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Food content creator Seth Shezi pips Dineo Ranaka to Celebrity MasterChef title
Shezi said he wanted to prove that his critique was valid when he reviewed food and restaurants.
Content creator Seth Shezi with his Celebrity MasterChef trophy he won after beating Dineo Ranaka in the finale. Picture: Supplied
Seth Shezi, who reviews eateries for a living, had a first-hand experience of the chefs he critiques while competing on Celebrity MasterChef, where he beat Dineo Ranaka to the title.
“When you also work within the food, and you love it and respect it so much, you sometimes have to be a judge and a critic, and sometimes you wonder how much you actually know,” said a stunned Shezi after being crowned the Celebrity MasterChef champion.
Shezi said he wanted to prove to himself and the world that his critique was valid when he reviewed food and restaurants.
“Now it feels I do know. And it’s a good feeling,” he said.
Shezi took on Ranaka in the final of the six-part star-studded spin-off that began with 12 well-known participants.
The title comes with a handsome R1 million cash prize, of which half goes to a charity of the celeb’s choice.
The 39-year-old winner is a podcaster, brand strategist, social media influencer, photographer, artist, and designer. Shezi won every MasterChef kitchen cook-off he took part in.
ALSO READ: Celebrity MasterChef SA finale: Dineo Ranaka and Seth Shezi vying for million cash prize [VIDEO]
MasterChef finale
Shezi and Ranaka found plane tickets to unique destinations inside mystery boxes.
Ranaka was booked on a taste sensation flight to Thailand, and Shezi’s dream destination was Italy.
Symbolic of their last lap to the Celebrity MasterChef SA trophy, the challenge required a three-course in-flight business class meal comprising an appetiser, main course and dessert.
These dishes also had to fuse the textures and tastes of their take-off and final destinations.
Ranaka redeemed herself after one disastrous meal in the “heats” phase as she was determined to become Mzansi’s culinary Vera Wang, whose illustrious career kicked off at the age of 40.
Shezi rolled his in-flight trolley over to the judges in their business class seats, and was in for a bumpy ride.
Judges Zola Nene, Justine Drake, and Katlego Mlambo knew Shezi ambitiously created what he called “a million-rand pasta”, alluding to the extravagant ingredients – like caviar, truffle and crayfish – incorporated in his tagliatelle.
Unfortunately the cabin pressure rose when the judges shared their thoughts about this main course.
Initially, the judging trio was in awe of his starter, plated with tweezer-like precision.
Shezi’s “smoked tuna crudo with avocado and amasi whey emulsion” was a symphony of flavours perfectly composed for a trip from Cape Town to Venice.
For this sensational dish, which Drake said was “more first-class than business class”, Shezi also showcased his technical culinary flair.
To whip up a South African take on Tiger milk, the content creator bravely split the proteins from the amasi with citrus.
Drake felt Shezi’s pasta was cooked beautifully, but there was what she called “a rather large problem”.
The crayfish tail was drastically overcooked. Nene agreed that it was a sad addition, wishing he had run out of time plating it. Yet, the rest of the course was sensational.
ALSO READ: ‘I can’t believe I’m a MasterChef finalist’ – Dineo Ranaka after impressing judges
Giving back
Shezi’s win means R500 000 will be donated to the Ladles of Love, an NGO that speaks to his passion for the life-changing power of food, as it provides healthy meals to thousands of vulnerable children and destitute South Africans.
With Shezi also having won R20 000 in a previous episode, that prize money will also go to the charity he put his heart on a plate for.
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