Zola Nene back as judge for 5th season of Primedia Studios and Homebrew Films' MasterChef SA on SABC3.

by Thinus Ferreira

The culinary queen Zola Nene will be back as one of the three judges in the new season of MasterChef South Africa coming to SABC3.

Primedia Studios and Homebrew Films are producing a 5th season of the Banijay format cooking competition series jumping from M-Net to SABC3, with Pick n Pay back as the season's sponsor.

South Africans older than 18 have until 15 March to enter on the www.masterchefsa.tv website for a chance to compete in the customised kitchen hall in Cape Town where Zola Nene will taste and judge their food along with two other judges for the winner to eventually bag R1 million.

The 5th season of MasterChef SA will be Zola Nene's second turn judging in the kitchen, after she gave advice, tasted and told contestants to hang up their aprons in the fourth season in 2022. 

"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," says Zola Nene. 

"It's beautiful to watch how the contestants grow and unleash their full potential."

Zola's own journey as a seasoned chef started as a young girl grinding mealies for her gogo's 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 but 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 United Kingdom, 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 and 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 food-making 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."