The “MasterChef South Africa” season five finale will feature Bridget Mangwandi, Chanel Brink, and Nabila Shamshum competing for the one million rand prize.
The top three survived 19 gruelling cook-offs, built around various themes celebrating South African cuisine to get to where they are.
This season’s judges were Chef Zola Nene, Justine Drake, and Chef Katlego Mlambo.
“MasterChef South Africa” began with 20 contestants and now only three remain. What a rollercoaster, with top dishes during some episodes, and moments at the bottom.
It may have been an experience with ups and downs but each of the top three contestants grew immensely and had some fun. The ladies agree they are “excited and nervous” for the finale.
“Nervous for the finale, not knowing what to expect but I'm sure it's going to be challenging,” says Brink.
“Maybe even fun at the same time,” adds Shamshum who won the semi-final challenge and has won the most individual challenges out of the top three.
“MasterChef South Africa” is an intense competition show, but in the midst of the challenges, there are golden moments of fun.
“I think that in every challenge, you kind of have to see a bit of the fun side because it's also pushing you to become better in the competition. But also, I think the team challenges are really fun,” said Brink.
Cooking under pressure can get anyone thinking on their feet and challenges your norm as you think on your feet, figuring out what ingredients to use.
“We were expected to use different ingredients and equipment and think on our feet. From that perspective I definitely found that in that challenge, I definitely had to push myself further and that's where I found strength by actually putting myself in a position where I was required to put something forward with unknown ingredients and unknown appliances,” said Shamshum.
Going to the finale, Shamshum admits that she wants to keep the standard that she has had in the competition and not fall back to her old ways.
“I think there was a point where I would overthink things, and that was a hindrance to me putting something out on the plate because it was more in my mind than actually being active in applying myself to that,” said Nabila.
Mangwandi, 20, is the youngest “MasterChef SA” contestant and became known for beautiful plating and abundant dishes. As with any competition, Bridget is aware of her competitors but placed her focus on how she would be putting her best foot forward.
“I especially also understand that other people's perception of me comes from my perception of myself. That's something that I also have to grasp that hey people can see age as really age,” said Mangwandi.
Brink reveals she never expected to make it to the top three or four but is grateful to be in this place. A lot is going on in her mind ahead of the finale, especially not knowing what the challenge will be.
“Do I actually remember how to do certain recipes and certain techniques? And you don't know what recipe you're going to be preparing.
“The only thing that's going through my mind is just to make sure that my techniques are accurate, correct and precise,” admits Brink.
The contestants reflect on when they will be taking the knowledge they learnt from the Chef judges into their kitchens. “There was a lot that they shared with us that helped us to refine our process more,” said Shamshum.
She adds that going forward in her kitchen she will be more considerate of the people she is preparing food for.
“I think sometimes we can be so focused on what we want to make, and we don't consider the people that we're giving it to and how that would suit their palates.”
Mangwandi on the other hand will be taking home all the techniques she learnt on the show. “I really want to now put a lot of effort towards the garnishings, the plating, the flavours, I mean sauces.”
The “MasterChef South Africa” final will be broadcast on S3 (formerly SABC 3) on Saturday, November 23 at 8.30pm.
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