Thulisile Mapongwana
A contestant from Motherwell in Gqeberha won prizes worth R30 000 after contestants from 15 taverns across the Eastern Cape battled it out in the Mzansi Tavern Cook-off Competition in East London on Tuesday.
Sixty-year-old Mandisi Dlokolo from M&N Place was crowned the champion, after serving up his “Monday Chicken”, in the Distell, Nederburg, and the National Liquor Traders competition.
It is aimed at promoting responsible drinking in South Africa, while also assisting tavern owners to generate more revenue at their establishments by serving delicious food.
General Manager for Sales at Distell, Clarence Sibiya, said a study that commenced during the Covid-19 lockdown found that more than 50% of the 148 000 taverns operating in South Africa were making less than R6000 per week.
He said they came up with an intervention to help tavern owners break even and create jobs while also promoting safer alcohol practices.
Thus far, the project, which started in July last year, has managed to increase the number of taverns offering food to their patrons from 1400 to 5000.
During the competition, both Master Chef Judges Benny Masekwameng and Pete Goffe-Wood agreed that being part of this initiative felt like being part of the solution, with Goffe-Wood noting that one cannot run away from our reality of being in a country with high alcohol abuse.
With initiatives like this, he said they were encouraging eating while drinking – to curb binge drinking and alcohol abuse in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the third judge and the Chairperson of Drinks Federation of South Africa, Monhla Hlala, said “South Africa needs to be taught a different way to consume alcohol, one that does not resonate with trauma.”
She believes initiatives like these will help to have honest conversations about alcohol, while also “changing our relationship with alcohol so that we do not perceive alcohol as the enemy.”
As the ‘sizzling’ competition came to an end, the three judges, who were looking for taste, creativity, affordability, and presentation, chose a simple, yet effective chicken, potato, and carrot dish, which they said was “perfectly cooked”.
Regional winner, Ndlokolo will now be joining four winners from four other provinces in the national round of the competition where a R100 000 makeover of their tavern will be up for grabs!
The Mzansi Tavern Chef Competition, which kicked off in February in Cape Town, is now headed to KZN and then Gauteng, where two lucky taverns will also walk away with prizes worth R30 000.
