Season 1
MasterChef South Africa takes wannabe chefs who simply cook as a hobby and have absolutely no experience in the food industry and attempts to turn one of them into a MasterChef.
Contestants on MasterChef are put through their paces with various challenges as they compete head-to-head to create delicious dishes. The series serves as a unique platform for people from all walks of life who want to follow their dream of working as a professional chef.
These everyday at-home cooks have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show their passion and excitement for food as they are put to the test and judged by world-renowned chefs.
MasterChef South Africa held open auditions in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in December 2011 at the following venues:
Johannesburg: Saturday, 3 December at Monte Casino
Cape Town: Saturday, 10 December at The Cullinan, Southern Sun Hotel
Durban: Saturday, 17 December at the Sun Coast Hotel and Casino
Contestants were asked to prepare a cold dish which were tasted by a member of the MasterChef SA professional preliminary judging panel. The requirements for the dish were as follows:
One must bring all products in an insulated cooler to maintain the cold chain
Products not suitably chilled will result in the judges not tasting your dish
One must transport all food products in plastic containers
Glass containers will not be allowed in the competition area
Present your dish on a plain white plate that you have brought with you
NO actual cooking is allowed; the dish must be a cold dish
Place the food on the dish and present to the judges within the time limit
Based on this dish contestants either progressed further in the audition process or not. All preliminary judges were SACA-certified professionals.
From mozzarella to marzipan, tagines to terrines, soups to soufflés – thousands of South Africans presented a colourful array of diverse dishes across the country in a bid to being one step closer to becoming the country's very first MasterChef.
Amateur chefs arrived in their thousands in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, armed with prepared cold dishes in cooler boxes of all shapes and sizes.
The panel of preliminary judges – all accredited chefs from the South African Chefs Association – embarked on the intimidating task of tasting each and every dish.
The winner of MasterChef South Africa will win the richest prize in South African television history, valued at R8-million. The prize includes R250,000 in cash from the show's headline sponsor, Robertsons, a Hyundai Elantra 1.6 GLS, valued at over R190,000,
an all-expenses paid seven-day culinary experience in Italy courtesy of official food sponsor, Woolworths, including flights, accommodation and an Italian cookery course.
From the official wine sponsor, Nederburg: a customised sommelier course developed for the winner by the South African Sommelier Association, using Nederburg wines to demonstrate wine and food pairing; one-on-one masterclasses presented by Nederburg's award-winning cellarmaster, Razvan Macici; and a year's supply of Nederburg Winemaster's Reserve Wines.
The winner of the series was able to call the MondoVino restaurant at Southern Sun's Montecasino their very own.
On Tuesday, 3 April 2012 the Top 18 finalists were announced on the show:
Babalwa Baartman
Berdina Schurink
Brandon Law
Charles Canning
Deena Naidoo
Fortune Kangueehi
Guy Clark
Ilse Fourie
Jade de Waal
Khaya Silingile
Lungile Nhlanhla
Lwazi Mngoma
Manisha Naidu
Mmutsi Maseko
Samantha Nolan
Sarel Loots
Sue-Ann Allen
Thys Hattingh
Winner
The winner of Season 1 was Deena Naidoo, who beat Sue-Ann Allen in the finale.
The series is executive produced by Harriet Gavshon and Donald Clarke for Quizzical Pictures (known as Curious Pictures in Season 1). The series producer is Candice Tennant and the series director is Handrie Basson.