Ladies team cooks up a storm
Three young Namibian chefs - Elizabeth Isai (21), Wilka Angula (24) and Lize van der Merwe (20) - returned from Abu Dhabi this weekend where they competed for the Culinary Africa Cup at the World Congress of Chefs and brought home a bronze medal.Six countries participated and the Namibians were the only women's team. Bronze means they scored between 70 and 80 points out of 100. Egypt took first spot, followed by Qatar and South Africa.
Chef Yannick Schweighardt was the team captain.
“Both the country and I can be incredibly proud of the team. It is the first time for all three to have boarded a plane, that they have left the country, as well as the first time that they have participated at an international competition as a team. All these challenges and they still got bronze, so it's remarkable,” Chef Yannick said.
According to Lize, she was very nervous a few days before the departure. “I think it was about my first flight, rather than about the competition. I slept like a baby the night before the competition and the next day everything went well. The worst was the last few minutes when you have to finish everything and get it plated. Everything you have practiced and learned all year comes down to those few minutes, to the one point that is assigned to you.”
According to Wilka, she is very proud of her team. “Lize lives in Swakopmund and she came to Windhoek almost every weekend so we could practice. We worked as a team on our shortcomings and when it was time for the competition we decided: Girls, it’s how we practiced it and there is nothing to stress about. We worked like one.”
The chefs set up their menu with Chef Yannick. They had to use traditional ingredients and also cook with chicken donated by the competition's organizers.
On the menu
“For the starter, we prepared fish with a biltong crust along with beans and a pepper sauce. Nobody has thought about preparing fish with biltong yet, but with the leadership of Chef Yannick we had a good dish,” Wikla said.
Elizabeth adds: “For the main course, we deboned chicken and stuffed it with spinach. We filled the drumsticks with omajova, and we served it with mahangu vetkoek, salsa and butternuts.”
“Dessert was a mahangu and orange cake, a beet cake, beet mousse, Oshikandela parfait and omahuku (marula nut) crumbs,” Lize said.
All three agree that the event opened their minds, exposed them to the world and food, and strengthened their plans for the future.
“I got my love for food from my father. He is from Germany and was a chef there. The first thing he taught me was to make pizza and even today he teaches me and we to cook together. I will study in Germany for three years and then I would like to open an African restaurant there,” said Elizabeth. “My passion for food and cooking comes from my family. I remember how my mom and aunts were always busy with granny in the kitchen. When you snuck into the kitchen, they always came out with something delicious. When you sit at the table and get that warm feeling of happiness - that's what I want to give to people and my clients. That warm happy feeling when you take your first bite of delicious food. I also want to study further in Germany and then I want to come back and train, mentor and prepare the next young chefs for the next Culinary Africa Cup,” she said.
Liza adds: “My parents have a guest house and my grandfather a farm. So, everything around making and creating food has always been a part of my life. I decided early on in school to do more with it and took cooking classes after school and in the evenings.
“I now have my own business in catering, but I want to see and experience the world. I then want to bring all the knowledge I have gained back to Namibia and use it here and teach it to others. I want to prepare soul food because I believe you can taste the love with which the food is prepared.”