Usakos man wins Plate of Namibia
William Smith (wearing Yellow Bandana) impressed judges with his beer battered kudu fillet to win the Team Namibia’s Plate of Namibia 2013 competition.
The live cook-off competition, sponsored by FNB Namibia, Pick n Pay and MTC took place on Saturday, 23 March 2013 at Pick n Pay Auas Valley to celebrate Namibia’s 23rd Birthday with local food and drink.
William’s N$23 000 grand prize included N$10 000 from FNB Namibia; a N$10 000 voucher from Pick n Pay, a cookery course from Polytechnic Hotel School and airtime from MTC.
William could not contain his excitement. He said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this competition. I love cooking with game and I enjoyed adding my own contemporary Namibian twist by way of a Weisen beer paptert (porridge pie) to the dish.”
Ralf Hergott, Chef/Lecturer at Polytechnic Hotel School, and one of the judges of the competition, commented that William’s dish was innovative and contained all the elements of a truly Namibian experience and that his creativity of putting the Team Namibia products together was truly excellent.
Liezl Hoving won second place with her giraffe fillet served with a tomato and weizen beer mayonnaise, while Mirjam Ndjalo took third place with an authentic chicken and cabbaged stuffed ravioli pasta with creamy mushroom sauce.
Sixty-five entries were received for this competition. Particpants were challenged to enter a unique recipe from a set list of 23 ingredients at the beginning of the month. From the recipes received, 10 semi-finalists and subsequently five finalists were selected by the Namibian Chefs Association. The judging panel consisted of Ralf Herrgott, Lecturer at the Polytechnic of Namibia Hotel School; Twapewa Kadhikua, owner of Xwama Cultural Village and Rebekka Hidulika, owner and creator of Fusion Restaurant.
The event was hosted by Fortune Kaueenghi and Tom Mutavodzic. A range of Team Namibia members complimented the event with their food/drink exhibitions.
