Chef Katlego Mlambo will have his hands full in the next year.
The charismatic culinary genius, who stepped into the role of MasterChef judge in the previous season of the hugely popular cooking competition, recently shared with his followers on social media that he will be on nappy duty soon. Chef Katlego will become the dad of his firstborn in 2025. Moreover, he will be a judge again in the upcoming sizzling sixth season of MasterChef South Africa in the show’s new home on e.tv.
The renowned chef aptly shared the news on Instagram on Heritage Day.
MasterChef South Africa Season 6, which will celebrate South Africa’s diverse cuisine, will air in prime time on e.tv on Sunday evenings at 18:00 from early 2026, and there will be rebroadcasts on eExtra and eReality.
Meanwhile, home cooks dreaming of clinching the coveted title of South Africa’s new MasterChef and R1 million in prize money can apply to be part of the show. The entry form is available on masterchefsa.tv and the closing date is Thursday, 16 October.
Chef Katlego encourages all passionate home cooks who live and breathe food and can whip up mouthwatering meals from the ingredients South Africans cherish to join this life-changing television journey. “This season is all about bringing Mzansi to the table, and I’m so stoked to be a judge again on the local version of the world’s biggest and best television cooking show,” Chef Katlego said.
“I’m hoping to see contestants who can blow my socks off with delicious dishes rooted in our own food traditions. I’m a sucker for inyama yangaphakathi, umngqusho, seven colours, braaibroodjies and bobotie, so hopefully I’ll get to taste some of that – with an elevated MasterChef twist, of course. But note that the bar is high because my gogo makes the best!”
Chef Katlego’s impressive food journey began as “a little sous chef” in his childhood kitchen, under the tutelage of his granny, mother, and two aunts.
Thereafter, with his love for food in his back pocket, the travel bug hit the young, now-famous Eldorado Park-born chef. He mastered his craft at top restaurants worldwide with stints in international restaurants in Great Britain and the United States, where he soaked up the distinct food flavours from these regions.
Back in South Africa, he studied at the highly regarded Silwood School of Cookery and later earned several prestigious accolades, including the 2019 Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star Award. That was also the year he jetted to Washington as the head chef for the Nelson Mandela Centenary Celebrations, hosted at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. The event was attended by 500 of the world’s most prominent leaders and celebrities.
Katlego’s exceptional flair behind the pots and pans and unique food fusion also earned the jazz eatery Marabi Club the African Restaurant of the Year gong at the Luxe Awards. Furthermore, Katlego presented two television shows on the Food Network: Inside Job and Everyday Wow.
Recently, Chef Katlego started his own company, Alles Gut, and a restaurant with the same name is in the pipeline.
The other two judges who will grill and inspire the MasterChef South Africa Season 6 contestants will be announced soon.
MasterChef South Africa is produced by the multi-award-winning production company Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios. The series will once again be filmed at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town.