The MasterChef SA auditions started cooking in Jozi last weekend and move to the Cape Town this Saturday (10 December). They take place at the Southern Sun Cullinan hotel on the foreshore.
They wrap in Durban the week after: on Saturday, 17 December at the Suncoast Casino.
The show premieres on M-Net in 2012 and follows the same format as the international series. Earlier this week M-Net announced a feast of prizes for the winner - including a restaurant.
For the full menu of prizes, see:
MasterChef SA prizes.The auditions are open to all amateur chefs - no professionals are being considered. Auditionees need to prepare a cold dish for the judges, which they'll taste at the auditions.
Audition must-knows
- You can arrive on the day and enter i.e. the auditions are open so you don't need to have pre-registered.
- Contestants must serve one plate of food to the show’s food experts - they are all accredited South African Chefs Association judges.
- The audition judges will only taste one plate of food, no matter how many different recipes one brings in.
- Only present the completed dish you’d like the judges to taste - there is no need to waste money and resources on show pieces.
- PLEASE NO GLASSWARE! Please do not use any form of glassware. If the glass breaks or chips it is dangerous for the judges to taste your food. Plastic is an acceptable alternative if necessary.
- The plate of food must be complete, there will be no time and no equipment for you to finish off your dish.
- Also please bring a printed recipe of your dish - no more than two A4 pages.
- Please think carefully about the food that you bring, and how you will transport it to the open auditions, especially if you are travelling from afar.
- Only the contestant will be allowed into the judging room - so please be aware that you must be able to carry everything yourself - cooler box, recipe and plate of complete food. Family and friends are welcome to join you at auditions, but they will not be allowed into the tasting area.
Important tips
- Your completed dish must be transported to the venue in a cooler box at below 4°C. The temperature of your completed dish will be checked using infrared digital thermometers.
- Put ice bricks/ice/dry ice in your cooler box - the box will not maintain the temperature of your completed dish without it. This is to avoid being turned away because your food is over the temperature that is considered safe to consume.
- Remember that dry ice will freeze your food, so only use it for items you’d like to present frozen, and remember to take the product out in time.
- White plates show off your food the best.
- If you are doing a chilled soup, use a thermo flask to transport the chilled soup.
- Use plastic squeeze bottles to transport sauces/dressings/drizzles.
- The dish must be an original reflection of you the contestant - your knowledge of food and your understanding of flavour – not a direct copy from a cook book or internet.
Registration closes at 17h00 in both Cape Town and Durban.More tips ...You can find a video with more tips on M-Net's website here:
MasterChef SA audition tips.Here's a more indepth explanation of a cold dish:
A cold dish explained.