Born foodie: Chanel Brink is a finalist on Season 5 of MasterChef SA. Picture: cookingwithchanel_sa/Instagram
By definition a foodie is someone who not only has a refined taste and appreciation of food, but to them food goes beyond the necessities of a grumbling stomach. It’s a passion.
Calling MasterChef South Africa finalist Chanel Brink a born foodie is not an exaggeration. The 34-year-old comes from a foodie family.
Her father is a qualified chef and her mother worked at a deli. However, the latter questioned Brink’s desire to pursue a career in food.
“They’ve [family] been extremely proud, I think none of them expected me to get this far,” Brink told The Citizen.
“They all know that I love food and secretly you hope that someone in your family makes it that far. It’s very surprising for them and also really proud at the same time because all of us have that passion for food and now I get to hopefully take it to the next level with MasterChef,” said the calm cook.
The MasterChef SA final will be broadcast on S3 (formerly SABC 3) on Saturday at 8.30pm.
The Durban born-and-bred foodie hopes that she and her father will get to test each other’s cooking skill after the show’s finale this weekend.
“I’m hoping that after this, maybe my dad and I will have a cook-off,” said Brink, breaking into laughter. Even when giggling, the cook still maintains a sense of calmness.
Together with Nabila Shamshum and Bridget Mangwandi, Brink is vying for the MasterChef SA Season 5 title this weekend.
Throughout the season Brink’s serenity was tested. On one episode Judge Justine Drake teased her by saying she would not cook in the kitchen the following week.
The pre-school teacher thought she was sent home, but Drake only sent her to the gantry as she provided the day’s winning dish.
This was during the ‘tiny dish’ challenge. Chanel was extremely surprised, as everything went wrong in the kitchen that day, making her wonder if she suffers from imposter syndrome.
“The intensity levels, I think I never expected it to be that intense. You know you watch MasterChef on TV you see the intensity but unless you’re in it, that’s when you realise this is really intense,” shared Brink.
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The avid cook, who became a food content creator during Covid, has built a strong following on her Instagram page, with almost 200 000 followers.
But she said cooking on the reality TV show is totally different from preparing a meal in the comfort of your home.
Early in the competition, she was nearly eliminated in the ‘star sign’ challenge, where she created a too ambitious lamb shank.
“At home, when you’re cooking in your kitchen, you’re not giving yourself a time limit and you’re not giving yourself a challenge per se like ‘oh I need time make this, using these ingredients’ or giving yourself a mystery box challenge. So you have to really be able to think on your feet, that’s where the pressure comes in.”
Prior to join the cast, Brink joked with her husband that she won’t be the kind of reality show contestant who cries at moments of pressure.
“We would watch reality shows and people would cry, they’d be upset and he was like ‘are you gonna be that person, are you gonna cry?’ I was ‘me? never!’” said Brink.
But unbeknownst to the contestants and the viewers, five of the 20 MasterChef hopefuls were sent home on the first episode before even being handed the MasterChef apron.
“The first challenge, when the five went home, that was my most emotional challenge. On the first day I broke down while I was standing there because the thought that I came this far and I might be going home, it was so intense,” Brink shared.
Her husband has since teased her about her fickleness.
Brink’s big breakthrough in the competition was during the air fryer challenge, which she won. She then had to cook against South Africa’s air fryer king for an ‘immunity pin’. Unfortunately, she didn’t win, but viewers noted that she was a force to be reckoned with.
Despite the barrage of pressure of being in the MasterChef kitchen, Brink said the intensity has made her reach levels she hadn’t before being on the show.
“It’s that intensity that helps you unlock that creativity because prior to being on the show, I don’t think I would’ve been able to cook the dishes that I cooked, had that pressure not been there.”
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