And the winner is...

The fabulous Cape Chat and Pesto Princess “Get creative with Pesto – and win!” competition enjoyed an awesome finish at the Cook Off Event, held on the 9th December. All entrants had to get creative in the kitchen and produce a recipe using one of the Pesto Princess Pesto sauces. The three finalists selected for the Cook Off event were: Lynette Hardy, Elizabeth Derman and Tanya Moosmann. “The evening was “amazing,” says Cape Chat’s Alice Pohl.

Kathleen Quillinan – the princess of Pesto – was  a marvel at creating excitement and atmosphere as she MC’ed the event – worthy of her own TV Show! Hosted at the 11 Cooks Cooking School in Woodstock, courtesy of owner Rayne Stroebel and principal, Glynnis Roberts, the evening was all about the “experience” of cooking with, and enjoying, Pesto Princess Pesto sauces. Rayne Stroebel, judged the finalist’s recipes, which were prepared on sight by designated chef for the evening Odette Olivier from 180 degree Restaurant at the Cape Royale Hotel. Finalists Lynette Hardy (Nenya Guesthouse), Elizabeth Derman and Tanya Moosmann, were no doubt, anxiously anticipating the outcome, but while Odette prepared their dishes, there was time to relax, exchange “tried and tested” experiences in the kitchen, have lots of fun, and enjoy Pesto Princess snack sensations and some wine. And the winning recipe…?

Tanya Moosmann’s recipe, “Share the Love” (Super-simple Stir-fried Pesto Chicken) came out tops, followed by Elizabeth Derman’s “Elizabeth’s Delight” and then Lynette Hardy’s “Leaning tower of Piza”. All 3 finalists, having enjoyed an awesome taste of sharing their creativity, left with an experience never to be forgotten.

The Winning Recipe: Super-simple Stirfried Pesto Chicken Pesto Princess Recipe winner, Tanya Moosmann, called her dish: Share the Love and warns that once served, requests for the recipe will come left, right and centre! Shop & Prepare: Olive oil, 4 spring onions, sliced at an angle, include some of the greener parts, but not all, 6 chicken breast fillets, sliced into small, bite-sized pieces, Sea salt and pepper (Maldon Salt is good), 1/2 jar Pesto Princess Basil Pesto, 250ml cream or 1/2 cream 1/2 yogurt for the health conscious and 10 mild peppadews, sliced. Cook: Season the sliced chicken with crushed sea salt and a little pepper.  In a large frying pan, or wok, heat a few glugs of olive oil.  Add the spring onions and stirfry for a minute or two, until bright green.  Add the chicken and let it sizzle for a few minutes - it doesn’t have to brown. Add the pesto, combining well.  Add the cream, let it bubble a minute or two, then add the peppadews. Check the seasoning, adding more sea salt if needed. What one wants to achieve is super-tender chicken in a to-die-for flavoursome sauce: Try your hardest not to overcook! Serve: Serve with perfectly-cooked, aromatic Basmati rice, and a lightly-dressed leafy salad!

Get creative with Pesto – and win!

*** COMPETITION NOW CLOSED ***

Welcome to the fabulous Cape Chat and Pesto Princess “Get creative with Pesto – and win!” competition! Here you can get details on the competition, enter your winning recipe made with one of Pesto Princess’s delectable pestos, read up on the Pesto Princess story and see how the Pesto Princess Pamper Hamper is shaping up. It’s a sumptuous romantic meal experience for two in a basket and one lucky Cape Chatter’s winning recipe will be well rewarded!

All you have to do is get creative in the kitchen and send us your very own recipe for a starter or main course, which needs the magic of a Pesto Princess pesto in the mix. The really exciting part of this competition is that three finalist recipes will be selected for a Cook-Off round to decide the ultimate Pesto Prince or Princess. The winner will be announced in January 2009. The winning recipe will be published in our January 2009 issue of Cape Chat.

Pestomundi’s put these dates in your diaries:

1st Oct to 30th Nov: Time to create and submit your recipe online.
1st Dec to 5th Dec: Selection of three finalist recipes.
Tuesday, 9th Dec: The Cook-off round event will hopefully be hosted by the 11 Cooks Cooking School in Woodstock. (More details to follow here so keep checking in!)
1st January 2009: Winner announced and winning recipe appears in Cape Chat!

The Pesto Princess Diaries:

Kathleen Quillinan (aka Mrs Reid) describes her transformation into Pesto Princess as something that happened quite “innocently” while she was trying to find a quiet income-earning pastime after 8 years as a music lecturer. Lecturing was rewarding and sensational, but she felt it was time to invest in herself and went back to studying opera at UCT. In her free time she spent hours in the kitchen conjuring up delicious concoctions and producing jars of pickles, jams, spreads, pesto sauce and tarts to sell at her children’s school market. The pesto innovations came from sampling a jar of pesto a friend had brought back from Florence as a gift.

Blown away by the flavour of this intense and intriguing sauce, which the Italians view as the main ingredient in a pasta meal, Kathleen was eager to try her hand at making some. And so she stumbled on a little hole in the market. Her jars of pesto were eagerly snapped up. She was enthusiastically encouraged to try a wider market and Kathleen is grateful that the retailers she approached were so open-minded: “What’s pesto?” Ok, give us a few jars and let’s see…” Jars of basil and roasted red pepper pesto started flying off the shelves and soon she was supplying restaurants, the hospitality industry and manufacturers, and Kathleen was working from a little factory in Diep River.

Ten years later, with 22 employees and her own factory in Capricorn Park, Kathleen is firmly established as the Cape’s very own princess of pesto. Her success, she reckons, isn’t due to having a business brain, or entrepreneurial genes, but came from the simple act of dipping into her personal resources to find what potential was there. Her passion for ethnic cooking – good homely food from a wide range of cultures – feeds her imagination and ideas, and, although Kathleen says she “thinks like a housewife”, she’s put together an exceptional recipe for a great business: Great products, excellent standards, the finest ingredients and a women-friendly working environment. All we can say is: “Encore! Encore!”

The Pesto Princess Pamper Hamper:

The winner of the Cook-Off wins a fabulous hamper of exciting products, which together makes a romantic meal for two. So far, the hamper contains:

• A selection of Pesto Princess pesto and sauces
• Fresh pasta
• A hunk of imported Parmesan
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• A Mustardseed & Moonshine original bowl to serve your pasta in.
• A tablecloth
• Cape Herb & Spice Salt and Pepper Grinders
• A bottle of Saltare Champagne by Master Cap Classique maker Carla Pauw.
• 2 Champagne Flutes
• A Biscotti Leone Chocolate Salami – Jackie Leonie still makes the best!
• A packet of Coffee

With more mystery products to be included.
 

Competition Details:

While you get busy on putting your winning recipe together, Pesto Princess is organizing the details of the finalists Cook-Off event, which takes place on the 9th December. The proposed venue is the 11 Cooks Cooking School in Woodstock, headed by Rayne Stroebel. Three Silwood Kitchen chefs-in-training are going to be cooking the finalist’s recipes so that finalists can relax and watch the professionals work their magic. Ingredients will be sponsored by Pesto Princess and plating by Mustardseed & Moonshine.