With over 100 entrants having registered for the first preliminary round of the 2022 Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off competition held Saturday at Dunes Mall in Walvis Bay, Asnath Vetamunisa, Nelago Nghinalune and Laura Egumbo were crowned the winners.
Throughout the day, the contestants demonstrated excellent salsa presentation and meat grilling skills.
Each contestant was required to prepare a kapana dish to be judged by three professional chefs from the Namibian Chefs Association. They were tasked with judging each dish based on hygiene, presentation and taste.
Nedbank Namibia Head of Marketing and Communications, Gernot de Klerk told Nampa on Wednesday that two of last year’s coastal preliminary round winners, Egumbo and Vetamunisa, were victorious once again as they impressed the judges with their kapana dishes, and that the third winner of the day, and first-time entrant, was 17-year-old Nghinalune. She is the competition’s youngest competitor.
“Nedbank Namibia would like to express its heartfelt appreciation to everyone who came out to help make this event a success. We appreciate your determination to grow in your trade and elevate your skills to the next level,” he told the participants.
The other preliminary rounds of the Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off competition will be held in Windhoek on 11 June and Ongwediva on 25 June 2022.
“The final will be held in Ongwediva on 27 August 2022, where the winner will be awarded a chance to either start-up, up or formalise their existing business, with the winning prize being a fully-fledged mobile food truck worth N.dollars 100 000 and cash prizes,” De Klerk said.
Nghinalune, of her experience, said she had not expected to participate.
“I’m glad I faced my fear of stage fright, and the fact that I participated in front of people has even cemented that my initial fear was for naught because I made it to the finals,” she said.
The teen also said she believes she can win the competition and encouraged other young chefs to participate as it was a fun experience that chefs should consider.
The Nedbank Kapana Cook-off is organised in collaboration with Bakpro, Agra and the Namibian Chefs Association.