BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MALKERNS – Chef Deowza and Nomahlubi Dlamini-Gumede successfully made it to the Top 2 of the Pick n Pay Luju Cook-Off on Friday.
The Pick n Pay Luju Cook-Off Taste Test that took place at Pick n Pay Eswatini, The Sage Café, Malkerns. The Top 2 will battle it out for the title of PnP Luju Cook-Off MasterChef at the festival on the MasterCard Stage on Saturday at 11am.
Some of judges of the cook-off were Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival Culinary Curator Nozipho Thorne, King Terry and Pick n Pay Coffee Shop Manager Thuli Matsebula.
When reached for comment Thorne said, “Four Eswatini cooks presented the meals they prepared when applying for the competition, incorporating various aspects that align with the Luju Culinary theme, Roots, including staple foods and age-old cooking techniques. After presenting their versions of the meal ‘A Return to the African Future’, using Pick n Pay Eswatini private label products, the top 2 were selected based on food presentation, taste, as well as traditional skills and methods used to prepare the food.”
It is worth mentioning that the Top 2 will go head-to-head for the title of PnP Luju Cook-Off MasterChef at the festival on the MasterCard Stage in front of an audience and a panel of judges.
The sixth edition of the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival kicks off on Friday until Saturday, August 2–3, 2024.
This year’s Luju Culinary Programme featuring some of the region’s renowned culinary experts who will sample some of the finest cuisines, from skills master classes and food pairings, cook-off competitions, to sommelier-led beer demos and wine tastings, all happening on the Luju Standard Bank Eswatini MasterCard Stage.
The culinary experts are; South African Celebrity Chef Lorna Maseko ,The Brewmistress Lucy Corne, Indigenous Food Activist and Chef Dolores Godeffroy, The Tattooed Chef Vusi Kunene and Wine Sommelier Saskia Lesch.
This year, the lifestyle festival will have its debut Luju Food & Fashion Indaba, which will be held before the current festival. The Fashion Indaba takes place on August 1, 2024, and the Culinary Indaba on August 2, 2024, both at House on Fire.
