My Kitchen Rules SA: meet the new contestants

If you already picked a favourite team on My Kitchen Rules South Africa, you might want to reconsider.

There’s a whole new group of teams on the way this week, including a proudly gay couple, BFFs and soon-to-be in-laws.

Meet MKRSA’s group two contestants who will be hitting your screens on Sunday, September 17.

Andrew and Brent

MKRSA contestants Andrew (left) and Brent. Picture: Yasmeen Osman

Andrew Ross and Brent Lindeuqe are engaged partners who have been together for nine years. Andrew is the CEO of a marketing company, while Brent is the founder of Good Things Guy.

These meat lovers have an international palate with South Africans influences. They also have a passion for cooking, and are big foodies. “We love entertaining, have friends over and feeding family,” said Andrew

The dads of two children plan on keeping it real and being true to themselves in the competition. “You can expect us to be fun. It’s a big adventure!” added Brent

Nicole and Zamatonga

MKRSA contestants Nicole (left) and Zamatonga. Picture: Yasmeen Osman

Nicole Graham and Zamatona Madondo-Tembe are friends from Durban. Nicole is a deputy DA leader in Durban, while Zamatonga is an entrepreneur.

The self-proclaimed Durban foodies decided to audition as “a fun thing one Sunday morning”.

As the youngest contestants on the show, they aim to represent their city and showcase their personalities. “We respect each other’s differences. Most of the time we never agree on anything, but that’s the beauty of diversity.”

Nicole prefers slow braises and home-style cooking with a twist. Zamatonga grew up with traditional African food, but also likes light meals, such as chicken or fish with salads.

Viewers can look forward to spiciness and drama, as well as curries and seafood.

G and OG

MKRSA contestants G (right) and OG. Picture: Yasmeen Osman

Gomotsegang (G) Oginga Siwundla (OG) are soon-to-be-brothers-in-law. G is an aspiring restauranteur and OG is a former Golden Lions player.

“We entered the show for the experience and also to test the skills and see where our cooking levels are.” The meat brothers often cook up a storm in the kitchen for their large family on weekends.

Hailing from Cape Town, the pair enjoy eating all types of fish. You can expect them to serve meat and fish with a flair. “But otherwise, we’re open to trying to new things,” said OG.

The competition is tight, but G and OG look forward to meeting their competitors.

Jamandi and Machiel

MKRSA contestants Jamandi (left) and Machiel. Picture: Yasmeen Osman

Jamandi and Machiel Bekker are a married couple from Bloemfontein. They chose to participate in the show because they wanted to do something memorable for their 10-year anniversary.

The Afrikaans lovebirds have been cooking together for 10 years. They also own a guesthouse where they provide meals for the guests.

Machiel is a meat lover while Jamandi is an all-round food expert. “I’m into feel-good food. Food that looks good and makes you feel good,” she said.

You can expect the couple to stay true to their heritage with boerekos, braaivleis and pap with a twist. Machiel is also set to bring a bit of comedy to the show.

When asked about whether Liz and Leanne from Bloemfontein are their competition, Yamandi responded by saying: “If the R1 million should go anywhere, it must go back to Bloemfontein. So if we can’t win, I would like them to win.”

Charnell and Kerry

MKRSA contestants Charnelli (left) and Kerry. Picture: Yasmeen Osman

Charnell Young and Kerry-Anne Sonn are best friends from East London and Cape Town, respectively. They are boisterous and outgoing, and have supportive husbands.

The two decided to enter MKRSA on a whim. “We wanted something different, just to push ourselves our comfort zones and do something together.”

Both women are very creative and compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Charnell will be cooking while Kerry handles the desserts.

The pair plan to showcase their cultural food with a modern twist. This includes bredies, stews, curries with a personal tweak when necessary.

“We want to collaborate our flavours growing up. We ate the same dishes growing up, but our parents cooked differently. We want to try that type of collaboration and see the end result.”