It’s back, and it’s bigger and better than ever. And entries are now open for the second annual Pavilion Junior Chef competition.
Last year, the popular family shopping centre hosted the first ever Pavilion Junior Chef Competition and saw nine 9 to 12-year-olds (selected from hundreds of hopefuls) battle it out in the kitchen until only one was left standing – the ultimate child chef!
“It was one of the highlights of our year at the Pavilion,” says Nisha Kemraj, Pavilion General Manager. “Watching young nine-year-old Neyha Mahabeer knock out eight other competitors to take the title was really inspiring. She would have given most established cooks a run for their money!”
And now the competition that got KZN talking is back and the stakes are higher. The Pavilion Junior Chef Competition is a digital live reality show that sees young 9 to 12-year-old children go head to head in three cooking showdowns, with the winners from each of those showdowns then competing in the grand finale where one of the children will walk away with a prize package of close to R100 000.
Here’s how the competition will work:
The public (children aged 9 to 12) will be asked to submit their best recipes via WhatsApp. They must upload a short video clip of themselves explaining why their recipe is so special and why they could go on to take the title of Pavilion Junior Chef. Their cooking skills and personality must shine through in the video, which can be shot on a cellphone to make entry easier.
The recipes MUST all be made with local ingredients and sourced ethically.
The whittling down of contestants from hundreds to just three will take place over three exciting weeks in the build-up to the finale.
An approved panel of expert judges will select three contestants to compete in each of the three preliminary rounds (based on recipe, cooking experience, camera friendliness and personality).
These three contestants will then have to compete against each other in a cook-off each week. They will be judged by three celebrity guest judges (one of which will be a chef) and will be guided by radio and television personality Terence Pillay, who himself hosts a popular cooking show on DStv.
The three winners from each of these heats then become the finalists.
The ultimate winner will be chosen during a glitzy finale at The Pavilion with a live audience watching.
This is what the Pavilion Junior Chef will walk away with:
- A family holiday for four people to Mauritius, courtesy of One Stop Travel and Tours, valued at R70 000
- An Elba gas-electric stove and oven
- Pavilion Store Vouchers
Here’s how you enter:
Create a 30 to 45-second video clip of your child cooking his or her favourite dish while explaining to the camera what he or she is doing. Make sure the child’s personality comes through as well as their skill and knowledge of the dish they’re making. Keep the video fun and entertaining.
Whatsapp the clip to 066 077 1311
A panel will select nine of the top entries who will go on to compete in each of the week’s heats.
“The competition is an ideal fit for us as a shopping centre,” says Kemraj. “We are very family focused as well as being on the cutting edge of food and fashion trends so we are ideally positioned to host this competition. And who knows, one day when one of these kids go on to become a world-renowned chef, we can proudly say it all started here at the Pavilion in Durban. How amazing will that be?”
Entries of the Pavilion Junior Chef Competition close on 26 July 2019. For more information, contact The Pavilion on the number below and speak to Nicole Gounden.