Strong health message resonates at 2019 Galliova Awards

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TREE OF WORDS | ����✏ @tokarawine proved itself the perfect venue for the #galliova2019 awards yesterday. See the beautiful setting and 'tree of words'. All the winners on @bizcommunity soon! #Treeofwords #wordtree #tokara #galliovawards #writers #healthwriters #foodwriters #writingawards #mediaawards #galliovawinners #winefarm #nature #stellenbosch #stellenboschwine

A post shared by Leigh Andrews (@ramblinglitchi123) on Oct 19, 2019 at 2:10am PDT

Celebrated celebrity chef, food stylist and MC for the day Zola Nene announced that the Galliova Awards are sponsored by the South African Poultry Association (Sapa), which supports and represents the country’s broiler- and egg-producing industry.

Held at the award-winning restaurant at Tokara Wine Estate, at the top of the Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch, where there’s a stunning Mind’s Vine ‘storytelling’ ‘tree of words’ sculpture by Marco Cianfanelli, which evokes the senses of sight, smell, taste and mouthfeel inherent in appreciating wine and the excitement of experiencing food.

This took attendees’ breath away, and served a strong starting point for a day filled with both sombre notes and celebrations alike.

Nene persevered despite her cold and added that this was fitting for the awards, as they’re about writing and representing food in a way that similarly stimulates the reader’s mind. She said the awards stand out as they acknowledge excellence of writing in food culture as well as food-related health issues.

Nene served as a judge herself in 2017 and loved the storytelling aspect and creativity of the food artistry in ‘reinventing the egg’.

Speaking of reinventing the egg… Did you know? Nene shared that the plumes of a chef’s hat represent the many ways you can recreate the basic egg.

Sapa chairman for the second year running, Aziz Sulliman spoke of the Galliovas’ history through the years.

When the awards first started, the emphasis on promoting food writing was celebrated at the Mount Grace in Magaliesburg, described as “an elegant tea party about future trends in food,” which was MCed by Eon de Vos and judges by the likes of Barry Ronge. Attention was placed on the balance of food groups and menu compilation.

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Had such a great day at the #galliova2019 at Tokara wine estate. Made new friends, delicious food and wine. @jandri.dietician @eatokara. Thank you South African Egg and Poultry Association for a wonderful day @teasnbees1

A post shared by Suzanne Crozier (@suzakie) on Oct 19, 2019 at 12:12am PDT

Industry legend Peter Veldsman, then of Sarie magazine, was the first-ever winner of the awards and was in attendance at Tokara to celebrate the latest winners. He said at the time of his win that food writing is an art form.

Incr-edible industry insights

Sulliman added that while there’s been a strong focus on egg-writing throughout the history of the awards, the impact of chicken (broiler) content is increasing.

This was the first year that the awards were judged digitally, which is seen as “the way of the future,” and judges notes an extremely high standard of writing this year. Sulliman continued that we should keep echoing the message of last year’s awards, to continue to buy local where we can as imports aren’t good for the industry.

This was followed by an address by Adele van der Merwe, vice-chair of the Egg Organisation on behalf of Egg Organisation chairman, Willie Bosoga.

Van der Merwe emphasised that the industry’s had a few challenging years, especially with drought affecting maize crops, the AI (avian influenza) outbreak in the South African poultry flock of layers and broilers, and a loss of 18% of the egg-laying population, which led to a shortage of eggs and decline in consumption.

Van der Merwe said the challenge now is to again stimulate consumption of eggs.

All this talk of chickens and eggs had brought on quite the appetite, so luckily it was then time for starters. Attendees had a choice of chicken-liver parfait brioche with red wine-pickled onion, green apple and fennel salad; or soft poached egg with crispy chicken skin, endive, gorgonzola quenelles and walnuts.

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TASTE OF TOKARA | �� Wow, the 'egg and chicken'-themed food at @tokarawine's @eatokara for the #Galliova2019 awards was top-notch! ��See my perfect #softpoachedegg with #crispychickenskin, #gorgonzola, #endive and walnuts; ����#chickenroulade with #pancetta, #kapokbosjus and green asparagus #hollandaise; ���� the beef #ribeye with leek, potato and #oystermushroom; ���� and lastly, NOT a #cappuccino, #Tokara only serves Americanos - that's an espresso #cremebrulee with #hazelnutbiscotti. ☕�� #Delicious! #tokara #galliovawards #writers #foodwriters #writingawards #mediaawards #galliovawinners #winefarm #stellenbosch #stellenboschwine #Tokaradeli #espressocremebrulee #hazelnut #biscotti #foodphotos

A post shared by Leigh Andrews (@ramblinglitchi123) on Oct 19, 2019 at 2:56am PDT

Wines on offer on the afternoon included the Tokara Rose, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, which were also being tasted in the elevated tasting room with lush green rolling views for days.

