The popular MasterChef SA will return, with a second season of the reality TV series to be filmed, reports The Times. Details are scant at this stage, but it would appear as if the timing could be similar to that of season 1.
M-Net would not confirm whether the same three judges Pete Goffe-Wood, Andrew Atkinson, and Benny Masekwameng will be used again, and whether the location for the filming will be Nederburg again, the kitchen still being in place on the Paarl wine estate. The company did say that auditions could take place towards the end of the year.
It would appear that the Advertising Standards Authority ruling in favour of M-Net, and against complainant The Citizen, for not having misled the Season 1 MasterChef SA winner Deena Naidoo in terms of the prize value, has given the broadcaster the confidence to continue with a second season. Deena will open ‘his’ MondeVino-renamed Aayra restaurant at Montecasino in three weeks. One wonders how successful it will be, opening more than three months after he was announced the winner, given the controversy that surrounded his initial criticism of the prize value, and given that he will only be present at the restaurant about six days a month.
The article does not mention the sponsors, and one wonders if Robertsons will find benefit from sponsoring the series again, given all the controversy surrounding the endorsement of the brand by Chef Reuben Riffel. Nederburg, Woolworths and Hyundai probably found value in their sponsorship of the series, and would be likely to be involved again.
POSTSCRIPT 12/10: On the ‘Gourmet Guys’ Blog today they have announced that the three judges Pete Goffe-Wood, Andrew Atkinson, and Benny Masekwameng have been signed up for Season 2 of MasterChef SA.
POSTSCRIPT 15/10: The Gourmet Guys’ Blog has announced the details of the MasterChef SA Season 2 auditions: at Montecasino in Johannesburg on 27 October; at Suncoast in Durban on 4 November; and at the Cullinan Inn in Cape Town on 10 November.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage