Bridgitte Backman, Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Tiger Brands, said the following:
“ On June 16 1976, South African youth rose up against an inhumane system of government. This year almost 22 years after South Africa attained its freedom and democracy, the youth of South Africa – armed with skills, knowledge and pure determination – will be called upon to face yet another challenge, rising up to shape a better future, said Tiger Brands, South Africa’s largest food producer.
Tiger Brands scouted hospitality schools across the country to find student chefs that are true ambassadors of their province,” says Backman. “We wanted to find one student chef in each province that exemplified the spirit of youth through their passion for cooking, but we ended up with ten instead of the original nine!” she said.
NCR TVET College was the only college where 2 Hospitality Students were chosen to participate in the Final Cookout Competition. (Phumza Holland and Magdalene Greeff – Level 4 Hospitality Learners).
In addition to being featured in this extraordinary book, the 10 provincial winners participated in a Cookout Competition where an overall winner was chosen. The Cookout was held in the morning of June 16 at the Constitutional Hill, “We’ve selected Constitution Hill as the befitting backdrop for this prestigious event that celebrates the youth struggle heroes of the past along with the youth culinary heroes of the future. We are excited about remembering this historic day in a unique way – through the celebration of food and cooking, which cuts cultural barriers to inspire locally and unite nationally.”
All 10 Hospitality learners that took part in this Chef Cookout competition on the 16’Th of June 2016, chosen recipes features in the FIRST “The Great South African Cookbook” that was released on the 18th July 2016 on the celebrating of Mandela day.
The Cookout competition was followed by a gala dinner in the evening, themed ‘celebrating the spirit of the youth’. “We felt the Youth Day, which this year commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, was a significant way to honour these young chefs.” Said Bridgitte Backman
Phumza Holland from NCR TVET College was the OVERALL WINNER. Phumza Holland will receive price money as well as a one year Internship with Tiger Brands ‘Executive Chef. She will be taught recipe development, will work on projects involving product development and attend a variety of 1 day cooking courses held by the South African Chefs Association.
Each of the 10 finalists received a year of tuition fees and books paid for as well as prize money and 6 months’ worth of products for their school kitchen.
(Back Row: Left – P. Holland) & (Front Middle with Recipe book – M. Greeff)
PHUMZA HOLLAND (NCR TVET COLLEGE)
Tiger Brands partners with The Nelson Mandela Foundation for youth empowerment through the Great South African Cook Book Initiative
Tiger Brands is proud to partner with the Nelson Mandela Foundation as the principal sponsor of the first The Great South African Cookbook – a grand celebration of food we love from 67 of our finest cooks, chefs, bakers, farmers, foragers and local food heroes.
“We immediately resonated with the initiative because of its strategic fit to our primary citizenship pillar – which is food and nutrition security,” says Bridgitte Backman, Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.
Tiger Brands believes in nurturing young talent through diverse programmes, spanning Marketing, Human Resources and CSI, and wanted to include a youth element in this book. “As no initiative in honour of Madiba would be complete without incorporating his love for the youth,
As a leading food manufacturer in South Africa, we acknowledge the responsibility and role we can play in driving food and nutrition security. It is for this reason that Tiger Brands is The Nelson Mandela Foundation’s anchor partner for issues pertaining to food and nutrition security. Tiger Brands became the principal sponsor of The Great South African Cookbook as this is one of the initiatives that promotes awareness around food and nutrition security in South Africa. All proceeds from the sale of the book, which is due to launch in July, go towards increasing support for marginalized communities with access to food. All royalties from the sales of the book will be given to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to develop and support community food and agricultural projects to aid in the upliftment of the impoverished through food sustainability and empowerment. The Nelson Mandela Foundation has partnered with Food & Trees for Africa, an organisation which advances and promotes climate change action, sustainable natural resource management, permaculture food security and organic farming. The book will be published in July for Mandela Day.
SIDEBAR: Food security is a major citizenship driver for Tiger Brands. Tiger Brands contributed R 28 464 378 towards community development in 2015. Of this, 76% was dedicated to initiatives that promote and enhance the ability of marginalised groups to access food. Additionally, The Tiger Brands Foundation feeds 43 000 children from non-fee-paying schools across all 9 provinces per day. This programme supplements the Department of Basic Education’s in-school feeding programme. Additionally, we have partnered with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to support with drought relief initiatives within the 5 identified provinces. This includes providing food parcels and water, as well as funding for the development of boreholes for drinking and agricultural activities. Tiger Brands is also assisting with the development community veggie gardens, and will provide seeds, training, mentoring and monitoring to ensure the sustainability of these gardens. In August 2015. Tiger Brands signed an MOU with DAFF for the development and support of small-holder farmers. The agreement ensures guaranteed offtake agreements for identified crops
Phumza Holland with her 2 WINNING DISHES: Main Course and Dessert
Bridgitte Backman, Group Executive for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Tiger Brands, answering questions during a Television recording of the Chef Cookout competition.
Magadalene Greeff with her Main course and Dessert
Phumza Holland giving her ‘Winning speech’ while her Hospitality lecturer Me Hilda Enslin is standing next to her.