The annual Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jeunes Chefs competition took place last week. Llewellyn Buckley-Marais, Bailli Délégué of the South African chapter of the international culinary association, Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, recently provided insights into the annual competition.

The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, active in over 80 countries, connects nearly 25 000 enthusiasts and professionals, including hoteliers, restaurateurs, executive chefs, and sommeliers, who share a commitment to fine dining and culinary arts. Buckley-Marais oversees five South African regions where Chaîne chapters operate: Lowveld, Pretoria, KwaZulu-Natal, Outeniqua, and Cape Town.

“In this year’s Young Chefs competition, we welcomed 13 entrants: eight from the Cape, three from Gauteng and two from KZN. Taking into account logistics and practicalities, competition venues were merged to the Mother City and Joburg, with out-of-town entrants flown to their closest station,” Buckley-Marais explained.

Participating establishments included Fusion Cooking School, Saxon Hotel, Chef Training and Innovation Academy, Salt at Waterford, Table Bay Hotel, Peninsula All Suite Hotel, Southern Sun The Cullinan, Delaire Graff Estate, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve and Birkenhead House.

“Each of these establishments submitted competitors and sponsored their participation at the two competition venues, this year being the Cape Town Institute of Culinary Arts under the helm of Letitia Prinsloo, and Pretoria’s Capital Hotel School, ably steered by Ronel Bezuidenhout,” Buckley-Marais added.

The competition format involved a morning kitchen orientation, where contestants reviewed available equipment and common table ingredients. Each competitor then received a ‘secret box’ containing five ingredients, from which they had to incorporate at least 25% into their dishes. Within half an hour, they drafted a three-course menu, including a starter, main course, and dessert, which was submitted to judges before they began cooking. Competitors then had three and a half hours to prepare and plate their meals.

The competition is open to South African Chaîne des Rôtisseurs members aged 27 and under, often involving student chefs or junior employees from members’ establishments. Candidates can also be sponsored by Chaîne members if they show promise.

Following the regional rounds, winners were announced – Amahle Sosiba and Elizabeth Nothando Ncube from Johannesburg, and Sheldon Wolfe and Caeleb Naidoo from Cape Town. They will advance to the national competition in April, with third-placed contestants invited to participate for additional experience.

The top chefs from the national competition will qualify for the international Jeunes Chefs 2025 competition in Bangkok, Thailand.