Justine Drake is also back as MasterChef SA judge for the 5th season on SABC3.

by Thinus Ferreira

Justine Drake is also returning as a judge for the new 5th season of MasterChef South Africa on SABC3.

Justine Drake who was a judge on the 4th season of MasterChef SA and the editor of Pick n Pay's Fresh Living magazine, joins the already-announced Zola Nene who was also a judge in 2022.

Homebrew Films is responsible for production and is testing a string of tricky challenges the chosen homecook contestants will have to prepare in limited time using ingredients from the Pick n Pay pantry with the retailer which is also back in the latest season of the Banijay format cooking competition show secured for SABC3 by Primedia Studios.

South African contestants have until the end of the day on 15 March to enter with the season that will be shown on SABC3 from mid-June.

"The aim of the show is to allow home cooks to achieve their MasterChef status," says Justine. "However it doesn't arrive on a silver platter. The participants are put to the test in gruelling challenges, and to reach the top of the culinary ladder, they have to be disciplined and willing to learn."

She really wants people who think they can do it, to enter at masterchefsa.tv . "If you have a culinary vision and are ready to work hard to achieve your culinary dream, the world is your oyster with this show."

Andrew Mills, Pick n Pay chief marketing officer, says "The role of MasterChef judge fits Justine, an esteemed foodie, like a stylish kitchen glove".

"For many years, she has helped our customers serve up delicious dishes through the Fresh Living publication and, as a judge in 2022, demonstrated an authentic connection with people from diverse backgrounds and different food cultures. She is also a hard taskmaster who always strives for excellence."

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

ALSO READ: Entries open for 5th season of MasterChef SA.

ALSO READ: Primedia Studios and Homebrew Films to plate 5th season of MasterChef SA for SABC3.

MasterChef SA S4 Day 2: Out for a duck.

by Thinus Ferreira

In the second episode of the 4th season of MasterChef SA on M-Net (DStv 101) it was instantly clear that MasterChef SA judge Gregory Czarnecki's duck dish would be the most difficult to get right out of the three judges' dishes - which led to contestant Mohammed getting axed.

In Tuesday evening's episode, the contestants were divided up between the three judges and had to prepare one of their dishes that revealed a bit about themselves, with judge Zola Nene that said they were looking forward "to tasting my memories through your cooking".

There was Gregory Czarnecki's "duck a la Orange" - a simple yet very difficult recipe to execute with the secret in the sauce - with duck fat confit potatoes and sultana pancakes.

Zola Nene's "isinkwa sombilla" had steamed mielie bread, cheese sausage and apple chutney that was made by her maternal grandmother.

Judge Justine Drake's dish was an Asian noodle broth of ramen, fragrant meat and vegetables.

Several of the contestants mentioned to the judges that they felt like failures when it came time to bring their dish to the judges' table.

Tasnim came close to tears, telling them that "It fell apart. It's really not what I wanted to put in front of you, I mean no disrespect."

She made Justine's noodle dish - and what a surprise: She got one of the highest scores and had nothing to be worried about.

Mohammed said "I feel angry and I feel embarrassed and I feel ashamed to bring something like this forward".

In the end Onezwa, Masedi and Mohammed rounded out the bottom three, with Mohammed who got sent home after Gregory said that his duck dish "didn't bring the emotion that I was looking for".

First time cooking duck

"Following on from the introductory episode and the challenge of preparing a starter, Tuesday's second episode is where the judges were introduced to DStv subscribers and the contestants," says content producer Errieda du Toit.

"Each of the three judges presented a definitive dish that says something about them. The contestants had to draw a card to see which dish they had to prepare, and they had to replicate it exactly."

"For most of them it was the first time eating duck, cooking duck - the daylights frightened out of them having to make duck a la Orange."

ALSO READ: MasterChef SA S4 Day 1: Spilling the tea inside the MasterChef cathedral.

MasterChef SA season 4 on M-Net: The judges are Justine Drake, Zola Nene and Gregory Czarnecki.

by Thinus Ferreira

The three new judges for the fourth season of MasterChef SA on M-Net (DStv 101) are the food editor Justine Drake as well as the local and international chefs Zola Nene and Gregory Czarnecki.

The fourth season of MasterChef SA, filmed at the V&A Waterfront's Makers Landing in Cape Town, where the kitchen for the contestants was constructed, will start on Monday 28 February at 18:00 and will this time run with daily episodes from Mondays to Thursdays, with the finale on Thursday 31 March in which the winner gets R1 million.

"We are focused on improving the gender balance in MasterChef judges worldwide. Over the last couple of years, we have increased the number of female judges and this is something we are continuing to improve upon," says Dave De Bie, format consultant at Banijay, the content producers who own the rights to the show.

