The sizzling new season of MasterChef South Africa on e.tv has been packed with surprises. Until this week, the show’s distinguished judges – Justine Drake, Chef Katlego Mlambo and Zola Nene – had always given contestants a heads-up on how many would be leaving the MasterChef kitchen. This time, however, the home cooks were flabbergasted when, after the judges had tasted their dishes, they were told it would be a double elimination.
In the end, their attempts to elevate a simple burger and showcase their skills with buttery avocados went pear-shaped for popular home cooks Myles Heneke (35), originally from the Cape Flats, and Durbanite Bandziva Madinane (31).
Until their departure, Bandziva, or Bandz for short, charmed viewers with their flamboyance, funky personality, pizzazz, flair and witty one-liners. Meanwhile, the poised Myles stood out for his sophisticated use of advanced culinary terminology and bold interpretations of the MasterChef South Africa challenges.
Unfortunately, ineffective time management and an overly complex approach to their burger and avocado dishes ultimately led to their downfall.
In this week’s challenge, the remaining sixteen contestants were tasked with taking inspiration from the evolution of the humble hamburger — from a simple combination of bun, patty, lettuce and a splash of tomato sauce to globally inspired, Instagram-worthy creations such as paratha, roti and ramen burgers. Their visually striking “killer burger” also had to be served with at least two side dishes and incorporate the abundance of avocados provided by the South African Avocado Growers’ Association. While there was an open pantry, the home cooks did not have access to ground meat or baked items and had just 75 minutes to complete the challenge.
Myles, who admitted that avocado with burgers didn’t appeal to his palate, aimed to impress the judges with a refined reimagining of a burger, moving away from the delicious global flavours he had served thus far. So, to go from “Paris to Parys”, he decided to make a local-flavoured burger pie with three cheeses and sweet tomato smoortjie. And for the side dishes: duck fat semolina potatoes, and an extraordinary avocado coconut chocolate milkshake.
Regrettably, time pressure forced him to replace the flaky pastry he had planned with ready-made puff pastry from the pantry. The milkshake also posed problems, as the blender refused to stir the avo into a smooth shake. However, the biggest disaster was failing to complete the potatoes.
Despite the judges commending Myles’s innovative burger concept, and Judge Justine thinking the milkshake was “quite jolly” in a good way, he was penalised for not following the brief of presenting at least two side dishes. Not making his own pastry also counted against him.
Bandz, a keto diet enthusiast, leaned into the healthy-eating trend by creating inventive cabbage buns for his burger. Initially, the judges remarked that Bandz was a “Speedy Gonzales” in the kitchen this week, but Bandz soon realised a swift pivot was needed to produce a tasty burger reinvention in time.
When the clock ticked down, Bandz was chuffed with how the colours popped on his plate and believed the dish was definitely Instagrammable. The judges, though, were not swayed by visual appeal alone — taste and texture had to hit the mark as well. In that regard, Bandz’s pinwheel beef burger with a cabbage bun, sweet potato fries, avo salad and blue cheese was underwhelming.
Chef Katlego noted that the cabbage was soggy and that simply slicing the avocado and placing it on a bed of lettuce was “a bit lazy”.
After the judges’ tasting, five contestants whose dishes were deemed subpar braced themselves for elimination. Shoki, Nkululeko and Josh were also on the chopping block — unaware that the judges were about to announce a double elimination.
Although Bandz and Myles exited the show, another contestant shed far more tears. Throughout the cook, an anxiety-ridden Jeshen feared for his place in the competition. Overtaken by self-doubt, he believed the judges would tear his dish apart. Instead, they raved about his “Taste of Seoul” — a honey cauliflower bao burger with avo mayonnaise, cucumber salad and Asian slaw. Zola wanted to snap it for Instagram, Chef Katlego said he would happily put it on a menu, and it was named Dish of the Day, marking Jeshen’s second win on MasterChef South Africa.
In next week’s episode, chocolate takes centre stage, with a whopping R50,000 up for grabs.
MasterChef South Africa airs in its new home on e.tv on Sundays at 18:00, with simultaneous streaming on eVOD Live TV. Episodes are rebroadcast on Saturdays at 17:00, with additional rebroadcasts on eExtra on Saturdays at 20:30 and eReality on Sundays at 17:00.
The series is produced by the multiple-award-winning production company Homebrew Films for Primedia Studios.