Isai wins top chef award

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Isai wins top chef award

Chef Elizabeth Isai is slowly but surely carving out a name for herself in local food circles after being crowned top chef in the Namibian Chefs Association Chef of the Year competition recently. 

The award ceremony was held after a two-day culinary competition and judging event, which took place on 20 and 21 September at the NUST Hospitality and Tourism School.  

Isai (21) won first place in the junior chef category but was also named the best-performing chef across all categories, hence the overall winner title.

She was followed by Ronaldo Katjiheve in second place and  Zoe Fredericks (third) in the junior chef category.

Isai expressed gratitude to the association for providing Namibian chefs with the opportunity to partake in the competition, saying: “I am very happy and excited about 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”.

In June this year, Isai and teammates Wilka Angula (24) and Lize van der Merwe (20) won a bronze medal at the Culinary Africa Cup held in Abu Dhabi. 

She also won gold in the cooking category and was crowned the best competitor across all skills at the WorldSkills Africa 2022 competition held in Swakopmund in April this year. 

The Chef of the Year competition provides an opportunity for Namibian chefs to showcase their skills and compete with their peers.

“It gives them a chance to pick up some tips from other chefs. It also gives our local chefs a chance to get together and swap tips on sourcing ingredients, as well as equipping them with the necessary skills. In future, we hope that the competition will grow to allow us host the competition in conjunction with a small hospitality industry expo,” said Namibian Chefs Association board member Sanet Prinsloo. 

The association was founded with the aim of supporting, promoting, and elevating Namibian culinary skills. 

“Any person who enjoys food, and who is interested in cooking can join our association. It will be fantastic if we can get more big role players in the industry on board,” said Prinsloo. 

 

The results:

 

Best Hygiene and Kitchen Practice

School Teams

Hannah Mudge and Lee-Zanne Vermeulen

School Chef 

Thomas Niel Blaauw

Junior Chef

Zoe Fredericks

Senior Chef

Audrey Mbonjani

 

School Chef of the Year Team

First place

Hannah Mudge and Lee-Zanne Vermeulen 

Second Place

Yolandre Engels and Cias Viljoen 

 

School Chef of the Year

First Place 

Thomas Niel Blaauw 

Second place

Abigail van Eden 

Third place

Myra van Zyl

 

Senior Chef

First Place

Audrey Mbonjani 

Second place

Teresa Petira 

Third place

Alwyn Nicolas van der Merwe