It took two incredible chefs to convince me that the emu lays an egg exactly the same colour as what it was cooked in that night, The Big Green Egg. Well, that’s what I boasted to the entire dinner table last week. (I do get to eat humble pie still!)

A colleague and I were lucky enough to attend the incredible event, Chefs who Share, the brainchild of Opulent Living proprietor Barbara Lenhard. For the dinner, 14 award-winning chefs and sommeliers cooked for charity to raise funds for developing the youth. Margot Janse from The Tasting Room, named Chef of the Year at the 2012 Eat Out Dstv Food Network Restaurant Awards, and David Higgs from Five Hundred, who was Chef of the Year in 2010 whilst he was at Rust en Vrede, cooked for our table and, yes, emu was one of the courses, named Green Egg in a Green Egg.

Margot is also going to be running the Cape Town Marathon this month, with her running partner, Truckles Cheese founder Saskia Blaisse, to raise funds for Kusasa, the feeding program run by Margot and her team that provides 1000 breakfasts daily to children at Dalubuhle and Wes Eind Primary School. Go Margot!

This week also saw the students from The Hurst Campus shine at the Reaching for Young Stars Challenge. This competition was the concept of food doyenne Annette Kesler, food editor of Fairlady Magazine for many years, with whom I worked just before she left and founded Showcook.com. The competition has created a platform to inspire young people to pursue their dreams in the hospitality industry.

Meanwhile, we are continually mentoring and learning back at home at New Media. Entries for the TASTE Eat Out bursary have just closed and we’re looking forward to sorting through the aspirant applicants. The winner will receive a one-year scholarship to Silwood Cookery School in Cape Town, where students receive Cordon Bleu-accredited training as well as an opportunity to assist with catering at a number of functions throughout the year.

A dream come true!

Abigail

Want to make a difference while dining out? Check out our list of StreetSmart-affiliated restaurants.

Photograph: Chef David Higgs with one of his tables at the Chefs who Share event.