Calling all South Africa’s best young chefs, student chefs and enthusiastic home cooks.

The South African Chefs Association (SA Chefs) and The Plant Powered Show (TPPS) has launched a culinary competition where the winner will share a platform with top professional and celebrity chefs at The Plant Powered Show. This takes place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from Friday, May 27, to Sunday, May 29.

The not-to-be-missed three-day live in-person event will also incorporate an exciting virtual component, which will allow visitors from other provinces and around the globe to attend online.

The Plant Powered Show is the first of its kind in South Africa, bringing the plant-based, vegetarian, vegan and conscious living revolution to a mainstream audience. The hugely successful inaugural Plant Powered Show (under the name The Festive Vegan & Plant Powered Show) took place online in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions and featured an extraordinary line-up of local and international chefs.

Winner of the 2020 competition was Gauteng chef Hope Mdakane who entered a vegan dessert inspired by his grandmother’s trifle: “I took a dish I love and used the culinary skills I learnt at the HTA School of Culinary Arts where I trained and working at establishments such as The Hilton and The Saxon as well as stints working overseas.”

His thoughts on veganism: “It is a movement that I feel strongly about, due to the sustainable nature of the lifestyle. There are vast health benefits in following diets that are predominantly or entirely plant based and I continue to develop my knowledge and understanding of vegan diets and the quality ingredients that can be produced to ensure a superior dining experience without the use of animal-based products. It also keeps the ever-evolving world of food and food production interesting and exciting, as we are forced to think of new ways of making classic and traditional dishes vegan friendly.”

Watch Hope’s demo from The Festive Plant Powered Show here: https://youtu.be/u3Z_lshQRP8

The 2022 competition is open to all chefs, student chefs and home cooks residing in South Africa, aged 28 and younger, who are invited to submit their best vegan dish. Those entering must submit a 30 second video (or a link to where the video can be found) explaining why they should be the winner of a coveted demo spot at the TPPS, as well as a recipe using vegan-only products with a list of ingredients and the cooking method. Entries, along with a full name, ID, email and cell number details should be sent to competitions@sachefs.co.za for the attention of Adrian Vigus-Brown.

Entries close at midday on April 19 with the top 10 finalists announced on April 22. These finalists will then have until April 29 to submit a demo video with the ultimate winner announced on May 2 and invited to be part of The Plant Powered Show to perform a live cooking demo on Saturday, May 28, in The Plant Kitchen Chef’s Theatre.

The competition judges are Adrian Vigus-Brown (competition director SA Chefs), Miles Khubeka (entrepreneur, chef and TV host), Coo Pillay (executive chef of Protea Hotel by Marriott O.R. Tambo Airport), Dion Vengatass (member of the SA Culinary Olympics team), Linah ‘Pinky’ Maruping(regional customer chef for Unilever Food Solutions) and chef Jocelyn Myers-Adams (director of JMA Hospitality and Consulting and partner at Food Jams).

Says Heidi Warricker Event Producer of TPPS: “The response to the upcoming show has been incredible. This is truly  a food revolution with more and more chefs embracing and developing plant-based dishes on their menus. We encourage young chefs, those studying the culinary arts and enthusiastic amateurs to enter. The winner will have the fantastic opportunity to take part in this event and hopefully use it as a launch pad to an exciting career.”

Adds Jocelyn Myers-Adams: “We were delighted with the number and quality of entries for the inaugural competition. We encourage young chefs and cooks to enter and showcase their skills. We cannot wait to see what they will produce.”

The Plant Powered Show takes place at Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town from May 27-29. Tickets, which cost R120 online and R250 at the door, are on sale via Quicket https://www.quicket.co.za/events/167603-the-plant-powered-show