With over 35 years as a global healthy sweetener brand leader, Natreen® Bake & Make allows you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and still enjoy the ‘sweetness’ in your diet. Natreen® won’t let you compromise on taste because it is made using only the highest quality ingredients creating a naturally sweet flavour, with no aftertaste. Food & Home Entertaining and Natreen® gave readers the chance to win by submitting their own recipe using either Natreen® Granules or Liquid to stand a chance to win prizes to the value of R9 000!

The lucky winners of the Natreen® Bake & Make competition were:

1st prize: Celesté Brown (from Knysna): Decadent homemade peach ice-cream. She wins a Kenwood kMix Stand Mixer worth R5 579.

2nd prize: Helen Wilson (from JHB): Avocado chocolate mousse. She wins a Nutribullet high speed blender worth R1 850.
3rd prize: Sue Green (from Pietermaritzburg): Stewed seasonal fruit. She wins a Krups 1.6L ice cream and sorbet maker worth R899.

More about our winner:

Q&A with Celesté:

Celesté is from Knysna, is a secretary for her hubby who is a broker and does outsourced catering on a small scale. Celesté loves cooking with Natreen® granules and liquid because it’s so easy and requires no big changes to be made to a recipe. She is diabetic but loves desserts and says Natreen® is the answer to her diabetic, but very sweet tooth, “I can bake indulgent food and lick the spoon without feeling guilty!”

Natreen® is heat-stable without an aftertaste and Celeste has noticed this in her cooking, “I tried other brands, but they tasted artificial. Natreen® can be used for baking and cooking and leaves no funny aftertaste.”

1. What is your life/cooking motto?

If something flops, cover it in Puff Pastry!

2. When did you passion for food start?

Many moons ago in my grandma’s farmhouse kitchen. It was a magical place filled with wonderful aromas, shelves stocked with delicious bottled goodies, lots of laughter and huge mugs of steaming “Boeretroos”…

3. Have you received any formal culinary training?

No and I wish I can turn back the clock! I would love to master the art of proper knife skills!

4. Who is your culinary idol?

Jan Hendrik Van Der Westhuizen – SA Chef in the French Riviera

5. What inspires you in the kitchen?

I can compare it to an artist that who finishes a beautiful canvas… I love creating delicious dishes and then wait for the applause! (In this case the applause would be when someone asks for a third helping.

6. Why did you choose the homemade ice-cream as your entry?

The first time I made my ice-cream was in Matric and I received excellent marks.

7. Give us your top tips that you’ve learnt in the kitchen.

Keep the Yorkie out of the kitchen. Also, do NOT keep the Spray&Cook in the same cupboard next to the furniture polish spray (don’t even ask!)

8. How do you fit your cooking passion into her everyday life?

Easy! Hubby’s office is at home. Which means he quite often has to answer the telephone himself – because his secretary is busy in the kitchen.

9. Who do you most love cooking for?

Campers in the caravan parks! They’re sick of potjiekos and braai so they are so appreciative of a 4-course Christmas meal!

10. What special dessert will you be making this Christmas?

Phyllo pastry banoffee pie cups and a coconut & chocolate mousse sandwich cake (and of course the trifle with the wobbling jelly and cream!)

Food & Home Entertaining and Natreen® are giving you the opportunity to try out Celesté’s recipe for yourself. Click here to get the recipe for decadent homemade peach ice-cream with a sugar-free cone/cup.

For more information on Natreen products click here. Follow NatreenSA on Facebook  and Twitter.

Decadent homemade peach ice-cream:

Winner: Celesté Brown