Three previously eliminated home cooks make a comeback and returnee Simele snatches Nkululeko’s place in the Top 3

One can never get too comfortable in the MasterChef South Africa kitchen. That was the brutal lesson learnt this week by Nkululeko, Candice and Benjie – the three contestants who thought they had secured their places in the Top 3 after Simele had hung up his apron just a week earlier.

In a massive plot twist, the Top 3 became the Top 4 again, and in the end, Simele, who received a second chance in a dramatic wildcard episode, made the most of his return, knocking his “Zulu gang” brother Nkululeko out of the competition. This means there is now a new Top 3, comprising Candice, Benjie and Simele. They will be whittled down to two for the show’s finale on Sunday, 16 August.

This week’s rollercoaster episode, which saw the exit of Nkululeko Ngubane (35), the big-hearted Sandton-based graphic designer originally from KwaDukuza in KZN, began with the Top 3 marching into the kitchen in high spirits. Playfully ready for “war“, the trio entertained the judges – Chef Katlego Mlambo, Zola Nene and Justine Drake – with a military drill, complete with salutes and mimed machine-gun fire. Little did these three soldiers know they were about to face the toughest battle of the season.

Awaiting them was the biggest Mystery Box in MasterChef South Africa’s history. Nkululeko assumed it would reveal the ingredients for their next challenge. Instead, when the lid was lifted, three familiar faces – Keith, Jeshen and Simele – stepped out of the giant Mystery Box.

The Top 3 were delighted to see their old friends again. However, their joy quickly turned to shock when the judges explained why these former contestants had returned. Keith, Jeshen and Simele, whose journeys had all ended due to technical missteps, were being given a second chance to win the R1 million prize.

Keith had left the competition because of a slightly raw egg, Jeshen had served too few scones, and Simele’s first-ever pie had needed only two more minutes in the oven.

Then, the judges explained that the day would comprise two challenges. First, the three returnees would cook against one another for a place in the Top 4 while Benjie, Candice and Nkululeko watched from the gantry. The winner would then join the existing Top 3 in an elimination challenge, placing one of their hard-earned spots in jeopardy.

Understandably, the thought of stepping back to a Top 4 hit was particularly hard for Nkululeko, as he had gradually worked his way to the top after starting his MasterChef South Africa journey in the Bottom 3. “It’s like a punch in the gut,” the show’s beloved “Arancini” admitted. Nkululeko earned this endearing nickname for his disastrous, supposedly fancy pap arancini flop in episode 1. Later, when he won the Street Food challenge, he was also dubbed the “Kota King“. Another highlight showcasing his remarkable culinary growth was winning a sought-after Immunity Pin.

For their second-chance cook-off, Keith, Jeshen and Simele were tasked with using an array of chillies to create a dish that perfectly balanced flavour and heat. Ensuring neutrality, the judges evaluated the dishes in a blind tasting, with each dish presented on a differently coloured plate.

The scrumptious duck dish on the red plate impressed the judges most. When it emerged that Simele was the cook behind the winning dish, he was back in the game, while Jeshen and Keith were sent home again.

For the second challenge, the Top 4 then had to celebrate Africa’s diverse flavours by preparing two aromatic dishes – one savoury and one sweet. Both dishes had to incorporate at least one of an array of spices or spice pastes from across the continent.

With everyone fighting for survival and the outcome determining the “real” Top 3, the usual kitchen banter gave way to an incredibly serious and tense mood.

Despite never having made Jollof rice before – and having tasted it only once – Nkululeko boldly chose to prepare Jollof rice with spicy roasted chicken as his savoury dish. For dessert, he made a honey sponge with honey-and-lime mousse, vanilla, cinnamon and chilli mango compote.

When judge Zola Nene questioned whether attempting Jollof rice for the first time at such a crucial stage was a wise decision, Nkululeko explained that he did not want to play it safe.

His gamble paid off. At the tasting table, Zola praised the beautifully cooked rice and was pleased that he had taken her suggestion to add chicken. Overall, the judges described it as a fabulous dish with perfectly balanced spicing. However, the dessert received a mixed response.

Although Zola initially feared that the sponge would be too solid, she was more positive after tasting it and appreciated the golden Nigerian thread connecting Nkululeko’s two dishes. Justine, however, didn’t share her view. She found the sponge too solid rather than light and airy, and Chef Katlego agreed.

While the judges raved about both of Benjie’s dishes, which made him the challenge winner, Simele’s dessert and Candice’s main course also had shortcomings. But, in the end, Nkululeko was eliminated.

So, Nkululeko handed over his coveted Top 3 spot to his Zulu brother, whose departure had reduced him to tears just a week earlier.

At the door, Nkululeko left the kitchen the same way he had entered it at the start of the episode – saluting.

During his stint in the MasterChef South Africa kitchen, Arancini won many hearts. He was always full of beans – joking, dancing and juggling food items. Who could also forget how he struggled to pronounce the names of ingredients such as celeriac; how guest judge Devi Sankaree Govender, unimpressed by his messy workbench, started cleaning up after him; or how he promised his son he would not cry on MasterChef South Africa, yet sometimes simply couldn’t hold back the tears?

MasterChef South Africa Season 6 keeps e.tv viewers on the knife’s edge every Sunday at 18:00, with rebroadcasts on the channel on Saturdays at 17:00, and additional airings on eExtra on Saturdays at 20:30 and on eReality on Sundays at 17:00.

While e.tv is available on free-to-air, the channel is also hosted on all DStv packages on DStv’s channel 194, and the CatchUp episodes will be on eVOD (watch.evod.co.za) from the day after the premiere episode. eReality is available on Openview.

Represented internationally by Banijay Entertainment, MasterChef is the world’s most successful cookery television format (Guinness World Records). Now commissioned across 71 markets, the life-changing show has aired over 700 seasons and more than 16,000 episodes to date. Created by Franc Roddam and first launched in 1990, the superbrand is known and enjoyed worldwide.

MasterChef South Africa is produced by the multi-award-winning production company Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios. The series was once again filmed at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town. 

For more information, visit the official website.

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