MasterChef SA is the talk of the country, and we have another 10 weeks to look forward to in the next month.  To spice things up a little, we have launched two competitions, the first being a prediction of who will win MasterChef SA in episode 26.

We are also running a weekly lucky draw for the correct prediction of who our readers think will be booted out of the MasterChef SA every week. For the correct prediction of who will leave MasterChef SA in episode 6 today, Baked Bistro in Bakoven in Camps Bay has generously offered a lunch voucher for two persons for the correct prediction.

Baked Bistro opened in February, and is owned by passionate Zahir Mohamed, a young 25 year old who has big plans for his business, after leaving MasterChef Season 2 Bootcamp. Zahir’s presence made a huge difference to my impressions of his Bistro, and the more he told me about his background, the more I realised that this young man will go far.  I could not but help think that I was talking to a junior Ravi Naidoo, who has vision and drive to make his new business a success. Zahir grew up in Port Elizabeth with his grandparents, and his grandmother was his cooking inspiration, cooking typical Malay dishes, including prawn, fish (geelbek, hake, and steenbras), and lamb curries, as well as pies, and baked treats such as apple crumble, malva pudding, biscuits, and more.  His grandmother instilled a love of food in him, and allowed him to cook at home.  His Scottish father owns African Time Catering in the UK, which looks after the catering needs of Manchester United and Manchester City players and its VIP guests, as well as at Wimbledon, at Wimbledon, and at St Andrews in Scotland.  He emphasised that while his father focuses on fine-dining, he prefers ‘rustic’ meals.   He has worked for his father, doing basics such as peeling potatoes, which stood him in good stead in a next phase of his life.

Zahir worked at Brandhouse, and on the Heineken brand specifically, until he gave up his job to follow his dream.  He is a very believing and philosophical person, saying that ‘the universe will give me what I need‘.   He plans to open other Baked Bistros in Cape Town as well as in Johannesburg, and a Baked cookbook is also on the cards, which will feature recipes for hearty rustic foods to prepare in one’s home, and that are simple and affordable. Damian Cannon is doing the website design, and designed the logo, which contains a spoon and whisk, with the payoff line ‘Home is where the heart is’.  He keeps the music volume low, and ensures that there aren’t any noisy customers, to keep on the right side of his neighbours.  Zahir wants Baked Bistro to become a ‘neighbourhood shop‘.

The menu is short and sweet at the moment, and will grow over time. The choice is between two pizzas (‘The BAKOVEN’ with chicken, caramelized balsamic onions, feta, avocado and mozzarella, costing R75; and a ‘5 Veg Pizza’, costing R65).  On Zahir’s recommendation I tried The Misha burger, named after his girlfriend, who loves mushrooms, and the 180 gram burger is served with a mushroom sauce, potato wedges, and a small carrot, lettuce and red pepper salad, and an interesting mint yoghurt dressing. The sesame seed roll is self baked.  Misha works at Levi, and a second burger is named ‘The LEVI’, a 180 gram burger with red onion compote.  Both burgers cost R70. ‘Artisan sandwiches’cost R40 – R55.   The winter menu contains wholesome winter dishes, including goulash with couscous, and a hearty butternut soup. They serve Terbodore coffee, who have made a special Baked blend for the Bistro, consisting of 60% Nigerian, 30% Ethiopian, and 10% Brazilian beans.  The breakfast menu contain interesting dishes such as scrambled eggs and sardines. New guests are invited to ‘get baked’, and departing ones are sent away with a ‘stay baked’ greeting. Zahir wants Baked Bistro to be a homely, unpretentious home to the locals, without any airs and graces, a place where one can come to play Scrabble, and hold book club meetings.

For an overview of what is lying ahead for Season 2 read here. For behind the scenes information on the filming of Season 2 in January read here.  For an overview of episode 1 of Season 2 read here. For an overview of episode 2 of Season 2 read here, for episode 3 read here, for episode 4 and episode 5 here.  Enter our competitions, to predict the Finalists who will be eliminated in the Pressure Tests, and which Finalist will win MasterChef SA Season 2.

Tweet your prediction of which of the 16 Finalists will be booted out of MasterChef SA Season 2 today to @WhaleCottage, or post it as a Comment to this blogpost. Closing time for entries is today 26 June at 19h30, at the start of episode 6.  The winner will be contacted immediately after the show ends. There will be a weekly Restaurant Voucher prize draw per episode for the correct prediction of who will be booted out of MasterChef SA, and voting for the following episode can start as soon as that day’s episode has been aired. Should there be no correct entry received, the prize is rolled over to another week.

POSTSCRIPT 27/6: Congratulations to Cindy Engel for correctly predicting that Shannon Smuts would be eliminated in episode 6 last night.

Baked Bistro, Victoria Road, Bakoven, Camps Bay, Cape Town.  Tel 079 268 9821. www.bakedbistro.co.za (under construction).  Twitter: @BakedBistro  Tuesday – Friday Breakfast and Lunch, Saturdays and Sundays Lunch. Closes 17h00 daily.  Free wifi.  Loyalty Card to be introduced.

MasterChef SA Season 2. Tuesdays and Wednesdays 19h30 – 20h30. www.masterchefsa.dstv.co Twitter: @MasterChef_SA.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage