‘Masterchef South Africa’ teases comeback

My Kitchen Rules South Africa might be done and dusted for now, but foodie TV fans won’t have to wait too long for their reality TV cooking fix, as there are whispers that popular cooking competition, MasterChef South Africa is coming back.

The franchise, which first started in England over 15 years ago, hads become a global phenomenon due to the massive success of Masterchef Australia. The show, which has many versions around the world, has produced well-known TV chefs and cooking personalities such as Andy Allen, Reynold Poernomo and Hayden Quinn.

The South African version is returning after it was cancelled in 2016. In August, M-Net announced that season four was set for February 2022. Entries were opened for 20 culinary hopefuls and September was the closing date for auditions.

Teasing a trailer of the new season on Monday, MasterChef South Africa released a video poking fun at a typical response from South African cooks when people ask when the food will be ready: “now now”.

In the last episode of My Kitchen Rules SA on Sunday, foodie entrepreneurs Izak Redelinghuys and Wessel Pieterse were crowned the winners, walking away with a grand prize of R1 million.

The cooking duo became the first winners from the Western Cape. Izak and Wessel beat out Alberton moms, Karen and Tenille, and travel besties Retha and Tshepi.

Their winning menu consisted of their top dish; an Asian beef short rib and a dessert christened an Eastern Mess, earning a total of 80/100.

Their Asian beef short rib dish also included polenta with shiitake mushrooms and a mushroom and naartjie jus. Their Eastern Mess comprised of raspberry meringue, raspberry sorbet, vanilla sponge, raspberry curd and rosewater cream.

This isn’t the first time the duo have won a cooking competition. Izak and Wessel ,with their teammate Jennifer du Plessis, won Aansit in 2020 and The Citizen met up with the trio.

RELATED: Aansit winners: Trio is planning menus

The guest judges in the finale included TV host Sarah Graham, Marcus Modimokwane, cooking show host and cookbook author Siphokazi Mdlankomo, chef, food writer, and restaurateur Karen Dudley, popular chef Mogau Seshoene – known as “The Lazy Makoti” – and previous My Kitchen Rules South Africa contestant Pashi Reddy.

The show’s judges, David Higgs and J’Something, are still regulars.

Master Chef South Africa has yet to announce the judges. In the first three seasons, Pete Goffee-Wood, Benny Masekwameng and Reuben Riffel were the judges.