A jubilant Bridget Mangwandi after being announced S5 MasterChef SA winner. Picture: Supplied
Being the youngest and first black woman MasterChef South Africa winner has inspired the newly crowned champion Bridget Mangwandi to be more ambitious about her future outlook.
“I definitely would want a cooking show, I’ve realised a lot about myself,” MasterChef SA winner Mangwandi told The Citizen.
The past weekend saw Mangwandi being crowned the winner of Season 5 of the cooking reality TV show.
“From watching Siba [Mtongana], that’s what I’ve always wanted and now I get to have a chance at aiming for that, so I think I’m gonna [sic] aim for that first then after that we can do the products or even the [do] the products at the same time, who knows,” she said.
“But I definitely want those two things, those are the biggest goals and of course, you’ve got brands and all those things that come in between the MasterChef journey.”
The final episode saw Mangwandi face off with another young cook, 23-year-old Nabila Shamshum.
This was after Durban-born chef Chanel Brink, who’s 34-years-old, was named the second runner-up.
Shamshum was on a winning streak coming into the finale having tasted victory in the quarter and semi-finals .She also served the best dish in the round that saw Brink’s exit. Mangwandi soared to the top when receiving moral support from her biggest fan, her mother.
Mangwandi knew of her win months prior to the final broadcast of the show on the weekend and said she found it difficult to keep her lips sealed.
“Keeping it in at school was the real one, especially with the university because having to say I’ve done this and I need exemption.”
The person who knew about her victory was her mother who on the final episode of MasterChef SA together with fellow finalist Shamshum‘s parents witnessed the season’s pivotal cook-off.
“My mother is so happy. She’s over the moon about it,” shared Mangwandi. The MasterChef SA champion has previously shared that her passion for all things food started when she was just a little girl – at the age of seven, driven by her desire to help her mom, who worked multiple jobs.
“I’m glad I got to make her proud throughout this thing honestly. Imagine failing in front of her, yes I know I’ll be consoled but I don’t want that,” said the chef.
“For me it was very sentimental.”
Following the conclusion of MasterChef SA season 5, the brand announced a star-studded six-part spin-off Celebrity MasterChef starting this coming Saturday on S3 [SABC 3].
In the spin-off, twelve of Mzansi’s media personalities who can cook will face the heat in the MasterChef kitchen.
While judges Justine Drake, Zola Nene and Chef Katlego Mlambo will again scrutinise all the celebrities’ culinary creations, the spin-off will be served with delicious format twists.
Among the chosen popular names are singer-songwriter Holly Rey, Afrikaans actor Armand Aucamp, Expresso presenter Graeme Richards and broadcaster come foodie Dineo Ranaka.
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