarter.

All that said - I had a totally wonderful weekend - and I must say a huge thank you to Keith - official chairman of my fan club (okay it wasn't the Oscars, but it was a pretty big deal to me) and Jenny Morris.

Sunday night's supper was scrambled eggs on toast with truffles - not bad for a whip-up meal!