This brief break in proceedings was followed by an address by Marco Torsius, Galliova judge and member of the Egg Organisation Board.

Writers: Address the egg stigma!

Torsius has attended 15 Galliova Awards and judged it four times.

This year’s judging panel included:

• Acclaimed magazine food stylist and cooking TV show host, Dorah Sitole;
• Renowned food writer, blogger and caterer, Anna Montali;
• Award-winning journalist and editor, Irna van Zyl;
• Celebrity chef and food blogger, Clement Pedro;
• Rgistered dietitian and Emeritus Associate Professor of the University of the Free State, Professor Marthinette Slabber Stretch;
• Nutritional consultant and registered dietitian in private practice, Madeleine de Villiers;
• Owner of Kwena Chicks and Sapa member representing the broiler sector, Jake Mokwene; and
• Torsius himself, MD of El-Azaar Poultry Farm and Sapa board member representing the egg industry.

Speaking of the judging process, Torsius said both the quantity and quality of entries had improved this year, with the ‘Up & Coming’ category, in particular, seeing a rise in number of first-time entrants.

He commented that going online meant it was easier and more affordable to get entries in than ever before – even though it wasn’t an easy process for judges like him born ‘BC’ or ‘Before Computer.

The panel also noted that the health articles and entries in the Egg Champion category were of an exceptionally high standard, resulting in a hotly contested 2019 Egg Champion winner. That said, Torsius commented that not as much has been attention given to omelettes in the latest Galliova entries, adding that the stigma of the egg as a breakfast food only remains.

It’s a worldwide problem, adds Torsius, with eggs as a mainly breakfast-oriented dish. They remain affordable, as it costs less than R50 to buy 30 eggs, which are essential in healthy nutrition and preventing stunted growth in children.

Torsius added: “Don’t be disappointed if you don’t win, as you’re making an incredible contribution to the general population of South Africa. Most of them don’t have a cooking clue how to innovate with chicken and eggs on a budget.”

That’s where this year’s entrants are truly achieving, as you’ll find old copies of magazines from 2012 in lower LSM households, still being shared and even filed for the recipes.

That’s why Torsius said to keep in mind that a recipe’s success is all about affordability and availability in terms of ingredients used. Keep up the good work of promoting chicken and eggs and chicken as they remain the most affordable proteins available.

By then, we were ready to focus on the food again, and focus we did as the mains toss-up was between chicken roulade with green asparagus hollandaise, pancetta and kapokbos jus or beef rib-eye steak with leek, potato and oyster mushroom with beef jus.

Drum(stick)roll, please...

Both were beautifully presented and enjoyed by all. By then we’d also played a number of word search games as well as a ‘fastest speller’ Scrabble type, so friendly competition was at an all-time high. Table chatter went around the myriad ways to cook eggs – baked custard proved a firm favourite – and the joys of looking through handwritten recipes sent down the family line.

Finally, it was time to learn this year’s winners:

Margie Els-Burger of Your Family took top honours as the Galliova Food Writer of the Year, while freelance writer Glynis Horning, was honoured as the Galliova Health Writer of the Year.

In her acceptance speech, Els-Burger shared that the Galliovas have truly been life-changing for her, as her hand went numb when she collected last year’s award. This prompted her to go for medical testing, where a tumour was found and removed. Els-Burger said that everyone in the room is an inspiration to her.

Glynnis Horning added that she wanted to dedicate her award to everyone who struggles with depression, as she lost her own son to this just a month ago, despite the family believing they were on top of things.

The entire room was in tears, as these personal tales both served as a truly worthy reminder of the importance of writing about health issues.

The runners-up in the Food Writer of the Year category were Johané Neilson of Home and Tuis (2nd) and Karen Hart of Kuier (3rd). In the Health Writer of the Year category, the honours went to Salomé Delport of Rooi Rose and Living & Loving (2nd) and Christa Swanepoel of Vrouekeur (3rd).

Nomvuselelo Mncube of Your Family and Food & Home was awarded the title Galliova Egg Champion, followed by Jandri Barnard of Get It Northern KZN and Midlands (2nd) and Tumelo Sebopa of True Love (3rd).

The Galliova Broiler Champion was won by Esther Malan of Huisgenoot, YOU and Drum, while Tony Jackman of Daily Maverick and Johané Neilson of Home and Tuis were placed second and third respectively.

Chiara Turilli of My Kitchen, Getaway and Equinox scooped Galliova Up & Coming Writer of the Year, just ahead of freelance writer Jessica Spiro (2nd) and Your Family’s Caitlin Geng (3rd).

This was swiftly followed by a dessert of espresso crème brulee with hazelnut biscotti and seasonal berry pavlova with vanilla-bean custard and strawberry coulis. Feeling happy and filled with a sense of community and camaraderie, we hopped aboard our shuttle busses back to reality. Click here to view a gallery of images from the afternoon.