Africa-Press – South-Africa. Armed with their kitchen tools and aprons, chefs, corporate communities and volunteers dedicated 67 minutes of Mandela Day to a #67000litres soup challenge.
They gathered at the Culinary School of Arts in Johannesburg where they made the soup for hundreds of people.
“We have everyday South Africans nationally embarking on the soup challenge by using their 67 minutes for Mandela Day, but more importantly, feeding hundreds of people who will receive a hearty meal from Chefs with Compassion,” the organisation’s national project manager, Coo Pillay, told News24.
Pillay said food wastage was high in South Africa, and that it made no sense in a country where food insecurity was on the rise.
Pupils from the Culinary School of Arts were delighted to participate in the #67000litres challenge. They wore their chef uniforms, diced vegetables and filled buckets with nutritious soup.
Chef Dasen Suragaser from the Garden Court Hotel in Sandton supervised the culinary students in the kitchen.
“For some of the soup that was cooked, we used a lot of the rescue produce. This contained potato peels, carrots, lettuce heads and we added a bit of spices and cooked chicken. We cooked the food as we would cook it home,” Suragaser said.
One of the students, Khanya Mlotha, 20, said: “We need to save food as much as we can. As upcoming chefs, it was a great initiative as we can show our classmates how we can use rescue food instead of throwing it away, to help other people.”
Brendan Rainers, a 17-year-old Grade 12 pupil at Michael Mount Waldorf School told News24 he always wanted to know what it was like to cook rescue food for people.
“I joined as part of my school as I have to complete a 10-hour community service and I’ve always wanted to be part of the soup kitchen,” Rainers added.
He said former president Nelson Mandela would be unhappy about food insecurity in the country.
“The former president would be unhappy with the situation. If the youth is not getting enough food to eat, they won’t be going to school or playing a part in the economy. It will just self-compound and worsen the situation in the country,” he said.
Overall, Chefs with Compassion exceeded its target and made 90 679 litres of soup.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
