This internal culinary competition was a first for Hello Group.
It all started with 20 contestants taking part in an immediate elimination round “Master Chef” style. The day kicked off with a private class on how to make Berry Panna Cotta from the Head chef at Training & Innovation Academy (CTIA) in Centurion. The contestants had 3 hours to remake the dish as well as a unique chicken dish as the main ingredient. You would think it is easy making a simple chicken dish, looking at the site in the kitchen only one word could describe it, cooking chaos.
Judging the dishes was Moosa, joined by two guest judges, Ahmed and Head Chef from CTIA. With only 5 people going through to the next round of the competition, the anticipation ran high as each contestant stood patiently waiting to hear the judges’ verdict. There were a lot of amazingly tasty dishes to choose from and you could see the judges sometimes had a tough time deciding. Finally, Moosa stood up to announce the top 5 contestants for Hello Kitchen 2017. Congratulations Shawn, Mumtaz, Sayjil, Ilze and Imtiaz.
Hello Kitchen Rules, officially started. Each Finalist had to select a partner and prepare a 3-course meal at their home for the judges and fellow chefs, our very own culinary masters: Shaazim Khamissa and Moosa Manjra.
The first contestant on the line was Sayjil and his partner JL. He had to get special permission to ask a fellow Hello Group employee to be his partner because clearly, his friends and family did not trust his cooking skills. Team “Aficionado” went all out. Classy black and gold themed decorations bedazzled the contestants as they entered his house. There were even some appetizers for the hungry before starters where served. It was a snazzy kick-start to the first Hello Kitchen episode. Little did our guests know the craziness going on in the kitchen.
Sayjil started off with a starter called “Ants in a Tree”, but it turned out to be more of an “ants in your pants” situation as it was a bit difficult to eat using cutlery. The main course consisted of some prawns and all plates where sort of polished. Sayjil’s hand slipped with the white pepper… Some would call it the white prawn pepper mountain. It wasn’t a good start for the team, but they came back with an award-winning Crème Brûlée. What a way to set the standard when it came to the sweet side of the competition
Next up was Shawn and his partner Jaco. It was a tight knit yet cozy setting, and everyone was greeted at the door with a delicious homemade drink. They stared up the braai for the main course and we got seated for a simplistic yet tasteful halloumi and pea puree starter. Sayjil as always tried to stir up trouble and diverted the attention from the food, to the cat hair in his food. Even with that little mishap, the main dish of fillet and salad was a winner. Shawn and Jaco unfortunately ended off on a low note with “the easiest dessert ever” according to Shaazim, but it was still a successful and fun evening.
Smack bang in the middle of the competition was Ilze and her friend Beate. Ilze chose a cute and magical rabbit theme for her evening and if there was a prize for décor, it would have gone to the “Rabbit’s Tail” team. But since that wasn’t the case, they had to impress with their cooking skills. It was crunch time preparing food for these bunch of critics. The team failed to deliver warm food as promised which lead to Sayjil causing another commotion with eating McDonalds at the table while he waited. As luck would have it, they made up for the cold food with another prize worthy dessert and ended off the evening as the forerunners of the competition.
Next was Imtiaz and his wife Tasneem. With homely outdoor décor, a little gift for each contestant with the cherry on top being a hubbly, you could see that Imtiaz had pulled out all the stops. He was in it to win it. The judges loved his starter of home-made chicken and cheese meatballs. Apparently, the ladies in the kitchen, Elizma and Amina almost ate all the starters before it could reach the guests. The rain interrupted the dinner just after the starters, but Imtiaz was quick to move the party inside. The main lamb potjie and home baked mini loafs was another success, and when Sayjil had no bad comments, suspicions where running high that Imtiaz got some inside info to what tickles the judges’ taste buds. Even with a very plain and a little cracked cheesecake, Team “Succulent” was on top of their game!
And very last, we had Mumtaz and her mother-in-law Shereen. The lovely nature theme had everyone relaxed, but it didn’t last long for Team “Nurtured by Nature”. They outdid the other teams by having 2 options for both mains and desserts. They realized they might have underestimated the time and work into this brave decision. The first choice the guests had to face was between the butter chicken and roast lamb mains. But as always, bad luck struck again when the cheesecake failed to set in the fridge, and everyone was left waiting for the sweet ending to the night. The night still ended off well with great applause and goodbyes. The teams waited in anticipation for the judge’s feedback.
It was to no surprise when Imtiaz and Tasneem were announced as the winners of the all-expenses paid trip to Mauritius. Well done to “Team Succulent” for a great night and fantastic food.
You can watch the full series on our Youtube Channel
