WATCH: Host With the Most in the fifth season of Come Dine With Me South Africa
She walked away with the grand prize of R10 000. Nontsi competed against fellow contestants Vusi Ndlovu from Glenanada, Jana Rau from Alberton and Makho Manyoni from Soweto.
Nontsikelelo (Nontsi) Jiyane, a resident of Suideroord was recently crowned as Host With the Most in the fifth season of Come Dine With Me South Africa.
She walked away with the grand prize of R10 000. Nontsi competed against fellow contestants Vusi Ndlovu from Glenanada, Jana Rau from Alberton and Makho Manyoni from Soweto.
This sparkling lady clearly has a natural talent, as the first things she said is, “This was my first dinner party ever. When I entered I didn’t even dream that I would win. I just entered because I am a huge fan of the show.” After entering she didn’t think BBC would call, but they did, and much excitement followed.
Nontsi is an attorney by profession. She grew up in Soweto and later moved to Suideroord with her family. She completed her matric at Mondeor High and from there went on to study law at the University of the Witwatersrand. She completed her articles in Pretoria and Mondeor and now runs her own law firm. She certainly is driven, has lots of passion and comes across as fearless to achieve the things she sets her mind to.
“I adore cooking and trying new things, my interest in Come Dine With Me stems from adoring food.”
Nontsi’s menu was a reflection of the food that she loves, giving her guests an experience and a taste of what she really likes. She welcomed her guests with an exquisite bottle of pink bubbly and her starters were paired with a fruity Sauvignon Blanc and her mains with a soft Merlot.
Nontsi’s menu:
Starters
A sea food delight, with prawns and avocado
Main
Duck confit with pak choi and roasted potatoes
Dessert
A biscuit based chocolate tart with berries and cream
Vegetarian option:
Starter
A salad of beetroot, butternut and feta
Main
Cauliflower steak, drizzled in a lemon juice, chives, garlic and seasoning dressing, with pak choi and roasted potatoes
Dessert
A biscuit based chocolate tart with berries and cream
Time of her life
Daringly, Nontsi made the duck for the first time on the day of the show, and she was delighted with the result. The Cauliflower steak was also a first, but she did put some practice into the dessert, this she served floating out of the kitchen on a hover board. “I’m quite good on the hover board, but I was pretty stressed about dropping the dessert.” Her guests were impressed, not just by the dessert, but by this attention-grabbing piece of entertainment.
Her theme and dress code for the evening was A Touch of Gold, she used her grandmother’s set of gold cutlery and decorated the table to suit her theme. “I really enjoyed the décor side of it and absolutely loved doing the flower arrangements! I’ve had a lot of people asking me to cook for them, but I want to go and decorate as well!”
Her advice to future contestants, “Practise, think out of the box, look at what you’ve never seen on the show before and just be yourself!”
Nontsi shared a lot about herself to her guests, her journey and the tribulations she has personally needed to overcome. “I have realised that you have to love yourself, and accept yourself for who you are. I don’t let negativity get to me.”
“I was so surprised when I won and completely taken aback! I really thought Vusi was going to win, I knew the incredible effort he put into his meal. I enjoyed the entire experience, the fantastic camera crew and my fellow participants. We all got along, off and on camera. It was completely natural.”
Nontsi would certainly do it again and says that now she would really like to learn how to bake. “It was an opportunity of a lifetime and I am so grateful to have been part of it.”
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