Justine Kiggen of Fair Lady/Lose It was dialled on from Australia over Skype to celebrate her win as overall Galliova Food Writer of the Year in the main print media category.
She shared how thrilled she was at the recognition, adding that it’s a team effort and it’s fabulous that ‘low-carb’ is becoming part of the mainstream lifestyle now.
Other excited winners on the day included Liezl Vermeulen was announced as 2018 Up-and-Coming Writer of the Year; with Salomé Delport then 2018 Health Writer of the Year; and Margie Els-Burger the Galliova Egg Champion of the Year.
And Abigail Donnelly made it two for two in taking home the Galliova Awards’ second-ever Broiler Champion accolade, following the now joint sponsorship of the Galliova Awards by the country’s broiler producers as well as egg producers, under the banner of the South African Poultry Association (SAPA).
On arriving at De Grendel’s beautifully panelled glass-walled tasting room with views of the surrounding valley, where we were served beef sliders, sesame chicken wings, tiny quiche bites, fresh veggie spring rolls and flutes of bubbly, still water and cappuccinos while reconnecting with old friends, some of whom we hadn’t seen since last year’s Galliova Awards.
There was a real coming together of those of us who write about food, those who style and create food and those who write about the others. Indeed, the Galliova Awards honour the overall promotion of South Africa’s local food culture, with health writers also recognised for their excellent balanced reporting on health and nutrition issues.
MC Justine Drake, editor of Fresh Living, said she has attended all 29 years of the Galliova Awards and, in reminiscing, spoke of the changing media landscape. She first started work in the industry on an electric typewriter, with film in her camera, and smoking in her office. Nowadays, she said, “If you’re not on social media, you’re not really there.”
Drake added that the future is looking bright in terms of awareness of the importance of eating well and wanting to know the farmers behind the food we eat. We are much more aware, which is a definite positive.
This was followed by an address by Aziz Sulliman, current chairman of the SA Poultry Association, who said the last year was a tough one for the poultry industry but that he wants to encourage the use of proudly South African poultry products, as the situation has improved and has a beneficial impact on the economy.
Illustrating the importance of knowing where your food comes from, he said while many lost their lives to the Listeriosis outbreak last year, when it came to local products, the strain could be traced back to not just the factory but even to the specific factory room and shift the outbreak stemmed form – we just can’t do the same with imported food.
As Willie Bosoga, chairman of the Egg Organisation missed his flight, we heard from Colin Oosthuizen. Drake applauded his extraordinary passion for the industry and love of food writers, mentioning that the egg and broiler boards are now joint sponsors of the Galliova Awards, so entries are welcomed for writing on both chicken and eggs.
Oosthuizen showed a graph of how egg supply recovered from the impact of last year’s avian flu outbreak, and also spoke of the importance of buying local.
Next was a break from the serious with a ‘brain buster’ wooden cube puzzle challenge – the fastest fingers won a R2,000 Yuppiechef voucher.
We’d worked up quite an appetite by this stage, so ate up the fresh farm bread served to each table, as well as delicious starters – we had a choice of the chicken mousse with croquettes, charred cos lettuce, Parmesan, tempura white anchovies, poached crumbed chicken egg, spinach and cos emulsion; or the vegetarian butternut ricotta tortellini with broth, honey, curried couchettes, Gorgonzola mousse and hazelnuts. Both were pronounced delicious, with plates scraped clean.
This was followed by an address by Galliova judge Dorah Sitole, introduced by Drake with the words, “If there was ever a food icon, it’s Dorah, who has faced many challenges in her life and effectively changed the way people think of food in Africa.
Sitole began with the words that she’s inherently very shy, and spoke of the honour of attending and winning at the Galliova Awards.
Especially when you’re starting out as a food writer or stylist, attending events like the Galliova Awards is the best thing you can do, as the magic dust of other creatives rubs off on you.Having judged the Galliova Awards for the past decade, Sitole shared that there’s always a robust discussion amongst judges over scores, so that whoever wins is truly worthy. Offering advice to next year’s entrants Sitole said to make sure the recipes published are easy to follow and easy to understand – ask yourself if the average reader understand the instruction: “Beat to a soft peak”
Sitole shared that there were no winners in the online category this year, but we can expect clearer categories for this going forward, including blogging.
Sitole is looking forward to this, as well as to a rise in PDF-form print entries for the 30th awards next year, aimed at saving on paper.
This was followed by a poetry narrative competition, where each table had five minutes to write a narrative of their own concoction, including the following words used in context: Bellybutton, drumstick, eish ek se, steam train, braai and poached egg.
With some displaying impressive rapping skills, this was a super amusing interpretation and proved that even the food stylists among us have a way with words. And De Grendel proved they have a way with food...
After a main course of Karoo lamb neck, chermoula, tomato, feta, yoghurt, red onion, cucumber, spinach and jus poured at the table; or the equally delicious vegetarian crumbed wild mushroom with red pepper pesto, charred broccoli and Parmesan, it was time to celebrate the 2018 Galliova winners...
Food Writer of the Year
1. Justine Kiggen – Lose It/Fairlady
2. Hannah Lewry – Woolworth Taste
3. Anke Roux – Fresh Living
Up-and-coming Food Writer of the Year
1. Liezl Vermeulen – Fresh Living
2. Chiara Turilli – My Kitchen
Egg Champion
1. Margie Els-Burger – Your Family
2. Chiara Turilli – My Kitchen
3. Esther Malan – You/Huisgenoot
Broiler Champion
1. Abigail Donnelly – Woolworths Taste
2. Margie Els-Burger – Your Family
3. Herman Lensing – Sarie & Sarie Kos
Health Writer of the Year
1. Salomé Delport – Rooi Rose
2. Glynis Horning – Freelance writer
3. Christa Swanepoel –Vrouekeur
Drake concluded with the words that the local industry is world-class, thanking all the judges for their hard work, as well as Sapa for having believed in SA’s food writers for 30 years now, and their "fight for the good fight".
Watching the winners kiss their certificates and jump up and down while clapping their hands with glee, proves this industry is alive and well.
Ending with dessert of citrus cheesecake, strawberry sorbet, Earl Grey jelly, white chocolate and almond crumble and raspberry-almond cake, with cappuccinos and thank yous, De Grendel proved itself a worthy host for these delicious awards, before we hopped onto shuttles back to the CTICC and Cape Town International - hopefully, to see each other again before the next award show.
