Séf the World! competition
“SÉF the World!” organized by the Association of Hungarian Conservationists in professional cooperation with the National Association of Caterers and Food Managers. We took part in a three-round environmental competition, which took place between 7 and 12 advertised for grade school students. The topic of the contest: Sustainable and healthy eating by reducing meat consumption. The purpose of the contest is to introduce and popularize the introduction of the once-a-week meat-free meal day. We entered this competition with four girls from Jászság group 4: Sas Maja, Hanna Kovács, Pege Angelika, Lili Burkus. Our team name: CSAK (Csányisok a konyhában).
The competition started in March, the first and second rounds were held online. We had to solve two sets of tasks, during which we got to know the disadvantages and dangers of large-scale animal husbandry, and we also learned a lot about the advantages of meat-free meals. On April 21st, we waited for our guests in the Community Hall and during a meat-free day we prepared and tasted various meat-free dishes with our friends. We also incorporated these experiences into the solutions of the second round. We eagerly awaited the results, and in May it turned out that we were in second place out of more than 300 competitors. In the last round, the first 8 placed compared their skills on June 8 at the Metro Gastro Academy in Budaörs. On this day, meat-free bologna spaghetti had to be made and there was a side salad, as well as theoretical tasks. We prepared the menu several times before the big day, so we gained some routine in the kitchen. On the day of the competition, we cooked second out of the eight teams and had to serve four plates of food to the jury. During the cooking, the companions had a real gastronomic experience, as we were able to taste fried grasshoppers and centipedes. Among the members of the jury was Frigyes Vomberg, a popular jury member of “Séfek séfe”, who gave a lot of encouragement and provided the team with useful advice. The jury members emphasized that the girls’ kitchen counter was clean and tidy throughout, there was a great harmony between them and they cooked in a great atmosphere, with heart and soul. After the three rounds, we finished in 3rd place, which is a very nice result. I am very proud of the girls that we were able to return home with such a nice result. Hábenciusné Balla Andrea mentor Jászság 4
Through the eyes of participants:
We were very excited and curiously waiting to see what the kitchen would be like and how it would all go. Kitchen activities were not unfamiliar, as we practiced and talked about them a lot. We had two hours to cook and we tried to make the most of the time, which we succeeded in doing. We made bolognese in a vegetarian way, since we had to use something else instead of meat. Our choice was red lentils, we thought it would be the most ideal. The cooking went very smoothly, as we were collected and had a great time. We came home with a lot of experience and knowledge.
We had to distribute a lot of tasks in the team, which went very well, I was by the stove most of the time and supervised the sofrito and then the sauce. Of course, we sometimes exchanged with the others, but this was the most obvious task for me. We did the serving together, we tried to be very creative, but we didn’t overdo it, because sometimes less is more, as the saying goes. Maja Sas
I mostly prepared the salad bowl in the kitchen. Since we cut up a lot of tomatoes, I had to use almost all of them. Overall, I think the final result was very good, but it could have been even better, because based on the jury’s feedback, our ragout did not have an intense enough taste. Lili Burkus
I tried to help wherever I could and was responsible for the pasta, but we made the sauce and sliced and prepared the ingredients at the same time. We always had to maintain a great deal of order and cleanliness, which we did very well, teamwork was great. Communication also played an important role, we discussed everything and overcame the difficulties together. Hanna Kovács
I was mainly responsible for cleanliness. In addition, I also took part in chopping the vegetables, because I also help my mother at home. During one of the tasks of the competition, we had to convince one of the jury members about the benefits of a meat-free diet, and I told him that my brother, Gyuszi, is a vegetarian and how many positive things I had heard from him about it. Pege Angelika