February saw the culmination of many significant Chaîne events in Durban. The local Bailliage of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) hosted the National Finals of the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs and the Jeunes Sommeliers competitions, as well as a regional Chapitre.

Both national finals were held at the Unilever Head Office.

The Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs competitors were:
- Tayla Schou from KZN
- David Donald from du Cap
- Damien Geldenbloem from Garden Route
- Dylon Winter from Johannesburg
- Thando Khumalo from Pretoria
- Bernize Kilian from Lowveld

Twelve students from Jackie Cameron’s School of Cooking provided the assistance for the day in the kitchen, and felt privileged to be able to observe new methods and exciting ideas.

We would like to thank the kitchen judges, Warren Frantz and Brad Kavanagh, and the tasting judges: Tony Kocke, Ghenwa Steingaszner, Craig Eilliot, Markus Banzinger, Nardia Adams, Prenolan Naidoo, Jackie Cameron, Sheila Somers, Peet Venter.

The contestants felt that they had received valuable information from the judges in the individual feedback sessions, and that they learned lessons from the “constructive criticism”.

Overall the standard was above that seen in previous years. When the results were announced, Dylon Winter from the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg was declared the winner. David Donald from Bertus Basson Restaurants in Cape Town was the Runner up and Tayla Schou from the Fusion Cooking School in Durban was in Third Place. Dylon will now compete in the international final in Frankfurt.

A big thank you goes to the team at Unilever for the use of the valuable resource of their kitchen for the day. We extend thanks to the Elangeni & Maharani hotels, Durban ICC and Culinary Equipment for always being willing to assist with ingredients, prizes, gifts and other items needed to run the event. Thank you also to all the other sponsors without whose assistance we would not be able to hold this important competition.

Elizabeth Jordaan
Chargée de Presse