The West Coast’s answer to Jamie Oliver. Photos: Facebook
Local can be lekker … Vredenburg boykie Denzel “Denzy” Koenana recently exploded onto the culinary scene by winning the Huiskok competition. The West Coast caterer was the only male contestant, but as he remarked unfazed, “The best chefs are men.” And he’s got big plans …
Cooking in front of the cameras did not faze him.
Three bean curry
The dish that catapulted Denzel into the limelight was a fragrant three bean curry that made use of three different tins of beans from Koo. “You had to use Koo products,” he explains, as the competition was the brain child of Koo and Kuier magazine. And so there Denzel was, hundreds of kilometres from good old Vredenburg, dressed in his trademark fedora, and making a fragrant golden curry in a television studio in Cape Town.
Denzel’s bacon, feta cheese and peppers pastry cups with rocket
His life has already changed
We’ve lapped him up, of course. Winning the Huiskok competition has meant a lot for this young man. Not only has Denzel won R50 000 in prize money and Koo products valued at R10 000, he has also been given a year long contract as assistant food editor for Kuier magazine.
It’s a lot to happen in a short time, but Denzel remains rooted. He still lives at home with his mother and sister (ladies, take note of that) and still runs his catering business from home.
“I’m cooking for a couple at their house today,” he tells Melkbos.net over the phone from Vredenburg. “The man works overseas, and he’s come back and his wife wants to treat him.”
Denzel’s orange flavored scones.
Future plans? A restaurant called Denzy’s? Not yet! Denzel says quickly. For now he’d love to write his own cookbook. You’ve got all the right ingredients, Denzel, the Melkbos.net teams says. Go for it!
