12 Aug 2014

A total of eight chefs from different Camp Management Services Botswana (CMSB) branches recently battled it out in the kitchen to prove their culinary capabilities in the annual Chefs of Excellence competition.

The chefs did their best to harmonise the ingredients to come up with three course meals that could book them a year- long attachment space in the United States of America.

This year’s contest had a twist to it, which made it more interesting and different from others since it was launched in 2011.

As a way of passing cooking skills to the younger generation, Acacia primary school students had the opportunity to prepare a three course meal as a curtain raiser to the main competition.

“Acacia primary school and CMBS partnered in a culinary program where the Standard Sevens were put into groups and spent a week cooking and learning about the kitchen and what it is like to be a chef,” explained Jwaneng Mine’s Dr Mwanba Nsebula.

He further noted that this year’s event had a cultural element to it as traditional Setswana cuisine was prepared along other dishes. This, he noted, was intended to celebrate Botswana’s culture as well as promote the country’s cultural diversity.

The guests also had the opportunity to taste various Asian and Brazilian dishes which were also part of the growth experienced this year.
Meanwhile Jwaneng’s based Joel Tlhako and Thabo Nkoma emerged the lucky duo as they managed to put everything together to the judges’ satisfaction.

In a post interview, Tlhako said the fact that he managed to reach the finals in last year’s competition motivated him enough to prepare better this year. He said since his weak point last year was poor time management, he had been preparing on that aspect since last year.

“This year I also reduced the components on my menu because they contributed to my finishing late in last year’s contest,” he explained.
For Nkoma, moving to Jwaneng from Gaborone Sun was the best opportunity for him to enter the competition for the first time in his 6 year career.

“I am very glad I won at my first attempt because I have always been passionate about cooking and now it has paid off,” he said.

He however, noted that as chefs, their main challenge was communication breakdown because most executive chefs were from outside Botswana and therefore made it difficult for local chefs to communicate effectively.

This year’s winners will be attached to a Golf Club in Florida for the first six months and the other six months in New York. Ends