Tapfuma Makina is the new host of Ultimate Braai Master on e.tv for season 8.

by Thinus Ferreira

The new host of Ultimate Braai Master for the reality braai competition's 8th season is Tapfuma Makina who is replacing show creator Justin Bonello.

Tapfuma Makina joins the Trace Studios produced series in which several teams of two will once again compete against each other - this season across venues in the Western Cape - to see who South Africa's latest braai champions are, in 13 episodes starting on e.tv on Saturday 5 February at 17:00.

Tapfuma Makina takes over as presenter from Justin Bonello for the 8th season, with the series retaining judges Peter Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng from previous seasons.

Tapfuma Makina who has presented various TV series and is also known as a TV sports news anchor on e.tv and a radio host, has a B.Sc degree in biochemistry and microbiology, and says he's excited to be a part of Ultimate Braai Master as the new host.

On taking over from Justin Bonello as Ultimate Braai Master host, Tapfuma Makina says "it's an honour to take up the baton. Justin created one of South Africa's most iconic and longest-running reality TV shows".

"That we're now in season eight of the show proves how phenomenal a concept it is, and how loved he was as a host. It's a privilege to be a part of the house that Bonello built".

"I love food but I am no chef, and have nothing but respect for those with that innate talent - I leave that to the experts Benny and Pete, now in their 5th season together on Ultimate Braai Master. Who better to judge?"

"I'm simply taskmaster, my job is to help the braai master hopefuls, and our audience navigate the mechanics of the show, and steer them through the twists and turns that comprise the journey to finding the next Ultimate Braai Master."

After travelling across South Africa in previous season for challenges, the series switched to using just the Eastern Cape province in the 7th season and now just the Western Cape for the latest upcoming season, marking a slight format change for the show which will likely start to utilise specific provinces for future seasons. 

With Ultimate Braai Master that was picked up by Netflix last season besides its airing on e.tv, Ultimate Braai Master with its new Western Cape season plans to "showcase the wealth of produce celebrated in the region, from free-range dairy and grain-fed cattle, to fresh grown organic vegetables from farm to braai to table".

Ultimate Braai Master back for season 8 and new host on e.tv in 2023.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African competition reality show Ultimate Braai Master will be back for an 8th season in 2023 on e.tv and will be switching to the Western Cape, with creator Justin Bonello stepping away as host but retaining judges Peter Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng.

With a new host still to be announced, season 8 of Ultimate Braai Master will be on e.tv from 5 February 2023 at 17:00, with the show telling TVwithThinus it will be filmed between 26 October and 2 December and in the Western Cape this year for 13 episodes after two seasons shot in the Eastern Cape.

With over 8 million viewers who watched season 7 on e.tv as well as on the eXtra and eReality channels on eMedia's Openview satellite service, the show was also picked up by Netflix for a global audience since February this year.

"Another very exciting chapter in the Ultimate Braai Master journey lies ahead of us," says Sivan Pillay, Trace Studios CEO. 

"Trace Studios looks forward to producing another series and is very excited about the sponsor partnerships that G2Connection has brought to the Ultimate Braai Master brand. In addition, there will be a new host presenting the show this round."

The 8th season of Ultimate Braai Master will feature 10 teams having to braai all kinds of food in various locations in all kinds of manner, and will be filmed in the Western Cape. 

The season plans to "showcase the wealth of produce celebrated in the region, from free range dairy and grain fed cattle, to fresh grown organic vegetables from farm to braai to table".

UNDER FIRE. Ultimate Braai Master returns for a 7th season with Justin Bonello and judges Pete Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng.

by Thinus Ferreira

The braai reality competition show Ultimate Braai Master (UBM) returns for its 7th season on Saturday at 18:00 on e.tv, with Justin Bonello who is once again the presenter and with Pete Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng returning as judges for an "Under Fire"-themed season.

The new season was filmed in Gqeberha during August and September as a Covid-19 safe bubble production, featuring new teams and contestants from across South Africa who have to braai within the allocated time, according to themes, come rain, wind or sunshine.

"The last 18 months have been a trying time for all South Africans, so I was delighted by the high standard of talent that applied to be a part of Ultimate Braai Master, so much so that making the decision about the final teams was really tough," says Justin Bonello.

