13 Oct 2009 It was a tough cook-off between some of Gauteng’s hottest young chefs, but in the end the team from Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool walked off with the honours in the Heinz Junior Chef of the Year competition.

Hosted at the Pro Arte campus in Alphen Park, Pretoria on Saturday, 10 October 2009, this culinary contest saw participants from more than a dozen high schools don their aprons and then plan and cook a three-course meal using a basket of mystery ingredients supplied by John West, Today, Wellingtons and Heinz.

The young gastronomes displayed remarkable resourcefulness and creativity, and after a tough bout of taste-testing, the winners were announced. Bianca Olivier and Mia van den Berg from Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool came up trumps, followed by Diego Atterbury and Melvin Magaela from CBC Mount Edmund, Trisha Ras and Stephni Muller from Hoërskool Florida, Elri du Preez and Charvonne Labuschagne from Hoërskool Garsfontein, and Soné Botha and Renchia Ingram from Die Hoërskool Menlopark. Trisha Ras and Stephni Muller also scooped the prizes for best starter and best dessert, while Rosanna Fidler and Bronwyn Ferreira from Hoërskool Hendrik Verwoerd were named tops for their outstanding main course. Elri du Preez and Charvonne Labuschagne were found to have displayed the best team spirit during the competition, and Annelie Lubbe and Sammy van Niekerk from Dr Johan Jurgens High School won the award for best kitchen hygiene.

Other schools that took part were Hoërskool Waterkloof, Hoërskool Oos-Moot, Pro Arte Alphen Park, Hoërskool Zwartkop, Sutherland High School, Hoërskool Eldoraigne and Nigel High School.

Marisa Maccaferri, Brand Manager: John West and Heinz Soups commented: “The success of the event that took place this past weekend can be attributed to good planning, great Heinz products and fantastically talented students. Besides these ingredients, a little love was added with the charity sandwich-making event, where kids were spreading the love for the abandoned and homeless of Tshwane. Well done to all!”