Stanford intern triumphs in 2024 Braaibroodjie Competition against Harvard and MIT peers

John Maytham interviews Payaum Sanatkar, 2024 Braaibroodjie Competition winner from Standford University.

Listen below.

Three interns from some of the most prestigious US universities – Harvard, Stanford, and MIT – faced an unexpected challenge: crafting the ultimate braaibroodjie.

Knife Capital, a local venture capital firm known for investing in tech startups, runs an internship programme that occasionally includes students from top US and European universities.

Each year, during the overlap of the internships, Knife Capital hosts the Braaibroodjie Competition.

It’s their way of testing how these highly educated minds tackle the art of making a perfect braaibroodjie – a humble yet deceptively tricky task.

This year, Stanford’s Payaum Sanatkar emerged victorious.

He admits that the challenge turned out to be more complicated than anticipated.

"When I was starting my research, I went online and I came across an embedded thread with 160 comments of people debating on how to make the perfect Braaibroodjie. I think the only thing they could agree on was that you never put mushrooms on it."

- Payaum Sanatkar, winner - 2024 Braaibroodjie Competition

Sanatkar’s winning braai broodjie featured:

• Dried tomatoes
• 'Government' white bread
• Cheddar cheese
• A sprinkle of Aromat and a dash of herbs

The secret behind his winning braaibroodjie? Masterfully thin slices of all the ingredients and a light, expert touch with the chutney.

"It was a very very crispy braaibroodjie and I think that was the difference."

- Payaum Sanatkar, winner - 2024 Braaibroodjie Competition

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.