"We also spent time identifying great locations in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. We wanted locations that were going to test both the contestants' resilience and cooking ability, and at the same time showcase what a great tourist destination Nelson Mandela Bay is. It is a very exciting series."

Benny Masekwameng says that "What I most enjoy about Ultimate Braai Master is how the show's diversity unites everyone around one fire".

"I really enjoy the innovation and creativity that this group brings to the show.  The camaraderie that is built during the shoot endures long after the show has aired."

This Ultimate Braai Master season has been themed "Under Fire" with episodes that will repeat on Saturdays on the eReality channel at 16:00 and on eExtra on Sundays at 14:35.

ALSO READ: 7th season of Ultimate Braai Master to film in Nelson Mandela Bay over 6 weeks as a contained Covid-safe bubble show, will broadcast on e.tv and stream on Netflix.

7th season of Ultimate Braai Master to film in Nelson Mandela Bay over 6 weeks as a contained Covid-safe bubble show, will broadcast on e.tv and stream on Netflix.

by Thinus Ferreira

The reality competition show Ultimate Braai Master has been picked up for a 7th season and will this time be broadcast on e.tv and streamed on Netflix SA while it has become the second series that will be produced as a Covid-19-safe bubble production in the Eastern Cape following shortly on the heels of M-Net's upcoming latest season of Survivor SA that was also shot in the province.

Gqeberha, previously Port Elizabeth, will pay R2 million to the production of the 7th season of Ultimate Braai Master, with host Justin Bonello, for the series to film a self-contained season within the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality. 

In previous seasons, Ultimate Braai Master produced by Okuhle Media, would criss-cross South Africa in roadtrips for braai challenges at various scenic locations in the country.

However, with the ongoing Covid-pandemic, the only viable and practical possibility is to film a new season of Ultimate Braai Master over the course of 6 weeks that is geographically contained. This is similar to what Afrokaans did for M-Net with Survivor SA: Immunity Island in the Eastern Cape that will play out on the Wild Coast from June.

Besides Justin Bonello, the chef-judges Peter Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng will return to judge the braai challenges in which teams of two compete against each other to win R1 million. 

The season of 13 episodes will again be shown on e.tv and for the first time in Ultimate Braai Master history, on Netflix SA as well.

About the Nelson Mandela Bay metro paying R2 million to the show, mayor Nqaba Bhanga in a statement says that "We believe sport and entertainment unifies our people, it's not about politics. We support this - this show will put us on Netflix, we will be watched by the entire globe and throughout South Africa and we will be the centre of attraction".

"We don't want to compete with Durban and Cape Town, we are competing with the world. We are not setting the bar low."

"We want to see value for money as our hospitality industry has suffered and we want to inject money that will assist the industry."

Thsonono Buyeye, deputy exeuctive mayor, says "We welcome this show, the exposure that we will be receiving as a city is massive. We fully support this, we wish to thank SRAC, I think this is a brilliant one that we should support. It is what we have been calling for; that we should be a destination of choice for such events".

The ultimate braai master of the universe: Justin Bonello's Ultimate Braai Master going global as the 4th season starts on the Travel Channel and beyond.

South Africa's ultimate braai master Justin Bonello is the king of the grill, but he's actually the king of the world.

The presenter and producer of Ultimate Braai Master which has seen seasons of his braai competition show on SABC3, then e.tv, and now also on the Travel Channel (DStv 179) on MultiChoice's DStv platform is going global: Discovery Networks International bought it as well and the format rights have been sold to Canada and America.

With the fourth season of Ultimate Braai Master starting on the Travel Channel on Tuesday 29 March (the season that recently was shown and concluded on e.tv), Justin Bonello is already working on the 5th season that will be broadcast later this year on e.tv.

Viewers who haven't seen the 4th season can now catch up and watch it on the Travel Channel from 29 March at 21:00 and see 15 teams of two, pitted against each other, competing in grueling outdoor braai challenges over the course of 52 days and 8 000 km through South Africa.

Sourcing all their own ingredients, their skills are pushed to the limits who will be crowned king of the grill. What am I saying? The king of the grill is Justin Bonello.

