Tammy Selby is GFW ‘Master Curry Chef’
The winner of the first Spekko Rice Master Curry Chef is Tammy Selby, a divorced “thirtiesh” mum from Sunningdale in Durban. The Spekko Master Curry Chef was presented at the Good Food and Wine Show in Durban over the first weekend in August. Tammy, whose dad is Mauritian, grew up in Durban but lived for some time on Mauritius.
Her final dish consisted of a Durban fish and prawn curry served with Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice. She presented the rice in a two toned tower using saffron to colour and flavour half of the rice. With the presentation came crispy fried onions, crunchy vegetable chilli bites and a chutney made with lemon rind, mustard seeds and vegetables.
Tammy has a promotional clothing and gifts business and lives with her son Chad (6).
2nd Runner-up was Anamika Somera an executive PA and research analyst from Amanzimtoti. Anamika whose prawn curry earned her 4 previous culinary awards, has been featured in Taste Magazine and other publications She is mom to two boys Aryav (5) and Mahir (3) and married to Sats who is in the sugar trade business.
The judges in the finals round of the competition included international celebrity chefs Anjali Pathak and Vivek Singh – both contemporary Indian cuisine chefs and writers from London. The third judge was Yoshen Naidu, Sous Chef of the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani hotels.
The final six finalists in the Spekko Rice Master Curry competition and the dishes they entered were:
- Annie Laldhas – a Durban home cook and caterer – with a Tropical crab curry served with Spekko Parboiled Long Grain Rice
- Lynette Dorasamy from Malvern – with a Mutton curry served with Spekko Saman Parboiled Rice.
- Leelamba Moodley from Shallcross with a Vegetarian prawn curry served with Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice
- John Devere-Loots from Gilletts in Hillcrest with a Hyderabad beef curry with Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice
- Anamika Somera from Amanzimtoti – with a Creamy Tikka butter chicken served with Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice
- Tammy Selby from Sunningdale with a Fragrant lamb curry served with mango chutney, mini potato and mint samosas and cucumber raita. She served Spekko Parboiled Long Grain Rice with this dish.
The six finalists received a pre-determined list of ingredients for the semi-finals. The final two were presented with a mystery basket of ingredients.
Spekko’s Master Curry Chef Tammy Selby won a 15 day tour of India from Incredible India. Her winning dish will also feature – along with Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice – on the Elangeni restaurant menu.
Tammy Selby’s winning Seafood curry served with two-toned Spekko India Gate Classic Basmati Rice.
Celebrity chefs Anjali Pathak and Vivek Singh – both contemporary Indian cuisine chefs and writers from London and on the left, third judge Sous Chef Yoshen Naidu of the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani hotels. The Spekko Master Curry Chef Tammy Selby is wearing her Spekko Yum apron.
Anamika Somera who came second.
Dinesh Naidoo from Incredible India with Spekko Master Curry Chef Tammy Selby.
Look out for the finalists and celebrity chefs recipes on the Spekko website. Also stand a chance to win Spekko prizes by entering your own recipe using a set of pre-determined ingredients.