The second annual Inter Hotel Challenge, the hospitality
industry’s ultimate showdown of food and wine pairing, is to be sponsored by
Cape Legends Fine Wines and the Cape
Legends Inter Hotel Challenge 2014 will, for the first time, include
Johannesburg and Durban.
The multi-faceted
Challenge pairs chef and wine steward trainees from top hotels, under the
guidance of the executive chefs and sommeliers, with the expertise of winemakers
from leading Cape Legend wine estates. It is the brainchild of food, wine and
travel portal
Showcook.com, and was initiated to provide mentorship,
upliftment, opportunity and inspiration for the hospitality industry's more
talented, creative trainees.
In
2013, its inaugural year, the Challenge invited 10 Cape hotels to contest each
other in a thrilling Cook-Off, with awards and generous prizes going to Best
Chef, Best Wine Steward and Best Table, amongst others. This year, the
initiative extends to Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with a total of 21 hotels on
board: eleven in Cape Town, five in Johannesburg and five in Durban, and a new
award for the Best Team, inspired by Guy Webber of Stellenzicht. “The prize is from
KitchenAid and will be exhibited prominently in the winning hotel; it comes
with something rewarding and fun for the whole team!” says Annette Kesler,
Editor of Showcook.com.
This
year's inspirational and practical prizes include a three week working visit to
India to The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and their three
top restaurants in Mumbai, with the TAJ Group. Return flights are
provided by Cape Legends. Tsogo Sun is providing a working stint for the
winning wine steward to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, to be mentored by
the top sommeliers at Tsogo Sun's properties. There are bursaries in excess of
R35,000 from the Cape Wine Academy and a brand new R15,000 award for the most
promising Chef Candidate from the Hospitality Property Fund.
The Newmark Award includes
generous cash prizes and in addition, there is a complimentary twelve month
Wine Advisor membership to the South African Sommelier Association for the wine
steward candidate who shows the most promise.
"In
South Africa we are blessed to have incredible human resources as well as
outstanding wines," said Ross Sleet, marketing director of Cape Legends.
"The aim of the Challenge is to encourage a culture of mentorship,
promoting skills development in the hospitality industry that will give a
much-needed leg up to young talent. For Cape Legends, it's particularly
gratifying to be part of the education and training of these determined young
sommeliers, as they strive to reach the highest level of professionalism, which
creates a great feeling of unity amongst all those who participate."
The
initiative will launch in all three cities in March, with a draw for the
wine/hotel partnerships. Each hotel will be paired with one of the Cape’s
gracious and renowned wine estates and invited to create a superb menu, using
versatile pork, complemented by aptly paired wines.
Participating wine estates are: Alto, Durbanville Hills, Fleur Du Cap, Le
Bonheur, Lomond, Neethlingshof, Plaisir De Merle, Pongrácz, Stellenzicht, Uitkyk
and Zonnebloem.
Hotels
participating include, in Johannesburg: 54 on Bath, Michelangelo, Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton,
Radisson Blu Gautrain and Southern Sun Hyde Park Sandton; in Durban: Beverly
Hills, Hilton, Oyster Box, Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani and Zimbali;
and in Cape Town: Birkenhead House & Birkenhead Villa, Bushmans Kloof
Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, Cape Grace, Belmond Mount Nelson
Hotel, One&Only Cape Town, Queen Victoria, Radisson Blu Waterfront, Southern
Sun The Cullinan & Southern Sun Waterfront, Taj, Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa and the
Vineyard Hotel.
A
major highlight of the Cape Legends Inter Hotel
Challenge 2014 is
the 'Grape to Glass' Experience in April and May, when all the candidates from
the participating hotels in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban will attend a
valuable one-on-one experience at the Cape Legends' estates with their top
winemakers, giving them the background they will need to pair their menus with
the most suitable wines from their particular estate.
The
first round of the Challenge, the Regional Cook-offs, will take place in Johannesburg on 3 June at the HTA School of
Culinary Art, in Durban on 5 June at the International Hotel School and in Cape
Town on 11-12 June at the South African Chefs Academy [SACA]. The final Cape
Legends Inter Hotel Challenge Cook-Off will be held 18-19 June at SACA in Cape
Town. Both the Regional and Final Cook-offs will be judged by panels of
esteemed food, wine and hospitality professionals.
The winners
will be announced at a black tie dinner at the Mount Nelson in Cape Town on 25
July, where all 21 hotels will be participating. A highlight of the evening is
the elaborate table décor competition in which each hotel excels with superb table settings in the theme of 'Gold'.
During
the first two weeks of July the public will have the opportunity to taste the
food and wine-paired menus at each of the 21 participating hotels, in the
Candidate Menu Showcase. An amount of R25 per diner will be donated to StreetSmart
South Africa.
For more details visit
www.showcook.com. Follow the
Cape
Legends Inter Hotel Challenge 2014 on Twitter @Showcookcom. Twitter Hash
Tag: #CapeLegendsIHC and #CapeLegends.
Ends
Cape Legends Fine Wines:
Cape Legends, Distell’s fine wine division, represents an extensive
collection of award-winning wines from estates in and around the Cape
Winelands. This includes Allesverloren, Alto, Durbanville Hills, Earthbound,
Flat Roof Manor, Fleur du Cap, Hill & Dale Jacobsdal, Le Bonheur, Lomond,
Monis, Neethlingshof, Place in the Sun, Plaisir de Merle, Pongràcz, RED ESCape,
Stellenzicht, Theuniskraal, Uitkyk and Zonnebloem. While each differs in
character and style, the collection shares a common trait of fine wine quality
and innovation in production marketing and distribution.
