Three more qualify for Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off Final

The third preliminary round in the Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off competition took place last weekend in Windhoek, where three contestants qualified for the competition final slated for 24 August in Ongwediva. From the 60 contests who took part in the preliminary round on Saturday, 20 July, Hasheni Mandume, Maria Mumbala and Sxelse Tsamases, emerged on top, and will join six other finalists to compete in the final for the grand prize of a fully furnished mobile kitchen worth N$130 000.

The preliminary round also featured a professional chef competition on Friday, 19 July, which saw professional chef, Heinz Bank, finally emerge victorious after taking part in the competition four years in a row.

Bank walked away with a cash prize of N$10 000, followed by Erika Karonda who came in second and walked away with N$7000; and Hirodina Sangunji who walked away with N$5 000 in third place. Banks, who blew the judges away with his kapana dish, said he was over the moon as he worked hard for this moment.

“After a month’s preparation, and three years of losing, I am finally champion. This is quite exciting for me because I learned to not give up on what I want and if work hard, I will succeed. I encourage Namibian professional chefs to take part in this competition, and even for those who did not make it this year, try again until you succeed,” Banks said.

Speaking at the prizegiving, Nedbank Head of Marketing and Communications, Gernot de Klerk, said: “To everybody who participated, our partners and the spectators who came to witness the competition, thank you for the wonderful day. The competition was indeed stiff, but the judges made the necessary call to select today’s winners. Congratulations to everyone who made it, and for those who didn’t, we’ll be back in Windhoek next year,” De Klerk said.

The fourth and final preliminary round of the 2024 Nedbank Kapana Cook-Off Competition is set to take place on 3 August in Oranjemund. Entries into the round are still open and entry forms can be downloaded by visiting Nedbank.com.na or can be collected at the nearest Nedbank Namibia branch.