Windhoek, Sept. 29 — The Namibian Chef Association held its annual Chef of the Year Competition on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at the Hospitality and Tourism School of the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST). After a two-day cooking competition and judging event that took place from September 20 to 21, the award presentation was conducted.
Sanet Prinsloo, a board member of the Namibian Chef Association, said that the competition is held to give Namibian chefs a chance to compete with their peers and display their skills. “The competition and awards are held in the hopes of giving Namibian chefs in the industry a chance to measure themselves and their skills against that of their peers,” Prinsloo said. They get the chance to learn some cooking tricks from different chefs. Additionally, it allows our neighbourhood cooks an opportunity to network and share advice on where to find ingredients while also giving them the necessary training. We anticipate that the competition will expand in the future, enabling us to stage it alongside a small hotel sector exhibition. Prinsloo said.
Elizabeth Isai, 21, the overall winner and recipient of the Silver Medal, thanked the association for giving Namibian chefs the chance to compete, saying, “I am very happy and excited for what I did in the competition, I want to inspire other young chefs and encourage them to put God first and believe in their dreams.”
Isai, who will compete in the October edition of the International World Skills Competition in Switzerland, said that the event helped her get ready for the global stage.
Isai was one of the young chefs from Namibia who participated in the African Culinary Cup in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. The Namibian Chef Association organized the competition’s preparation and fund-raising.
We came to Abu Dhabi in May to compete in the African Culinary Cup, which was held in conjunction with the World Chefs Congress and the Expo Culinaire, according to Prinsloo, who claims that the association wants to keep giving Namibian chefs access to international opportunities. Young chefs from the WorldChefs area of Africa and the Middle East compete in the African Culinary Cup. We are proud to have three young female chefs on the Namibian team, including Elizabeth Isai, Wilka Angula, and Lize van der Merwe. They were accompanied by team manager Yannick Schweigaardt, who is also the president of NamChefs and a seasoned competition chef. We competed against SA, Ghana, UAE, Egypt, and Qatar. Engen Namibia’s very kind sponsorship made all of this possible, according to Prinsloo.
The purpose of the funding for the Namibian Chefs Association was to support, promote, and advance Namibian culinary abilities. Anyone who appreciates cooking and cuisine is welcome to join our association. Prinsloo continued, “It will be great if we can get more significant companies in the sector on board.
The Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off and the Checkers Boerewors Competitions are two examples of Namibian culinary competitions that are judged by the Namibian Chef Association.
