Cedar Lakes Potjie Competition – Saturday 2 August 2014
On Saturday, 2nd August 2014 from as early as 8:00 AM the smell of fried onions filled the air at the residential estate of Cedar Lakes, on what was a gorgeous winter’s day in Johannesburg. IMAGINE Charity was honored to have been chosen once again as the beneficiary of this awesome fundraiser.
There was a great turn out with 16 potjie teams entered into the competition. A number of different scoring categories included the Best Potjie, Best Team Spirit and Overall Presentation, which made judging a thirsty task for our judges who said the potjies were getting better every year making judging more challenging.
The judges were,
Gary Du Toit:
Gary has recently taken over as Clubhouse Operator at Cedar Lakes. He has been involved in the hospitality world for many years and has run and owned a number of restaurants. He currently owns The Oak Leaf Restaurant in Sandhurst. He has a weakness for tequila…….1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila….floor
Rob Hawley:
Rob is the founder of the IMAGINE Charity. He has been eating solids since he was 9 months old and has been partial to a liquid diet for even longer!
Sean Permuy:
Has been involved in the hospitality industry for 15 years and clearly also enjoys a substantial diet on the liquid front. He is a patron of the IMAGINE Charity. He prefers to bike rather than walk!
The teams had all gone to an amazing effort, as you can see from the photos, and the vibe and spirit were unbelievable. Potjies ranged from oxtail, to chicken, to beef, to mussels, and each one was so different in taste and presentation. The teams engaged all day with one another as well as the judges, giving insight into the spirit we always see at Cedar Lakes events.
Judging started at 3:30pm and teams pulled out all the stops as they presented their masterpieces. The scoring was extremely tough, with each judge having their own thoughts and scores on the different flavors and recipes but finally the winners were decided, and the prizegiving began.
The top three winners were Palladium Team 2 (Overall Winner), SIS Global (Best Potjie), and Wigs, Shots and Pots (Best Team Spirit). There were also a number of giveaways to some of the other teams.
A HUGE thank you to all the sponsors below, who all assisted in one way or another towards the day. We are so grateful for your sponsorships;
Additional funds were raised through the sale of freshly fried samosas (kindly sponsored by Chilli Tree, Cresta Mall), muffins & lamingtons, as well as the sale of raffle tickets for a prize sponsored by Share Hair, Victory Park. An auction was held to boost the fundraising and we thanks Trevor Mey for the entertaining auctioneering. The grand prize for the auction was dinner for 4, including a wine pairing, hosted by Gary at The Oak Leaf restaurant in Sandhurst. The bidding was tight, with R8000 being the final amount bid by Aldino of Palladium. However, it did not end there. Gary offered to allow all other bidders, to get back into the action. For R5000, they would each get dinner for 4 including wine at The Oak Leaf Restaurant in Sandhurst. Wow Gary, what an amazing gesture – Thank you! A huge thanks to Sean Permuy, Colin Branson, Laurie Mey, Rob Hawley and Billy for their valued contributions in the auction.
To those who participated on the day, as well as those who spectated, we thank you for your involvement in yet another great event. The biggest thank you is extended to the ladies on the Cedar Lakes Lifestyle Committee for organizing such an awesome event and for choosing IMAGINE charity to benefit – we are truly grateful!