A cooking charity event will soon take place in Franschhoek, to raise funds for a charity that provides food for children in the Franschhoek region.
The event, which will take place on 9 October, will be hosted by Southern Stroll Marketing, according to Joan-Anne Harris, the owner of this organisation. The event is hosted at different venues in Franschhoek annually, with this year’s event taking place at the La Roche Estate in Franschhoek, she said.
The Clash of the Chefs event is hosted annually at different venues in Franschhoek, said Joan-Anne Harris, organiser of the event, and owner of Southern Stroll Marketing. This year, the event will be hosted at the La Roche Estate. Harris said that she is very grateful that the estate came on board, as the venue is great for maintaining Covid-19 protocols. GRAPHIC: Instagram/@SouthernStrollMarketing
The fourth Clash of the Chefs charity event will be raising funds for the Isabelo organisation, which provides meals to 1 457 school-going children in the Franschhoek region, according to Harris.
Compassionate competition
Southern Stroll Marketing, a marketing company based in Somerset West, has organised ten charity fundraising events over the past six years, according to the company website.
“[Charity is] something that I am very passionate about. In 2013, I actually started doing my own events,” said Harris.
At Clash of the Chefs, several chefs are given a basket of mystery ingredients, including “horrible ingredients, chosen by the judges”, to prepare dishes, said Harris. Among the judges are Darren Badenhorst, Franschhoek-based chef, and owner of Le Coin Français and Le Chêne; Margot Janse, founder of Isabelo; and Bertus Basson, a prominent South African chef and restaurateur based in Stellenbosch, she added.
“I decided to take part because of the charity they support – Isabelo – a super-cool feeding initiative in [Franschhoek],” said Bertus Basson, in email correspondence with MatieMedia. Basson is also the master of ceremonies at the event. “It is [exciting] to support a wonderful cause in such a fun and engaging way,” he added.
The previous three Clash of the Chefs events have managed to raise between R180 000 and R200 000 each, said Harris. The event also hosts a live auction, in which guests can bid for items like getaways and wines from the region, according to Harris.
“I need people to come with very generous credit cards…[because] Isabelo needs so much,” explained Harris.
“Loosely translated from isiXhosa, Isabelo means ‘my share’, or ‘share’, and we are inspired by the concept of sharing. To share is to care,” said Margot Janse, founder of the Isabelo organisation. Isabelo currently provides meals for 135 children at the Kusasa Early Learning Centre. GRAPHIC: Caitlin Maledo
Isabelo: feeding hungry minds
The chosen charity, the Isabelo organisation, provides breakfast and lunch to children at Valley Kids Crèche, Wes-eind Primary School, Dalubuhle Primary School and the Kusasa Early Learning Centre, according to the Isabelo website.
Isabelo provides 135 children at the Kusasa Early Learning Centre, an independent primary school serving disadvantaged children, with meals, according to the Isabelo website. “Isabelo NPC [non-profit company] provides meals to us by delivering food to our premises on a weekly basis. The food is a combination of frozen meals and fresh produce,” said Saskia Blaisse, a member of the Kusasa Project.
Isabelo’s goal to provide 673 960 meals to children in the Franschhoek region in 2021 was impacted by the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, according to Margot Janse, founder of Isabelo. However, Janse told MatieMedia that with continued support, the organisation has been able to keep providing meals to the greater Franschhoek community by introducing food kitchens that supplied locals with food.
“Six of these ‘food kitchens’ are still active, as the tourism and hospitality industry – a key source of employment for locals in Franschhoek – continues to take a beating, leaving many jobless and without income,” said Janse.
Margot Janse, founder of the Isabelo organisation, has been involved with the Kusasa Project for several years. The Kusasa Project is a non-profit organisation that assists disadvantaged children in the Franschhoek Valley. “[Janse] was a trustee of the Kusasa Project for many years, and the feeding scheme operated under our auspices from early on in its history until Isabelo (and the school feeding scheme) became a separate non-profit organisation in 2019,” said Saskia Blaisse, a member of the Kusasa Project. GRAPHIC: Facebook/The Kusasa Project