Two Local Loerie teams took top honours at this year’s Pick n Pay Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras presented by Tabasco!

On Wednesday 8 July in the Heineken® Pavilion at Loerie Park, over 1,000 guests applauded as the two top prizes for the Best Cooked Oyster went to Local Loerie development teams, Eden Campus, and The Something Sweet and LTee’s team.

Team Eden Campus, sponsored by Lunar Café, consisted of Knysna locals Bridget Hasley, Mandisa Kwehla and Anneline Jantjies whose recipe for oysters poached in white wine and honey, served on creamed spinach in a homemade puff-pastry case and garnished with spring onions, won them top honours over 16 local restaurants.

The competition was judged according to the strict criteria of the Chaine des Rôtisseurs by a panel which included SA Chef’s Association Garden Route Chairman, Martyn Hill, Vice Chairman, Gino Adriaensen and Judging Officer and Baillie Délégué of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Bailliage D’Outeniqua, Francois Ferreira. It was a “blind tasting” and judges were not told which competitors had cooked which oysters.

The Local Loeries programme is a Knysna Tourism initiative introduced to assist the local community to participate in and benefit from the Knysna Oyster Festival. The cooking teams were trained by Kilzer’s Kitchen Basics and mentored by development officer Glendyrr Fick to participate in the Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras. They will now be able to use their new skills in their catering businesses.