A Mitchells Plain teacher was crowned Braai Master at the Daily Voice’s Top of the Tjops competition on Friday.
The crowd cheered at Las Vegas Lounge in Westridge on Heritage Day when Lee Arends came out tops out of 10 contestants.
The event hosted by the Daily Voice – in partnership with Mother of Plain Foods, Las Vegas Lounge, Six Gun Grill Seasoning, Pfore Online Radio, TJ’s Lekka Braai and The Road House Restaurant – saw braai lovers from across Cape Town come out to show off their cooking skills.
Contestants arrived with their own special homemade sauces and secret family recipes as they prepared scrumptious lamb chops and boerewors for the judges – Vuvu Kumalo, Sonia Webb and Deon Japhta.
For mom Kim Liedeman from Parow Valley, the event was a way for her to honour her late father, Jonathan, 57, who taught her to braai.
The 35-year-old mom of three says: “It’s been six years since my dad passed on and as a little girl he taught me how to braai. When I saw the competition it was a way for me to honour him by using his secret recipe to braai.”
Dad Mark Van Neel, 48, says he wanted to win over the judges’ hearts with his avocado and noodle salad.
“I have been braaiing for over 15 years and I love making steak for my family.
“I like watching cooking shows and hope my salad will melt the judge’s hearts.
“It is a special salad I make for my family to add something lekker when we enjoy a braai,” he said.
In the end, the MC on the day, Captain Voice Power announced Lee, who is a Grade 5 teacher at West End Primary, as the winner.
His juicy chops and perfectly cooked boerewors left the judges asking for seconds, and earned him the R5000 cash prize.
“I just came out to have a lekker Heritage Day with my family and didn’t expect to win. I love to braai for my family and so the prize money will go towards spoiling my four daughters,” he said.
Pfore online radio and The Road House at Kismet Plaza in Athlone thanked the Daily Voice for the opportunity to be part of our Heritage Braai celebration, which was a huge success and brought the community together.
monique.duval@inl.co.za