"Out of 37 active markets, 26 now have female judges. We are delighted that MasterChef SA joins the likes of Israel, Norway and Brazil with two female experts on their panel."

Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice CEO of general entertainment and connected video, says "We're very excited to have one of our most-loved shows – and toughest of reality competitions – returning to our screen after some time away",

"We have always had a rich crop of home chefs to choose from, but the pandemic has certainly created more, and this is the perfect time for MasterChef South Africa to make a comeback."

As the culinary masters whose palates and expertise will guide a new crop of contestants in the MasterChef SA kitchen, Gregory Czarnecki will bring the perspective of an international chef with Zola Nene and Justine Drake being the local experts.

Zola Nene's professional journey with food started in 2007 when she enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch.

She has since gone on to great success within the food industry and in television and authored two popular cookbooks – 2017's Simply Delicious and 2018's Simply Zola. She was also part of the judging panel for The Great South African Bake Off on BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174) in 2017.

Born in France to parents who were gourmands, Gregory Czarnecki was head chef at The Restaurant at Waterkloof and won the coveted Chef of the Year award from Eat Out in 2016. 

He served as a mentor for the prestigious S. Pellegrino Young Chef competition in Africa and the Middle East, and his French heritage is carried intelligently and creatively in his food.

Justine Drake is the launch editor of Pick n Pay's Fresh Living magazine. Having worked in food media since 1988, she has authored five cookbooks, is an experienced TV host and during the Covid-19 pandemic started hosting Just Cook at Home SA with Justine Drake on YouTube.

ALSO READ: M-Net’s MasterChef South Africa season 4 wraps filming at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront.

ALSO READ: M-Net revives MasterChef South Africa for a 4th season from February 2022 as comfort food television this time with Homebrew producing in Cape Town as a Covid-19 safe bubble production.

TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. On not being good enough for Gordon Ramsay and National Geographic - although Zola Nene answered a question.

by Thinus Ferreira

Besides the chef-wannabe's in Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef who definitely have personal experience of it and who know how it feels not to be good enough for the infamously caustic chef Gordon Ramsay, I suppose I can say I know a little bit how it feels not being good enough to make the cut as well.

The second season of Gordon Ramsay: Unchartered starts tonight on National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220).

It starts with a South African filmed episode in which Gordon Ramsay makes food with the South African chef Zola Nene in KwaZulu-Natal where he learns more about Zulu traditions.

In late-July The Walt Disney Company Africa that oversees the National Geographic channel in the territory decided to do a Zoom media presentation to promote the second season of Gordon Ramsay: Unchartered.

It did so around using the localised hook of the South African filmed episode in which Zola Nene appeared, in the form of an interactive, virtual cook-along session with Zola Nene.

The media were couriered ingredients that arrived on the day and Zola Nene showed how to make chakalaka.

National Geographic during the Zoom suddenly told the media "that it was wonderful seeing what we saw on set coming to screen". Mmm. Was there a South African episode set visit? Surely National Geographic would have communicated that?

National Geographic allowed media to type questions into the Q&A box during the Zoom media presentation.

TVwithThinus participated whilst trying to make chakalaka and typed and asked if Gordon Ramsay was as sarcastic and overbearing as he is known for in his reality shows.

"That's the Gordon that I expected too," said Zola Nene. "I'm a bit feisty too, so I was ready. If Gordon's gonna swear on me, I was ready for a comeback too, you know. And he was such a gentleman. So, so warm. So interested. So engaging."

"He was so lovely. So no Hell's Kitchen Gordon was revealed to me on set. So patient. The National Geographic team is so organised, and everything runs on schedule so there isn't really opportunity to be impatient. Everything happened as they told me it would."

"There was no diva tendencies at all. And you know, what the most surprising thing was when I first met Gordon? How tall the man is. I'm telling you, TV does not do it justice. He is so tall."

After the conclusion of the Zoom presentation and then doing research on the show for the season, it turned out that yes, there was actually a media set visit.

National Geographic invited media and took them to the Gwahumbe Game Lodge and Spa in Illovo in KwaZulu-Natal in December 2019 to meet and interview Gordon Ramsay personally.

Of course it's completely National Geographic's choice and prerogative as to which media it values and invites on press engagements, and what media National Geographic wanted to take to the set visit and give access to Gordon Ramsay during the filming of the South African episode.

While some media got to do sit-down interviews with Gordon Ramsay in December for the show, months later the rest got to make chakalaka.

This TV critic and journalist is terrible in the kitchen and the chakalaka wasn't bad but tasted borderline-fine. For dinner on 29 July three people ate it all.

