Stellenbosch resident Jessica van Dyk, also chef and owner of Stellenbosch restaurant Post & Pepper, was nominated by a member of the general public for the Food XX Women in Food Award 2022. She walked away with the award in the In the Kitchen category at the awards ceremony, held at Makers Landing in the V&A Waterfront on Tuesday 30 August. The annual event, launched by Studio H in 2019, spotlights the achievements of women in all spheres of the food and hospitality industry, from farming to food styling, education, culinary heritage and more. A diverse group of 19 women from across South Africa – and beyond – were honoured for their outstanding contributions to the food and hospitality industry, in 19 categories, each with an incredible female winner. The winners were those who received the most votes from a pool of more than 500 candidates. Nominations were open to the public throughout August, with the judging performed by an independent panel comprising winners from the year before. This year’s panel consisted of, among others, Mokgadi Itsweng, Bathandwa Nkambule, Loubie Rusch, Mmabatho Molefe, Dr Tracy Nelwamondo and Carla Schulze.
