Sun International chefs shine at 2025 Inter-Hotel Challenge South Africa Awards

Considered the Oscars in hospitality, its ‘A wonderful opportunity to be in a competition alongside and against our industry peers’ – Group Executive Chef, Adrian Vaughan

The Inter-Hotel Challenge is an annual national event that celebrates excellence, innovation, and collaboration in hospitality. Participation is lengthy and vigorous, completed over several days and culminating in the gala awards dinner on Monday, 8 December 2025.

Distinguished guests graced the occasion, including guest of honour Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and his wife, Tracy. Guest speakers Sophie Bel (Consul General of France), Alderman James Vos, and Delia Johnston of Air France-KLM announced superb, life-changing opportunities, a tremendous vote of confidence in the Inter-Hotel Challenge SA 2025 and its value.

These awards are regarded as the Oscars of the hospitality industry, inspired by the achievements of talented and motivated candidates who recognise the impact this can have on their futures and have embraced the challenge with enthusiasm.

Cynthia Bombe, who has been at Time Square in Pretoria for seven years, was crowned Lancewood Pastry Chef Of The Year. This, and winning Pastry Champion of the Year in 2023, are two of her proudest accomplishments. Bombe says her essential ingredient is butter, “It adds flavour and is a base for most dishes”, and a thermometer is a must-have. Her favourite thing to make is sticky toffee pudding, sweet and simple.

Prudence Ntombela from Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Kingdom in Durban participated  in the Food & Wine Pairing (hot) category during the challenge and placed second, accepting her prize at the prestigious gala awards dinner. As part of the competition, she prepared and presented masala slinger with creamy Lancewood arancini, romesco sauce, and pico de gallo, paired with David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Pinot Noir 2023.

“Working in the hospitality industry is physically exhausting and mentally demanding – long hours, pressure, and challenges that push you every day. But passion is what keeps you going,” says Ntombela. “It’s the joy of serving others, the pride in making someone’s day better, and the fulfilment that comes from delivering excellence. Passion turns fatigue into purpose, and challenges into opportunities to grow. To every chef out there: keep pushing, keep learning, and keep believing in your craft. It’s the heart you put into your work that sets you apart.”

The Scanpan Kitchen Excellence Awareness award (cold kitchen pastry chef) went to Lesego Bongani Lekome from Sun City EC Banqueting. This category is to do with the health and safety and way the competitor completed the cook relating to section cleanliness, work effort and overall quality of the dish, explains Sun International Group Executive Chef, Adrian Vaughan.

“The Inter-Hotel Challenge South Africa is a wonderful opportunity for Sun International to enter a hospitality competition alongside and against our industry peers. It provides our teams the opportunity to spend time with industry icons, incredible suppliers, gaining qualifications as well as invaluable knowledge and expertise that they can take back into our hospitality sectors,” says Vaughan.

“This experience and sharing of knowledge is paramount to provide to our teams so that they can develop into the new generation of our hospitality leaders and allows us to demonstrate our skill levels within the industry, which creates a platform to develop further in their careers.”

This year’s candidates produced exceptional dishes from four Sun International properties–including Cascades at Sun City—which is driving this competition by encouraging other properties to enter to showcase as well, creating a healthy Sun International competition. 

“We have a rich vein of history in the competition with Sun International registering wins in many categories and this year gave us wins in awards that had been elusive previously: Lancewood Pastry Chef Of The Year, won by Cynthia Bombe, Scanpan kitchen skills excellence, won by Bongani Lekome and the wine pairing first runner-up Prudence Ntombela,” says Vaughan.

He offers “the biggest of congratulations” to the winners and his thanks to the mentors, and all the candidates who entered from Sun International properties as they are part of a hospitality future that is looking exciting and promises to be exceptional.