Meet ‘MasterChef South Africa’ top 20 contestants

As home cooks and foodies favourite cooking competition comes back on screen, M-Net announced the contestants of its new season of Masterchef South Africa.

The local version was cancelled in 2016 after three seasons. However, in August 2021, M-Net announced a new season was set for 28 February 2022.

This season will see chefs Zola Nene, Gregory Czarnecki, and food editor Justine Drake as the new judges to help guide and crown the next Masterchef winner.

On Sunday, the channel announced the 20 contestants vying for the coveted title of MasterChef South Africa.

MasterChef South Africa contestants:

Alicia Nicola (32), Advertising Creative Director, Cape Town

Describing herself as the quintessential foodie, Alicia says her passions are food and design.

The self-taught cook has taken the culinary world seriously by gaining food knowledge through every avenue from short courses to devouring Youtube videos.

Her main cooking style is the modern Mediterranean.

Andriette De la Harpe (33), Entrepreneur, Cape Town

Andriette is a classically trained singer who’s worked in high profile events. She was retrenchment in 2021 and returned to baking speciality cakes for a living.

Her essential kitchen supplies are her grandmother’s vintage Kenwood Mixer and since childhood, she loves being in the kitchen with her dad.

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Charmaine Govender-Koen (39), Self-Employed, Cape Town

Coming from a big Indian family in Durban, cooking has always been a big factor for Charmaine. After marrying her Afrikaans husband Frikkie, she’s been blending her Durban Indian food traditions with his.

Her signature dish is lamb Biryani – slow-cooked lamb, with garlic and ginger, turmeric, loads of whole spices layered in basmati rice.

Dedre ‘Didi’ Stols (30), Art Auctioneer, Langebaan

Despite loving her job as an art auctioneer and gallery manager on cruise ships, Didi says the Covid-19 pandemic redirected to her first love, food.

Didi’s cooking style is bold – it’s a complementary mix between Mexican, Asian curries and South African food.

Her favourite heritage foods are waterblommetjiebredie and lamb curry bunny chow.

James Ovendale (19), Former Student, Cape Town

This year’s youngest contestant started cooking at the age of seven. James may be a serious contender as he attended culinary classes at Silwood Culinary School aged 13. 

His cooking style is inspired by South African heritage, open flame grills and street food from different cultures.

Lisa Kayster (26), human resources consultant, Cape Town

Lisa wants to elevate Cape Malay cooking, adapted to the professional table during her time in the Masterchef kitchen.

The HR consultant says the kitchen is her happy place, and her secret weapon is the ability to visualise and build a flavour profile in her head.

Her signature dishes include Cape Malay chicken curry, and crumbed mushrooms.

Luyanda Mafanya (27), food blogger and private cook, Johannesburg

Luyanda is considered a food influencer in the spaces of Twitter and Instagram. With a following of 119,000 users on Instagram, she is also a private chef.

She appeared on season one of My Kitchen Rules SA, and her greatest influence is Jan Hendrik, the first Michelin star chef who put South African cuisine on the world stage.

Luyanda posted her excitement on Instagram.

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Masedi Mabe (25), freelancer, A Burgersmith, Johannesburg

They might as well call Masedi Mr Buns too, because the introvert loves burgers so much he started his own burger restaurant, Bun2Belly.

He wants to fuse the African cuisine he grew up with other cuisines.

His food influences are chef and restaurateur Wandile Mabaso, entrepreneur and cook Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, the late Lesego Semenya, and Sven Ritz Mann.

Matthew Arnott (25), freelancer and former teacher, Cape Town

Matthew cooking styles are Greek, Italian, with some Middle Eastern and French influence. During his stint of teaching English in China he took his cooking skills to the next level.

Matthew’s signature dishes include apple and pork belly risotto, and lamb shank with gnocchi.

Mohammed Haffejee (26), Chartered Accountant, Cape Town

Mohammed Haffejee already has his chef name, ‘The Suited Chef’.

This suave gastronome is a self-taught cook who combines French techniques with flavours from around the world to create his unique dishes.

At age eight, Mohammed secretly experimented with and baked biscuits for the very first time, all on his own, in his bedroom with his little sister keeping watch.

He credits his family as his number one culinary influence.

Onezwa Mbola (26), unemployed, Willowvale, Eastern Cape

Having work experience as a marine navigational officer in China, the shy and reserved Onezwa is well-travelled, knowledgeable and wholesome as viewers will get to see this on the show.

Because of her time in China, her inspiration is Asian cuisine and mastering homemade Asian dumplings.

Ontiretse ‘Onti’ Molloyi (32), Digital Marketing and Communications Specialist, Mahikeng

As his mom was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, he and his siblings had to help with chores around the house, and he gravitated towards the kitchen. 

His food fuses Middle Eastern and Asian styles, pushing the boundaries of the ingredients. Well-rounded and balanced, Jamie Oliver is his greatest food influence.

A proud family man, Shawn cooks for his family and friends daily, and he shows tenacity and hard work in the competition.

Silindokuhle ‘Sli’ Moroke (27), Content Creator, Johannesburg

A fan of MasterChef Junior and British TV chef Gordon Ramsay, he entered the competition to prove to himself that he can take on challenges and learn from different experiences.

The shy Sli’s style of cooking varies between African, Italian and American.

His signature dishes include beef lasagne from scratch, as well asmaking his own patties and brioche buns for burgers.

Simphiwe ‘Sims’ Kubeka (25), Software Engineer, Midrand

With big ambitions, Sims entered MasterChef South Africa to convince himself and his family that he should pursue an education in culinary arts should he make it to the Top 5.

His favourite heritage food is samp and beans.

Sylvie Hurford (49), Marketing Strategist and Consultant, Cape Town

Describing her food style as ‘gonzo’, cooking has always represented freedom and self-sufficiency for Sylvie. Growing up, she would come home from school and cook things up for herself.

Her food heroes include Anthony Bourdain, British chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White, and South African chef and restaurateur Karen Dudley.

Tarryn De Kock (28), Senior Researcher, Cape Town

A researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council, the adventurous and bright is a self-confessed messy cook, being methodical and detailed helps her remain calm under pressure.

Tarryn has a rustic style of Mediterranean and Asian cuisine mixed with South Africa.

Tasnim Jadwat (36), Businesswoman and Corporate Director, Boksburg

Having lost very close family members to Covid-19, including her mom, Tasnim entered MasterChef SA as a way to honour her mom.

As very observant in her Muslim faith, she contributed to the Halaal guidelines for the MasterChef SA pantry.

Tasnim found comfort in cooking and baking after her eldest daughter was diagnosed with the rare disease, Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Tembisa Jordaan (37), Marine Scientist and Documentary Filmmaker, Durban

Tembisa enjoys cooking African, Italian and Asian food, and has great respect for the ingredients just like her inspiration, TV Chef Jamie Oliver.

She prepares home-cooked meals and shares them on her Instagram page, tembisa_cooks.

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Udhir ‘Dr Harri’ Harrinarain (28), Dentist, Durban

Easy-going and with a sense of humour, his fun nature doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s very serious about his cooking.

For Udhir, cooking is a welcome relief after a demanding workday. His own cooking approach is “the less fuss, the better the food will taste”.

Shawn Godfrey (34), Commercial Director and Entrepreneur, Cape Town

A proud family man, Shawn cooks for his family and friends daily, and his influences are Middle Eastern and Asian.

MasterChef SA season four will air Mondays to Thursdays at 6pm on M-Net channel 101, starting on 28 February.