"This is our 4th season of Ultimate Braai Master and we're really privileged to be having it on air on the Travel Channel again," says Justin Bonello.

Discovery Networks International bought it as well; it's going to be on air in South America and the Caribbean. The first format rights are up in Canada and the United States so you're going to see an international version of Ultimate Braai Master," says Justin Bonello, adding: "but they're never going to be able to do what we do!"

"It's going to be quite interesting to see how they tackle a homegrown reality show. It's a format that was created by South Africans, with South Africans, with the South African psyche. And hopefully it will be doing the same for those countries as well."

"I'm still looking forward to hearing myself in German, and Mandarin!"

"I created this show and literally the day we finish shooting one season we start pre-production on the next one; it's a 12-month cycle for me," he says. 

This year the 5th season of Ultimate Braai Master has been delayed until June because Coca-Cola that was onboard as a sponsor unexpectedly pulled out.

"Coca-Cola changing global strategy told us that they're not taking part this year. A lot of people in the media game understand that the media spend is completely different from what it used to be a year ago and we're all fighting much harder for that. And sadly Ultimate Braai Master is reliant on sponsors to get the show on air."

"We are still really proud of the show, it stars South Africans and celebrates who we are as a people featuring some of the most beautiful landscapes," says Justin Bonello.

I asked him about the creative evolution of Ultimate Braai Master from the first season to now, and how the challenges, design and places evolved. Does he know beforehand how many things he want to change every season and then pace and limit himself to rather add some of it to future seasons?

"Every year you change what you know," says Justin Bonello.

"I'm so embarrassed when I look back at season one of any show I've every shot. I looked at the first season of Cooked the other day and on a production level I thought 'Did you really do that? Did you really say that? How did you edit that so badly?"

"So for me there's a lovely evolution with any show you do. There's always a lovely evolution with shows you produce. And when you sit down in your editing suite at the end of the day you really beat yourself over the head because you say 'I could have made this so much better."

"And I feel sometimes quite sad in South Africa that because the budgets are so restricted, what happens is that producers must make their money from the production, and what happens is that the production suffers."

"So we've always looked at it from the other level, where you go out and create the best content that you can, with everything that you can. Nowadays I also watch Netflix where I choose what I want to watch when I want to watch."

"And that selection is going to become bigger and bigger in our mindsets. So why would you watch a substandard locally produced South African show when you can choose from anything available in the world?" says Justin Bonello.

"You get local broadcasters, putting schlock up there that no-one watches and it's happening already - I've seen some of your scathing articles of the SABC - and it shouldn't be like that."

"We all watch the best content that we can. You go and see a movie, it's a Hollywood blockbuster, then we must go home and watch drivel produced. It's not right. As producers we should produce great content."

"South Africa is really blessed with great film crews; Cape Town has Black Sails [Starz produced drama on History, DStv 186) under produced - that's a world-standard series being produced in Cape Town."

"We need to keep pushing boundaries. I will die before I put sh*t content on TV," said Justin Bonello.

I also wondered why he shoots every season during winter. And then once it starts its almost two months of producing a non-stop show. How challenging is that in terms of weather and the multitude of places the show visits?

"It's cheaper for us to shoot Ultimate Braai Master out of season," Justin Bonello reveals.

"We have 30 contestants, 70 crew and go all around the country. We must accommodate those people everywhere. If we did it in high season, we wouldn't be able to go to some of the places that we're at. In terms of content? We have a rule on the road: Come rain or shine, we braai."

"With Ultimate Braai Master we've had snow in the Drakensberg, hail, you name it, it's happened to us and we just carry on."

Ultimate Braai Master has been nominated for a South African Film and Television Award (Safta) and I wondered how Justin Bonello feels it.

"It's its second year that it's up for a Safta. It won last year. It's nice to be recognised always by your peers for the work that you produce."

"I'd rather be standing there with an Emmy - we entered it for the International Emmys as well - but I'm very proud that we got nominated for the Saftas again this year and recognised for our production," says Justin Bonello.

The 4th season of Ultimate Braai Master starts on the Travel Channel (DStv 179) on 29 March at 21:00.

Ultimate Braai Master back for a new season on e.tv from 20 September at 16:00 with Justin Bonello and judges Bertus Basson, Petrus Madutlela.

