Chantel Dartnall, Eat Out Chef of the Year 2009, recently took part in the San Pellegrino Cooking Cup in Venice. Part of her prize as best cook in our country, the competition saw her take part in a 12-mile regatta off the Venetian island of Lido, alongside 60 international chefs. The goal was to cook the best dish and finish first in the race.

Malu Lambert caught up with Chantel to find out what she cooked, how she won second place in the People’s Choice Award, and how her sea legs are doing.

Tell me about the Friday evening?

The first night we cooked for 150 guests. Each chef had a table displaying their restaurant, buffet-style. There was a great team spirit between the chefs; a lot of us were already friends.

It was a wonderful experience being with all the other chefs. There are so many incredible and talented young people out there.

What was your favourite part of the city?

Luckily, we had one day to explore, I took my mom, Marie, along with me. We loved the piazza in St. Marco.

Any time for shopping?

I was looking for white balsamic vinegar, but the shops have bizarre opening times. I kept going back to this one, and every time we tried to get to the shop, it was closed. At least this kept the credit card spend down!

And, I left my chef pants at home in SA, so the first day we arrived I needed to find a pair of black trousers. It was quite difficult because they don’t have big department stores as they do at home. So, I ended up buying a pair of designer pants from this boutique store. I don’t think I’ll ever cook in them again!

What did you cook in the yacht on the Saturday?

I made a different composition of tomatoes. I had bought ten different varieties of tomatoes at the market that day. I turned them into everything from confit to tea, to risotto and jam. What was it like cooking on deck? It was like indoor surfing…

I had my mom as my support staff, so she peeled the tomatoes for my dish. It was quite a job onboard; the tomatoes were literally flying everywhere. The yacht would tilt 90 degrees this way and then 40 degrees that way.

Cooking on a yacht is definitely not the easiest thing I’ve done in my life. I took me a while to find my sea legs, and now back in my own kitchen my legs are still a bit wobbly – literally a fish out of water.