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