The new 4th season of Ultimate Braai Master, named Ultimate Braai Master Game On, will start on 20 September at 16:00 on e.tv, with repeats on Saturdays at 13:00.

Ultimate Braai Master is once again produced by Cooked in Africa Films and follows 13 teams traveling for 60 days and competing in grueling braai challenges.

The new season of Ultimate Braai Master kicks off at the Gariep Dam Forever Resort in the Karoo and from here teams self-drive across some of the country’s most rugged and treacherous back roads, covering 7 000 kilometres including visits to the Wild Coast and the Drakensberg.

Justin Bonello is once again the presenter, with judges Bertus Basson and Petrus Madutlela.

This year's winners of Ultimate Braai Master will also be traveling to America to compete as South Africa at the World Food Championships in Florida in October 2016.

TOLDJA! Ultimate Braai Master now on e.tv for its 3rd season from 11 September; 15 competing braai teams announced.

e.tv is finally officially announcing what TV with Thinus readers have known for months since February - that Ultimate Braai Master with Justin Bonello has jumped TV channels from SABC3 to e.tv.

"This is an acquisition e.tv is incredibly proud of," says Monde Twala, the group head of e.tv's channels division about the third season of the show.

Pick n Pay is still the sponsor of this advertiser-funded (AFP) TV production, but Ultimate Braai Master will no longer be shown on SABC3 but on e.tv from Thursday 11 September at 20:30 for 13 episodes.

This means that South African TV viewers will also be able to watch Ultimate Braai Master in high definition (HD) for the first time on OpenView HD where e.tv HD (OVHD 104) is shown as an HD channel.

Ultimate Braai Master is produced by food provocateur Justin Bonello's film company, Cooked in Africa Films.

Fifteen braai teams will compete against each other across South Africa in grueling and innovative outdoor cooking challenges.

As previously reported, the South African born chef Petrus Madutlela who returned to South Africa, has joined Ultimate Braai Master as a new judge. The other judge is Bertus Basson.

Here's the 15 braai teams competing in the third season of Ultimate Braai Master:

1.     Team Santa Anna’s: friends from Stellenbosch, Braai Master Piet Marais and Braai Buddy Frik Oosthuizen.

2.     Team Braai Dukes: cousins from Durban, Braai Master Milani Motlohi and Braai Buddy Kevin Jonas.

3.     Team Bushies Gone Wild: friends from Durban, Braai Master Sherwyn Weaich and Braai Buddy Zane Jacobs.

4.     Team Ala Mofepe: colleagues from Pretoria, Braai Master Freddy Buyane and Braai Buddy Jabu Mahlangu.

5.     Team Simply Sisters: friends from Pretoria, Braai Master Busisiwe Dhladhla "Bee" and Braai Buddy Thembeka Ngcobo "T.T".

6.     Team Kaiings and Afval: a couple from Johannesburg, Braai Master Tippie Enslin and Braai Buddy Santie Mostert.

7.     Team Smokey and The Bandit: a brother and sister from Queensborough, Braai Master Barend Deminey and Braai Buddy Lente Deminey.

8.     Team Tenacity: a couple from Cape Town, Braai Master Rod Hemphill and Braai Buddy Lesley Verhoef.

9.     Team Sugar and Spice: friends from Johannesburg, Braai Master Celeste Raynard and Braai Buddy Chantel Geerdes.

10.   Team Tong in Cheek: friends from Johannesburg, Braai Master Penny Rider and Braai Buddy Dee McCool.

11.   Team The Fire Feeders: friends from Port Elizabeth, Braai Master Stuart Smith and Braai Buddy Bretton-Anne Moolman "BA".

12.   Team Weskus Braaiers: best friends for life from Langebaan, the West Coast of South Africa, Braai Master John Grundlingh and Braai Buddy Julian Mori. 

13.   Team Mix Masala: friends from Stanger (Kwa-Dukuza), Braai Master Sujith Singh and Braai Buddy Prishen Maharaj.

14.   Team Delicious Foodies: a daughter and mother duo from Gordon’s Bay, Braai Master Brigitte Leclercq and Braai Buddy Lynn Leclercq.