What left a bad aftertaste after the Zoom presentation though, was discovering that National Geographic did a set visit but couldn't bother to communicate any of that to the media that it interacts with.

Is it sour grapes to have an expectation that at the very least National Geographic could just have said that a set visit is happening?

Is it wrong to think that National Geographic's reps could maybe have reached out to offer up something like a short phoner interview for media who were not good enough to have been invited to set?

Is it unreasonable to have an expectation that National Geographic could just have informed journalists and the leftovers media contingent that "Hey, just want to touch base that Gordon Ramsay is in South Africa and that there is a press engagement for just certain media but we'll have something for the rest of you later"?

It's an odd feeling when you set aside and give your time and effort to engage with a brand making chakalaka for a TV show as part of a marketing and publicity exercise, only for it to turn into a distinct sense the next day of feeling like you're not good enough for the actual main course - except to give exposure to it.

The Wedding Bashers weigh in before tonight's second season finale as M-Net says the broadcaster is considering more of the special 'give-back' wedding episodes.

The celebrities judging the various weddings on The Wedding Bashers weighed in on the second season before the broadcast of the second season finale on Sunday at 18:00 on M-Net (DStv 101), with the pay-TV broadcaster saying that besides a possible third season, it's definitely looking at doing more of the special "give-back" episodes.

Jason Greer, who will be the host of The Bachelor SA starting on 14 February on M-Net and produced by Rapid Blue, is also the presenter of the second season finale of The Wedding Bashers produced by [SIC] Entertainment, that was filmed as a pre-recorded, live-to-tape episode on Thursday evening with a live studio audience at Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg.

In this evening's second season finale, the top 5 couples return who got the highest scores from the bashers, with the couple who received the most votes from viewers who will win fantastic prizes including cash, jewellery and a sponsored fantasy island honeymoon to the Seychelles.

The second season of The Wedding Bashers, a hugely popular original concept production, was changed to feature one wedding per episode, as well as an amended leaderboard to show the scores from the experts with Bernelee Daniell and Zola Nene who replaced Cindy Nell and Siba Mtongana.

"I enjoyed being part of people's love stories because I love going to weddings, and secondly to have done this with the three other bashers. They are like friends that have become family," fashionista and former Miss SA Bernelee Daniell told TVwithThinus before the recording on Thursday night of the second season finale.

"When there were long periods between weddings, we would really miss each other. We would go: 'When's our next wedding?"

"I've learnt a lot about weddings - especially from the other bashers - like Zavion who taught us what an oasis, the wet floral foam, is and how you're not supposed to see an oasis, Denise with entertainment, Zola with food - I really, really learnt a lot about how a wedding should run smoothly. Heaven forbid I ever get married again, I'd know what to do," said Bernelee Daniell.

"From us travelling to weddings to the bantering that goes on in the car, to the bantering in hair and makeup, to the mischief that we get up to at weddings, I could never single out a favourite moment with any of them. I had the best time."

Zavion Kotze, wedding planner, said "we got along so well; love the two new bashers, they're like family".

About the second season following after the special give-back episodes in which the bashers organised and put together weddings for special, deserving South Africans, Zavion Kotze said "it was weird not organising weddings anymore, and I really miss them; and as for the wedding we did go to they were just so much fun."

"It was an eclectic mix of couples this season and that's what I liked the most because it was a huge variety."

Was there something new the celebrity wedding maestro learnt about weddings and doing them? "I didn't see anything in the second season that I learnt new, I often find that people do what is currently on trend and I like to think that sometimes I think ahead of trend, but all the couples did amazingly and I'm super happy with what I saw, and I think the couples had fun. I hope none of them hates me."

"The road trips were the best," said Zavion Kotze when asked for his favourite moment between the celebrity bashers.

"The jokes that happened on the road and those hours and hours spent in car rides are the best stories that you just can't retell for obvious reasons. But just getting to know each other was the best part of everything."

Celebrity chef Zola Nene told TVwithThinus that "what I enjoyed the most about this season was being part of people's love stories and just to witness their love for each other. And working with my fellow bashers has been such a ride, I had so much fun".

"I keep saying to people the fact that I can call going to weddings and having fun a job is like a dream, really, so I've loved every minute."

"What I've learnt is that people don't seem to realise how important a part the food is at a wedding. They seem to trials and taste cakes and do all of that stuff, but they never actually taste-test the food. So they're always surprised at their wedding when the food is bad which is so bizarre to me because it's an important part - it's something that people remember."

