Guest judge Chef Ebie du Toit tasks the Top 7 contestants to create a beautiful bougee brunch
This week’s guest judge on MasterChef South Africa Season 5 is a culinary genius from whom the remaining six home cooks competing for R1 million can draw much inspiration.
Chef Ebie du Toit’s journey in the food industry is a testament to the transformative power of determination and opportunity. Growing up in Mitchell’s Plain, raised by his pensioner grandmother, Chef Ebie dropped out of school after Grade 7. Thereafter, he was drawn into the shady world of gangs and drugs to make a quick buck and support his family.
However, a chance encounter led him to Chef Luke Dale Roberts’ trendy fine-dining restaurant, The Taste Kitchen, where he was initially employed as a sculler. However, the famous chef recognised Ebie’s potential, and after stern words from Chef Luke, Ebie decided to turn his life around and rise above the clutches of his tumultuous personal lifestyle and struggles. With the assistance of Chef Luke, Ebie then enrolled at the Silkwood Culinary School. As they say, the rest is history.
Chef Ebie is currently the Head Chef at the swanky Pot Luck Club restaurant in Rosebank, Johannesburg, where millennial and Gen Z food aficionados enjoy scrumptious and luxurious brunch spreads bursting with creativity. So, the brunch master will task the MasterChef South Africa home cooks to impress him and the show’s judges—Zola Nene, Chef Katlego Mlambo, and Justine Drake—with a bougie brunch containing delicious bite-sized eye-cand treats that will match the Pot Luck Club’s distinct vibes. We’re talking spicy oysters, mimosas, English muffins, homemade nougat, macaroons, salted caramels, truffles, eggs benedict, and elevated avo treats.
For the task, the Top 7 has to create three items: a brunch classic with some swag, a reimagination of a classic brunch cocktail presented as a dish, and a luxurious riff on avo toast. They will have full access to the impressive Pick n Pay pantry and have two hours to complete this elimination challenge.
Chef Ebie is a cool guy but not afraid to mince his words. Whose dishes will he tear apart, and who will get his nod of approval? Most importantly, who will leave the MasterChef South Africa kitchen this week?
The competitors who are still in the competition are 20-year-old Bridget Mangwandi, Durban-born Chanel Brink, Eastern Cape’s Lona Rode, homemaker Naledi Matshitse from Muldersdrift, Nabila Shamshum, who has an Afrikaans and Arabic heritage, Penny Rider, the oldest MasterChef South Africa Season 5 contestant, and Refe Dimbaza, the wild card who was eliminated and then re-introduced to the MasterChef kitchen.
MasterChef South Africa Season 5, proudly sponsored by Pick n Pay, premieres on S3 (formerly SABC 3 ) on Saturdays at 19:30. There is also a convenient rebroadcast on SABC 2 on Sundays at 18:30 and another on S3 on Wednesdays at 18:00.