Young JBay chef makes waves in international culinary competition
Callan Austin is through to the top ten in the San Pellegrino international young chefs competition.
With over 1000 entrants for Africa and the Middle East section of the competition alone, he will be in the next cook-off later in October.
Callan, who grew up in Jeffreys Bay, will be cooking on 14 October, hopes his dish titled “Ghost Net” which amplifies his message of sustainability in our oceans, will take him to the finals in 2020.
JBay is synonymous with ocean living, and sustainability is close to the hearts of many locals.
“My dish is called The Ghost Net, and it tells a story about ocean pollution with the aim to promote sustainable kitchen practices and educate people about the trauma we are inflicting on our oceans,” said Callan.
“A ghost net is an old trawler net that is too damaged to use for commercial fishing and is cut from the boat and left to drift with the ocean currents, entangling sea life for the remainder of its infinite lifespan.
My dish visually interprets this tragic phenomenon by using spiralized Kohlrabi to ‘trap’ ingredients on the dish. I have made sure to use sustainable alternatives and locally foraged ingredients to prove that chefs do have an important choice to make when they source their produce,” added Callan.
Follow the link and vote for Callan’s hauntingly beautiful dish “Ghost net” and add your voice to preserving and sustaining our oceans: