- Gondwana Kalahari Park/ News



		News 2008News 10.06.08

Anib Chefs come out tops - 10.06.08
It is not only the guests of the lodge who rave about the excellent cuisine – the Namibian Chef Association (NCA) is full of praise as well. At the annual NCA competition, which was held in Windhoek in late May, Sous-Chef Josephine Iiyambo and Chef Johannes Kahdila were both awarded a prize for their superb culinary skills.

Anib’s chefs Josephina Iiyambo and Johannes Kahdila with enthusiastic members of the jury Hugo Hayes, Owen Jullies and Terry Jenkinson.

Josephina Iiyambo won the Junior Category. The jury of Namibians and South Africans was suitably impressed with her menu: a baby calamari cocktail, followed by springbok loin with a rustic ratatouille and shiitake mushrooms, and a dessert of sweet potato dumplings with cinnamon and vanilla crème. Unilever, one of the corporate sponsors of the contest, asked Josephina to participate in the Africa Championships for Junior Chefs in South Africa.

Chef Johannes Kahdila won the silver medal in the Senior Category. He served springbok tongue with mango and salsa as starter; stuffed warthog loin with truffle risotto, pickled green asparagus and pesto as main course; and sorghum crêpes, dark chilli-chocolate panache and vanilla Meringue as dessert. The jury praised the presentation of the dessert as being ‘world-class’. Owen Jullies, the Director of the Chef Association of South Africa, invited Johannes to come to South Africa for a one-week stint with several 5-star restaurants. Last year, with just two years’ experience in the kitchen, Kahdila was voted Junior Champion.

Lodge Manager Jaco Visser is in charge of training at Anib. A passionate cook himself, he is always busy composing new and extraordinary culinary delights.

A feast for the eyes as well: the dessert created by Johannes Kahdila.