Tag Archives: Andrew Atkinson

MasterChef SA Season 3 hits the pan tonight; first SA MasterChef SA Celebrity on the 2015 menu!

MasterChef SA Season 3 Chefs Benny, Reuben, PeteMasterChef SA fans have been waiting in anticipation for their favourite reality TV cooking show to return to their screens, with the first episode of Season 3 starting at 19h30 this evening.  A new judge is introduced, and the contestants are said to be of a high standard. M-Net has also announced that its first Season of MasterChef SA Celebrity will stir things up for charity in January.

The M-Net media announcement about Season 3 is full of food clichés and fighting talk about how excellent the programme series is:  ‘The contestants are hungry for victory, the Judging panel has been refreshed by the addition of award-winning chef Reuben Riffel, and viewers can look forward to epic culinary triumphs as well as some spectacular gastronomic fails. MasterChef SA Continue reading →

MasterChef Australia judge Matt Preston on Kfm: Cape Town is ‘an amazing city’!

Kfm Matt Preston headphones Whale CottageYesterday I attended a section of the Kfm Breakfast Show broadcast, as a member of the studio-audience, to welcome MasterChef Australia judge Matt Preston, who is visiting Cape Town.  Preston praised Cape Town for being ‘an amazing city‘, having eaten at eight restaurants alone on Tuesday.

Even though I had hardly seen any MasterChef Australia episodes, I applied to Kfm to attend the visit to the studio by the almost 2 meter tall Preston, after Blogger Anel Potgieter raved about meeting him at the Good Food & Wine Show in Johannesburg over the weekend. We were part of a studio audience of at least 30 at the Primedia Broadcasting studios in Green Point, the majority of the attendees being serious MasterChef Australia fans.  We were offered coffeeKfm Matt Preston Eats Whale Cottage and breakfast snacks such as fruit salad and cream, as well as salmon sandwiches, not quite MasterChef quality!

Presenter Ryan O’Connor invited us to sit down, coming into the live studio with Preston as well as Chef and MasterChef SA judge Pete Goffe-Wood, as well as the rest of the Breakfast Show team consisting of sport presenter Sibongile Mafu, traffic presenter Liezel van der Westhuizen, and surf reporter Deon Bing.  Deon had made a toasted cheese Continue reading →

Reuben Robertsons Riffel new MasterChef SA judge: Robertsons MasterChef monopoly?

MasterChef SA Season 3 Reuben RiffelWhat a surprise to read on Friday that Reuben Robertsons Riffel is to replace Chef Andrew Atkinson as a MasterChef SA judge in Season 3, which is to be filmed shortly.  It raises the question as to the role of Robertsons, already the headline sponsor of the reality TV cooking programme, and whether Riffel will continue his endorsement of the bottled herb and spice brand, which would then be a conflict of interest!

Riffel became the Robertsons spokesperson two years ago when MasterChef SA was first flighted, and lost all credibility in selling his soul to Unilever in endorsing Robertsons, and Rama margarine on the side!    As Riffel has publicly declared that he only uses Robertsons spices and herbs in his home, and not in any of his restaurants, he already has no credibility.  Recently Unilever tried to mislead chefs and restaurants by presenting a media release, which made the unsubstantiated claim that an increasing number of chefs are using bottled herbs and spices!

In the past two years serious chefs have distanced themselves from Riffel, laughing behind his back in him being so stupid to associate himself with a bottled herb brand, when it is completely contra the trend to using fresh Continue reading →

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 28: Finale sees Kamini Pather controversially crowned winner by a ‘fraction’!

MasterChef 2 28 Kamini and LeandriThere should have been no winner of MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 28 and the Finale of this reality TV cooking show last night, with both contestants making unforgivable mistakes in what was meant to be the pinnacle of the cooking competition!  As a winner had to be chosen, the judges announced Kamini Pather as the winner, beating Leandri van der Wat  by a ‘fraction’ of 6 out of 100 points.

The episode commenced with a very quick overview of the previous 27 episodes, highlighting Kamini’s near perfect past in being ‘top of the class’ (was this a predictor already?), and Leandri’s growth and top praise she received from Chef Prue Leith in particular.  The two Finalists arrived at the MasterChef SA kitchen at Nederburg on a very rainy day, and were surprised to find all fourteen the other MasterChef SA Finalists there, as well as their families.  Kamini’s mother Anthea and brother Neelan were present, as well as Leandri’s (and Seline’s) father Neil, aunt (her ‘second mother‘ Leandri said) and sister Nadine.  Chef Pete Goffe-Wood said that it was the biggest Continue reading →