Season 5
The Season 5 winners were:
Salty Flames
Ultimate Braai Master is an outdoor cooking show (one of its kind) which features various teams of two, each made up of a Braai Buddy and the Braai Master. They travel to different parts of the country and compete against each other by cooking different dishes on the open flame.
The teams are given different cooking challenges and each week, the weakest team faces elimination. Viewers get to watch the contestants enjoy the road trip of a lifetime, creating beautiful memories.
Hosted by Justin Bonello, the show promises a jam-packed and delicious season with prizes worth R2-million up for grabs.
This year's judges are Executive Chef and CEO of Kitchen Cowboy, Pete Goffe-Wood, and Tsogo Sun Executive Chef, Benny Masekwameng. Teams hailing from Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, Gauteng and the Western Cape will be competing for the winning title of Ultimate Braai Master.
The teams were selected from thousands of hopeful contestants that auditioned for the show. They were expected to creatively come up with braai dishes to wow the judges and inspire viewers. Contestants travelled to tourist attractions like the Drakensberg Mountains, Gamtoos River in the Eastern Cape, Letsatsi Game Lodge in the Free-State and Wavecrest Hotel & Spa in the Wild Coast of Eastern Cape, among others.
This season sees teams engage in different outdoor activities while braaing their hearts out. The teams explore extraordinary methods of surviving and consuming food prepared entirely on the fire. The show kicks off in Cape St Francis with a series of challenges at the Gamtoos River Mouth.
This year, 10 teams from all walks of life were handpicked from a pool of hundreds, interviewed and auditioned face to face by the executive team and the Braai Master himself, Justin Bonello.
Contestants with varied food skill sets competed against each other, all in order to win the title of this year's Ultimate Braai Master, R200,000 worth of vouchers from Game stores, a brand new Suzuki Grand Vitara valued at R400,000 and a further R400,000 in cash, amongst other prizes.
The Host
Justin Bonello
Cook, traveler and lover of life, Justin Bonello is a veteran presenter and producer, as well as founder of one of South Africa's leading film production companies, Cooked in Africa Films. Justin has combined his three favourite things – Southern Africa, food and friends – into his daily work.
The Judges
Pete Goffe-Wood
Celebrity chef Pete Goffe-Wood made his mark on the Cape Town food scene back in the early 90's when fusion food was still a novelty in South Africa. His bold and brave Asian-European- and African-inspired combo creations raised local food eyebrows.
Benny Masekwameng
Celebrity chef Benny was born and bred in Alexander in Johannesburg. He graduated from what is now the Durban University of Technology with a diploma in catering management, and thereafter commenced his culinary journey, which would see him become executive chef at the then Mondo Vino restaurant at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg. He is currently the Executive Chef at Tsogo Sun.
The Teams
Spice Girls
The team, made up of two ladies Pretty and Precious Zondo, derived their name from their love for spicy hot food are from Durban and are looking forward to exploring the country and learning new ways of using barbeque as the only cooking method. One of their pet peeves is burnt meat.
Monante Cuisine
The two chefs from the Saxon Hotel, Surprise Mogano and Corvin Pietersen, are looking forward to a sizzling adventure and consider their signature braai dish as their whole grilled chicken with home-made barbeque basting.
The Muttonheads
Durbanites Tersian and Tarlan Baker regard braaing as a big part of their tradition. Their killer biryani and a cold beer is what completes any braai in their opinion.
The Explorers
Gugu Ngobese and Samkelisiwe Cele - both from Springs - are looking forward to exploring new methods of cooking in the new season of Ultimate Braai Master. Their braai pet peeves includes meat falling inside the braai stand and flame outbreaks.
Ebony & Ivory
This team of foodies has been together for seven years and enjoy braaing over wood. Brian Muller and Sfiso Nsele are both chefs residing around Kruger National Park and have been together for seven years.
Pretty Griddy
The team made up of a butchery manager and a housewife from Somerset West hate braaing with incomplete braai tools. Desiree Ingram enjoys preparing side dishes and salads while Peter is very confident over the flames.
Smoke n' Hot
The team, made of a sales manager and a beautician (Randhir Parbhunath and Surika Singh), claims that their signature dishes include marinated chicken and pineapple alongside a helping of brown mushroom skewers. They both enjoy experimenting with their cooking and are extremely competitive. They are both from Stanger and Chatsworth in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Salty Flames
Chanel Marais from Milnerton Ridge in Cape Town and Nick Perfect from Amanzimtoti in Durban enjoy travelling, and derived their name from the salty seas where they spend most of their time at. Their braai pet peeves include braaiing under-seasoned meat and overcooked steak.
Outlaws
Wouter Pretorius and Bertus de Vos, two brother-in-laws, are looking forward to cooking among other teams, being competitive and travelling to amazing destinations in the country. Wouter currently resides in Pretoria North while his team mate is from Randburg.
Empire
Belinka Forbes and Merle Rancke both, from the Western Cape, prefer braaing over wood compared to gas or coal. Their signature braai dish is called "Can in a chicken meal" and believe any braai is incomplete without roosterbroods and cupcakes.