Top Chef Guides Prue Leith Students Through Competition Season
“Competitions are just a run-off of how you should be working every day. If you think it is different you should be looking at the way you work.” This was just one of the eye openers that Chef Jodi-Ann Pearton shared with Prue Leith students during a recent competition workshop.
It appears to be competition season with Goldcrest, Sunday Times and Nestlé, to mention a few, all challenging chefs and chefs-to-be to show their skills. In light of all the competitions the Academy hosted the competition workshop with one of the country’s most experienced competition chefs. At the age of 25 Jodi-Ann was the first woman to ever win the By Invite Only competition and is the only chef so far to win all three categories of SA Chef of the year in three consecutive years. We asked her too not only guide students through competitions, but also to help them plan better for their practical exams.
The energy and passion with which Jodi-Ann presented her subject has the students rejuvenated, inspired and keeping a close eye on the notice board for news of new competitions to enter.
An overview of all the different types of competitions were discussed; pre-submitted photograph and recipe competitions, cook-off competitions including mystery baskets, showcases of pre-submitted menus, restaurant of nations and aspic competitions.
Planning, practice and perfection were probably the most repeated words during this workshop with Jodi-Ann explaining to students that competitions can create many extraordinary opportunities, but you have to do the ground work first and that includes hard work and sacrifice.
Prue Leith Chefs Academy jumped on the competition bandwagon and will be holding monthly Skills Challenge competitions for our students. The prize is a hamper worth R800.00 sponsored by Coated Fabrics. It includes a polycarbonate Chocolate World mould, pastry scraper and ten chocolate transfer sheets. The first competition will test pastry skills and students will have 30 minutes to make one sheet of chocolate tiles with transfers on, chocolate garnishes and 100 chocolate run-outs.
Congratulations to our two 2nd Commis Amelia Hanekom and Kiki Pecku. We received news this week that they are going through to the cook-off round of the Sunday Times Schools Challenge in October.
