Nation united in grief over death of Sarel van Sabie
A family friend, Ms Melanie van Deventer, confirmed that a post-mortem would be performed on him in Germiston today. She added that his body was discovered in the bathroom. She said apart from exhibiting some flu symptoms on Sunday, he showed no other symptoms
SABIE – Not only Lowvelders, but the entire nation is united in grief over the sudden passing of Sarel van Sabie who became popular as a pastor who cooked his way into the hearts of hundreds of thousands of food lovers.
What makes his death even more shocking, is the fact that he was only 45. His lifeless body was discovered early yesterday morning and it is suspected that he died of a heart attack.
According to his agent, Ms Hetta Saunderson, he had been taking part in the Sarcda exhibition at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng where he showcased his various crafts. His wife, Lieze and their eldest daughter, Charné (18) was with him on Saturday, but returned to the Lowveld so that Charné, a matric pupil at Hoërskool Nelspruit, could prepare for her exams.
Sarel shared more mouth-watering recipes on his Facebook page on Sunday night. He had been staying with friends in Pretoria and were to return to Sabie yesterday. “Somebody found him just after 03:00. The circumstances surrounding his death and how he was discovered isn’t clear yet, but we suspect that he died of a heart attack,” she said.
A family friend, Ms Melanie van Deventer, confirmed that a post-mortem would be performed on him in Germiston today. She added that his body was discovered in the bathroom. She said apart from exhibiting some flu symptoms on Sunday, he showed no other symptoms.
Lieze, Charné, Phillip (16), Jean-Mari (14) and their two foster children, Doctor and Dorris, are devastated. The family was still in Sabie at the time of going to press.
Sarel first became famous when he took part in Masterchef South Africa in 2012. He was one of the four top contestants and was eliminated during episode 17. Although he had been a pastor in Graskop and obviously devoted to his faith, he gave up preaching and decided to live his passion – cooking, which he often described as an art form.
Sarel soon became a familiar face at festivals and gatherings across the Lowveld and whipped up decadent bites and meals for fans to feast on. He always had a smile on his face and never gave a fan who wanted an autograph the cold shoulder.
Sarel participated in Kokkedoor, the Afrikaans version of Masterchef on KykNET, last year. He had also opened a bakery with a friend and was even a member of South Africa’s first national braai team – ChesaNyama Braai-B-Que – that participated in the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue in the United States of America last year.
Saunderson said he had various other projects in the pipeline. “He still wanted to get a cooking blog off the ground and was planning on writing a cookbook,” she said. She added that she would remember him as a passionate person. “A people person, who had more than one dream and lived his dreams,” she added.
Fans from as far as Australia posted messages of condolences on his Facebook page. Laurell Crawford Engelbrecht wrote: “RIP Sarel, I had the priviledge of meeting you at the Komati Prawn Festival. May your legend live on. God bless your loved ones left behind and comfort them knowing you are not far.”
• Fans can watch a video of Sarel’s life on Facebook, by visiting the following link:
