Mom makes best boerewors in SA
Mom of two, Yvonne Blaauw from Wellington in the Western Cape, makes the best boerewors in South Africa.
Earlier last week (29 August 2018) Blaauw (47) was announced the winner of the 26th annual Championship Boerewors competition and her recipe – South Africa’s number one boerewors – will be available in all Shoprite and Checkers stores nationwide from Friday, 14 September 2018.
“How amazing to win this competition,” exclaimed Blaauw. “I have been perfecting my boerewors recipe for as long as I can remember, so to know that it is the very best in the country is just incredible!”
Along with the sought-after title of SA’s No.1 Boerewors Champion, Blaauw has also won the grand prize of a brand new Toyota Hilux DC 2.8 GD-6 Raised Body Raider worth over R500 000.

On the photograph is the 2018 Championship Boerewors winners: Jean Drotsky, Yvonne Blaauw and Bobby Hassen.
Second and third place went to Jean Drotsky from Pretoria and Bobby Hassen from Randgate respectively. The top three each received gift hampers from sponsors Coca Cola and Wellington’s as well as Shoprite and Checkers gift vouchers.
The top ten finalists of the 2018 Championship Boerewors competition competed at a ‘Braai in the Sky’ where they impressed an independent judging panel of culinary experts from the South African Chefs Association (SACA), who were tasked with selecting this year’s number one boerewors.
Also present at the ‘Braai in the Sky’ was ex-Springbok rugby player and boerewors enthusiast, Bakkies Botha. “Everybody says rugby brings people together, but I always say that boerewors brings people together. To me it represents passion, culture and tradition.”
Shoprite and Checkers are proud of South Africa’s boerewors tradition and celebrate it every year by hosting the Championship Boerewors competition.
The Top 10 Finalists
Eastern Cape East London Markhum Lewis
Gauteng Randfontein Abram Sepotokele
Gauteng Faerie Glen, Pretoria Abrie Schutte
Gauteng Villieria, Pretoria Andre Andrews
Gauteng Carletonville Anita Schutte
Gauteng Randgate Bobby Hassen
Gauteng Wierda Park, Pretoria Natasha Drotsky
Gauteng Wierda Park, Pretoria Jean Drotsky
Western Cape Gordon’s Bay Cornelius Ferreira
Western Cape Wellington Yvonne Blaauw
2018 Championship Boerewors Competition – Factsheet
● The annual Championship Boerewors competition is about the search for South Africa’s very best boerewors recipe.
● For the past 26 years, Shoprite and Checkers have hosted the Championship Boerewors competition in order to find and present South African consumers with the country’s number one boerewors – creating a trusted legacy of quality and taste.
● Over the years the Championship Boerewors title has been held by South Africans from all walks of life, from housewives to butchery managers, and even by a (then) 13-year old primary school learner.
● Between 1993 and 2000 it was an internal competition and only Shoprite or Checkers employees could enter.
● The country’s very best boerewors recipe can only be found if all South Africans are allowed to participate, so from 2001 the Championship Boerewors competition has also been open to members of the public.
2018 Competition at a glance
● With a new competition structure in place, the competition was made even more accessible to anyone that wanted to enter. All that was required, was for them to enter their recipe before Friday, 29 June 2018.
● We did away with the regional Champion Rounds that required entrants to make their way to their nearest venue in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Eastern Cape, Western Cape or Gauteng.
● The South African Chefs Association (SACA) once again took charge of the judging process and ensured that all entries adhered to the guidelines for making truly traditional boerewors.
● After the validation process, paper judging commenced to select the Top 30 recipes.
● During a rigorous judging and tasting process, the Top 10 recipes were selected.
● The 10 finalists will face each other to battle it out in front of the judging panel and media at the finale on Wednesday 29 August 2018 before the winner of the 2018 Championship Boerewors competition is revealed.
● Consumers will be able to buy the country’s very best boerewors – the new 2018 Championship Boerewors – in all Shoprite and Checkers stores nationwide from Friday, 14 September, just in time for Heritage Day celebrations.
Judges
1. James Khoza – President of SACA and the Executive Chef of Tsogo Sun’s Sandton Convention Centre
2. Martin Kobald – Award-winning chef and honorary past President of SACA
3. Carmen Niehaus – You and Huisgenoot Food Editor and author of more than 25 cookbooks
4. Pete Goffe-Wood – MasterChef SA judge, also known as South Africa’s ‘Kitchen Cowboy’ and one of the country’s most acclaimed chefs
5. Jenny Morris – also known as the Giggling Gourmet, one of South Africa’s most-loved food personalities
6. Reuben Riffel – celebrity chef, MasterChef SA judge and owner of Reuben’s Restaurant
Traditional Boerewors
● Recipes entered into the Championship Boerewors competition have to be for traditional boerewors:
○ Boerewors must contain at least 90 percent meat – always containing beef, as well as lamb or pork or a mixture of lamb and pork and the fat content of the meat mixture may not exceed 30 percent.
○ The distinctive combinations of spices like coriander, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper as well as fluids like vinegar, water and Worcestershire sauce are what differentiates boerewors from other variants.
○ Recipes may not contain: bacon, chutney, cheese, peri-peri, curry, tomato sauce, peppadews®, green pepper, parmesan, Aromat®, chilli & venison.