Sunday Times 2011 Food Awards

2011 Winners (from left, back row) Wynand van Rooyen, Darren O' Donovan, Delvin Reck
(from left, front row) Megan Meikle, Ashleigh Heeger [image courtesy of Ogilvy PR and Ruvan Boshoff]

Those who know me know that dresses and I do not get along. I'm the kind of girl who has nightmares about invitations that declare the dresscode to be "smart", "formal" or anything else equally as frightening. Jeans are to me like long hair was to Samson way back when... without them, I lose all my "powers" (namely confidence and ability to enjoy myself). The flutter of excitement that arrives with an invite to a glamorous event usually dissolves rapidly into fear, shakiness and the dreadful knowledge that I will, once again, need to buy tights. Not a pretty picture. When I received an invitation to the recent Sunday Times 2011 Food Awards, however, the "what to wear" panic was somewhat drowned out by the excitement - a room full of South Africa's best chefs, restaurant owners, food personalities, writers and bloggers? Heck, I'd wear a tutu and a tiara to be able to attend!

The evening's entertainment [image courtesy of Ogilvy PR and Ruvan Boshoff]

The REAL evening's entertainment! Nataniel [image courtesy of Ogilvy PR and Ruvan Boshoff]

This was the 5th year of the Sunday Times Food awards, and the venue - Foodcorp's Innovation Centre 7th Floor - was filled with the who's who of the South African food scene. Bubbly and oysters greeted me on arrival, as well as a selection of canapés - the dainty duck crepes were delicious, and the mini gazpacho soups, served in shot glasses and accompanied by Parmesan bites, were rather tasty. After mingling and gawking at famous chefs rubbing shoulders for a while, we were invited into one of the boardrooms for the formal presentation. I was delighted to see that Nataniel, a much-loved South African singer, comedian and food personality, was MC for the evening. He is wonderfully controversial, with an admirable ability to deliver every single joke as deadpan as possible, and had the crowd in stitches throughout the event.

Them that Twitter - some of the Twitterati at the event (from left) Myself, Maggie Mostert and Hennie Coetzee [image courtesy of Ishay from The Food and the Fabulous]

These respected and renowned awards are such an exciting way of encouraging chefs to achieve excellence in their craft. I love that there are four categories, from the coveted Chef of the Year to the Chef School Challenge (aimed at first-year students in cooking schools), allowing chefs from any stage of their career to compete. In that way, inspiration is fostered right at first-year level, and gives chefs - both young and old - something to aspire to. The prizes also ain't too shabby! The Chef of the Year wins an amazing R50,000, and there are cash prizes for winners in every category.

Nataniel, Wynand van Rooyen (Sunday Times Chef of the Year 2011), Mondli Makhanya (Editor-in-Chief, Avusa Media), and Justin Williamson (CEO, Foodcorp) [image courtesy of Ogilvy PR and Ruvan Boshoff]

The 2011 winners, judged according to their performance over a 3 day cook-off at Foodcorp's premises, are as follows:

Chef School Challenge: Megan Meikle and Darren O' Donovan (HTA School of Culinary Art, Randburg)Stalwart of the Kitchen: Delvin Reck (Scotty's Restaurant and Bar, Plettenberg Bay)
Young Chef of the Year: Ashleigh Heeger (The Test Kitchen by Luke-Dale Roberts, Cape Town)
Chef of the Year: Wynand van Rooyen (Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town)

It was a highly enjoyable evening, and an honour to have been amongst such influential and experienced personalities of the food industry. Do yourself a favour and watch this short video summary - it's sure to inspire you to want to rush into your own kitchen and get creative. Otherwise, if you're able to, just make a booking at each of the winning eateries and find out for yourself why their chefs took top honours!