One of the judge confirmed for fresh fifth season of MasterChef South Africa on SABC3

Culinary queen Zola Nene will put home cooks to the test on SABC 3’s new MasterChef South Africa

When MasterChef South Africa sizzles onto SABC 3 later this year, the vivacious TV chef, award-winning cookbook author and food stylist Zola Nene will be one of the three judges guiding and inspiring passionate home cooks to become culinary maestros.

Although the show’s new home on SABC will allow many South Africans to savour the delights dished up by the local version of the world’s biggest television cooking competition for the first time, Zola is no stranger to the MasterChef kitchen. Mzansi’s beloved food queen also turned on the heat in the show’s previous season on pay television.

Zola is boiling over with excitement about donning the judges’ hat again for MasterChef South Africa’s fresh fifth edition:

“For a food fanatic like me, it’s such a joy and honour to be part of a show that celebrates our unique South African cuisine whilst giving local foodies a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make their dreams come true. It’s beautiful to watch how the contestants grow and unleash their full potential.”

In MasterChef South Africa, twenty home cooks from diverse backgrounds are put through the paces with various challenges, during which they create delicious dishes to impress the judges and avoid landing on the chopping board. Ultimately, the winner scoops up the coveted title of “MasterChef” and a tasty cash prize of R1 million.

Seasoned chef Zola’s own food journey started as a young girl grinding mealies for her gogo’s yummy mealie bread. After experiencing how hearty food can create special bonds between people, Zola realised in her early twenties that her true life-calling was grounded in her roots – celebrating human connections via simple yet scrumptious recipes.

A burning desire to learn the tricks of the trade landed Zola a job at the hot section of a brasserie in the UK, where she quickly became the sous chef. Following this valuable work experience, she returned to South Africa to finesse her skills at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch, which allowed her to work with some of the country’s top chefs.

Since then, Zola has carved a place deep in the hearts of millions of television viewers – from being the resident chef on Expresso to co-judging The Great South African Bake Off, hosting her own show Celeb Feasts with Zola, and impressing the infamous 17-Michelin-star international chef Gordon Ramsey on National Geographic’s Gordon Ramsey’s Unchartered.

Meanwhile, Zola also made her mark by penning down three best-selling cookbooks, Simply Delicious, Simply Zola and Simply Seven Colours,  which have all won the Best in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Zola encourages everyone who shares her incredible passion for food to enter MasterChef South Africa:

“It really doesn’t matter what your foodmaking forté is or which type of South African cuisine you dish up to tickle people’s taste buds. As long as you have an extensive knowledge of flavours and textures, love whipping up food feasts, know your way around the kitchen and have a brewing appetite to learn more about the art of cooking.”

If you have all the qualities described by Zola, you’ll find the MasterChef South Africa entry form on the website, where you’ll find all the instructions. Also, make sure you use this exact website address. Since MasterChef is a global phenomenon produced in many countries, there are dozens of show and fan pages on the internet.

The closing date for entries is 15 March 2024 at 23:59.

MasterChef South Africa Season 5 will be on the S3 schedule from June 2024. The two judges joining Zola on the show and the show’s launch date on SABC3 will be announced in due course.

The multiple-award-winning Cape Town-based production company Homebrew Films will produce MasterChef South Africa for Primedia Studios.

To keep up to speed with the latest news about Primedia Studio programming, download the Primedia+ App from your favourite App Store.

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