Asked about the funniest part for her this season Zola Nene said "was watching Denise reacting to the bird - I cried laughing. I mean, I'm scared of a bird too but the way that she was scared of the bird was insane. We had so many fun moment and we do have many laughs."

About the season's changes, Kaye-Ann Williams, M-Net's head of local content, said that "when you do come up with these local original productions, you're constantly tweaking it from season to season and looking at what worked and what viewers' responses were".

"We also did a focus group as well throughout the country so we got a lot of feedback on the first season of The Wedding Bashers. About a possible third season what we do is we look at the ratings, we look at our schedule, we look at our budget and then we'll make a decision about a season 3."

Kaye-Ann Williams said she was in love with The Wedding Bashers special episodes "probably because I got married as a poor student with R10 000, so you understand how difficult it is and how cash-strapped you are and how important the day is. So what the focus of the specials are is really giving a wedding to people who really need it."

"I think M-Net will definitely consider doing that again; it's such a feel-good thing to do but it's not without drama and conflict and entertainment."


ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. Photos from behind-the-scenes of the second season finale of The Wedding Bashers on M-Net.
ALSO READ: Humble Port Alfred couple, Megan and Jason Sharrock, wins the second season of The Wedding Bashers on M-Net.

Okuhle Media behind chef Zola Nene's latest TV cooking show vehicle; with 13-episode, Celeb Feasts with Zola, starting on Mzansi Magic on 8 January 2019.

Celeb Feasts with Zola is a new cooking show that will start on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) on Tuesday 8 January at 21:30 with chef Zola Nene cooking with celebrities.

The 13-episode Celeb Feasts with Zola, produced by Okuhle Media, is a cooking-talk show in which the chef does three recipes per episode while interviewing a guest and sharing cooking and baking tips with viewers in Zola's kitchen.

Okuhle Media says Celeb Feasts with Zola will shows viewers how to prepare quintessential South African cuisine, while sharing personal stories from role models that can help to change lives.

By the time her guests arrive, Zola Nene would have already prepared the starter. Then both celebrity and Zola go to work in the kitchen as they chop, peel, stir and share fond memories and moments that have shaped their lives.

M-Net's The Wedding Bashers replaces two presenters with Zola Nene and Bernelee Daniell, adds 4 specials from April before the 2nd season starts in June.

The Wedding Bashers on M-Net (DStv 101) that is returning for a second season in June is replacing Cindy Nell-Roberts and Siba Mtongana with the former Miss South Africa Bernelee Daniell and celebrity chef Zola Nene.

The second season of The Wedding Bashers for which people can enter now, will start on 3 June on M-Net at 17:00 covering more diverse and eclectic South African weddings, but before that the show produced by [SIC] Entertainment will be doing 4 special episodes from Sunday 29 April.

The Wedding Bashers Specials ... With Love will start on 29 April at 18:00 in which the presenters do all of the wedding planning themselves for 4 couples about to get married and who hand over the reigns to the presenters for their big day.

While wedding planner Zavion Kotze and socialite Denise Zimba are back for the second season, Bernelee Daniell and Zola Nene are replacing Cindy Nell-Roberts and Siba Mtongana.

SABC3 Expresso chef Zola Nene replaces Shirley Guy as judge in the 3rd season of BBC Africa's The Great South African Bake Off starting October.

The SABC3 Expresso chef Zola Nene has replaced Shirley Guy as judge in the third upcoming season of BBC Worldwide Africa's The Great South African Bake Off starting in October on BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174).

It is the first judge change for the Rapid Blue produced show, based on The Love Productions format, that saw a presenter change in the second season.

Filming of the new third season is starting this month.

According to BBC South Africa, Shirley Guy who was a judge alongside Tjaart Walraven, decided that she wanted to "spend more time with her family" and pursue other projects.

Zola Nene will now judge the contestants' baking alongside Tjaart Walraven, with comedian Anne Hirsch and Lentswe Bhengu both back as co-presenters.

Zola Nene, originally from Durban, now lives in Cape Town and works as a TV chef, appearing on Expresso.

After working as a pastry chef in England, she returned to Stellenbosch and studied at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch and has become a cookbook author.

"I started my career in the food world as a pastry chef and ever since then I have always loved baking," says Zola Nene in a statement.

"I'm hugely excited to be joining The South African Bake Off family, simply because I'm a big fan of the show. I know it's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to meet all of the new hopeful bakers and join them on this exciting new adventure."

Tjaart Walraven says "it is fantastic that Zola will be joining the team. It has been an absolute pleasure judging alongside Shirley Guy for series one and two but I know it is going to be a fun new experience working with Zola. I'm very excited to get into the tent and see all the new contestants and of course - sample their bakes."