Disney Africa renews youth cooking show, Disney Cookabout, on the Disney Channel for a 3rd season; doing an open casting call for Gauteng kids only.

Disney Africa has renewed its South African youth cooking show, Disney Cookabout on the Disney Channel (DStv 303) produced by Penguin Films for an 18-episode third season, and is doing an open casting call looking for Gauteng kids only.

Presenters Kirsten Mohamed and Mthunzi Ntoyi will both return for the third season of Cookabout.

Filming will start after the audition process has been completed and the third season will be broadcast on the Disney Channel later in 2019.

Previously filmed in Cape Town and the Western Cape, filming of the third season of Cookabout is moving to Gauteng in which kids known as "cooktestants" go on "food adventures" to learn where food comes from, and then taking part in kitchen cooking challenges.

Disney Africa is doing an open casting call for the first time for the series, looking for kids aged between 10 and 13 who can enter until Sunday 20 January 2019 at 22:00. 

Parents who want to enter their children for Cookabout can record a short video clip sharing a little bit about themselves and what would make them a good choice for the show. 

The video should be in mp4 format, be no more than 250MB in size and 1 minute in duration, and must be uploaded at www.disneycookabout.co.za.

Kids need to be available between 31 January and 2 February 2019 to attend physical auditions and screenings. 

"Disney Cookabout seeks to inspire and empower kids and their families to make healthy choices and learn about food sourcing and production in an exciting and educational way," says Christine Service, the senior vice president and country manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa.

"We are thrilled to be bringing a new season to South African audiences and give kids across Gauteng the chance to be part of the culinary fun and adventure."

Disney Africa's first long-form local South African show, Disney Cookabout on SABC2, goes on a youth cooking adventure through the Western Cape.

Disney Cookabout that just started on Fridays at 15:30 on SABC2 is Disney Africa's first long-form series produced in South Africa and is a weekly youth food preparation and cooking adventure game show.

Produced by Penguin Films for The Walt Disney Company Africa, Disney Cookabout presented by Kirsten Mohamed and Mthunzi Ntoyi, travels across the Western Cape in the 26 half-hour episodes with a group of young "cooktestants" all in search of the freshest ingredients.

Halfway through every episode of Disney Cookabout a 3-minute Disney Channel Mickey Mouse animation appears, before returning to the show to follow the progress of the "cooktestants".

Each week the "cooktestants" battle it out to take home the Silver Spoon as they carry out challenges at the various locations and attempt to create the tastiest dish in the kitchen – all in a race to be awarded the Cookabout Golden Trophy.

"Through Disney Cookabout’s action-packed, fun-filled approach to sourcing food and creating delicious and nutritious meals, we hope that kids and families will be inspired to take an active interest in their well-being and encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles," says Christine Service, the senior vice president and country manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa.

"With exploration, comedy and fascinating insights added into the mix, we are thrilled to be presenting something fresh, new and entertaining for South African audiences."

"As our first ever local, long-form television series production, Disney Cookabout reaffirms Disney's commitment to contributing to the local creative community, creating and distributing content that is not only globally connected but locally relevant too."

During production with executive producer Roberta Durrant, Disney Cookabout visited 21 locations, including organic farms, spice shops and food markets across the Western Cape with nearly 200 kids who auditioned to be a part of the show. Disney Cookabout was filmed over 32 days and 78 meals were cooked.