15.   Joining the 14 teams is Pick 'n Pay’s Wild Card team, Tikka Boys, represented by Braai Master Mohamed Yusuf Sujee from Ottery, Cape Town and his friend and Braai Buddy Stephen Mandes, from Parow, Cape Town. 

BREAKING. Ultimate Braai Master moving to e.tv from SABC3, no explanation as yet why the show is jumping TV channels.

The advertiser-funded show Ultimate Braai Master is moving to e.tv and leaving SABC3 for its 3rd season; there's no explanation as yet as to why the Justin Bonello fronted reality braai show is changing South African TV channels.

People can now enter for the the third season of Ultimate Braai Master which closes on 21 February. The competition will start in May and the season will be broadcast on e.tv this year in time for the year's summer time braai season.

With the change in channels, the show, produced by Cooked in Africa Films, will likely no longer be integrated with appearances on SABC3's breakfast show Expresso, (although Pick n Pay remains a sponsor of both shows) and no longer do synergy appearance such as SABC3's Top Billing.

However there will likely be new cross-promotional avenues on e.tv itself as the new Ultimate Braai Master channel, such as that channel's breakfast show Sunrise, and programmes on the OpenViewHD (OVHD) platform's TV channels which are run by e.tv's sister company Sabido.

The third season of Ultimate Braai Master has a new judge in the form of executive chef, Petrus Madutlela who will joins presenter Justin Bonello and executive chef judge Bertus Basson.

Petrus Madutlela is currently in London but will return to South Africa in May once filming on the third season starts.

In this new season 15 teams will travel across 9 000 km of South Africa. Justin Bonello calls the road-trip "a life-changing experience".

Shortlisted contestants will have to show their braai skills at four regional auditions taking place during March in Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Durban and Cape Town after which 15 teams will eventually be selected to take part in the competition and the filming of the show in May.

PATHETIC. SABC3's Ultimate Braai Master doesn't have a snow ball in a braai fire's chance of going down well with some TV critics.

How's this for braai pathetic publicity? Justin Bonello's Ultimate Braai Master starts tonight on SABC3 but couldn't care less about inviting TV critics and TV writers to the official launch braai event - let alone doing the basic bare minimum which is in my opinion to just to keep people writing and covering television in the loop, and to just tell them about it.

On an interesting side note I actually took initiative at the beginning of the month to try and find out if or whether or what is happening with the show with its broadcasting starting date looming. Wasn't told about anything happening.

Well, good luck finding people writing about television writing prose about this seemingly cheap show henceforth. Not good enough to know; not good enough to write about your show.

BREAKING. New local reality cooking show with Justin Bonello, Ultimate Braai Master, coming to SABC3 from September.

A new local reality cooking show is coming to South African television with Ultimate Braai Master which will start on SABC3 in September with Justin Bonello and South Africans who would now be able to enter for the show.

The original reality TV cooking competition will start on SABC3 on 13 September with 15 teams of two contestants each consisting of a Braai Master and a Braai Buddy. In Ultimate Braai Master contestants will battle it out over 52 days in a culinary adventure that includes 13 location based challenges over 8 000km.

Justin Bonello already has 5 seasons of Cooked under his belt as well as four best-selling cookbooks and says he wants to produce a local reality TV show that will ''showcase the beauty, diversity, unique flavours and local delicacies that characterise some of South Africa's best off-the-beaten track locations''.

''But Ultimate Braai Master isn't going to be a picnic,” he says. ''To earn The Ultimate Braai Master title, teams will have to sign up for a 52 day road trip, during which time they'll be expected to occasionally catch their own food, source their ingredients under the toughest conditions, and cook to a standard of culinary excellence that will thrill our judges and raise the bar on the kinds of meals that can be produced on an open fire.''

Ultimate Braai Master is open to all those food lovers who consider themselves above average cooks, aged 18 years and older, with a valid driver's license. Contestants will be able to enter online at http://www.ultimatebraaimaster.com/ from Monday 26 March until Monday 27 April.

Shortlisted contestants will be put through their paces at three regional auditions in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg in May, where Justin Bonello together with the Ultimate Braai Master judges will select the final 15 teams.

Filming for Ultimate Braai Master will start in July and the finale of the show starting in September will be shown on SABC3 on 6 December.