Debashine Thangevelo
FLAVOUR of the media this weekend, Roxi Wardman, 26, is still basking in the afterglow of being the winner of this year’s MasterChef South Africa.
Recalling the greatest challenge of a) being on a reality series, and b) cooking under pressure, she noted: “For me, the hardest part was over-thinking everything in a challenge. And being thrown into a kitchen with great chefs and wanting to be better.”
She revealed her love for cooking stemmed from spending time in the kitchen with her mother since she was a little girl.
She added: “And reading a lot. Google is my best friend. You educate yourself by reading different recipes and you put your own spin on them.”
While everything that you needed to know about Wardman has been exposed in the countless stories since her win, Tonight asked her about her Top 5 highlights on the show and she listed them as follows:
1. Making it through boot camp and becoming a family with the Top 12 contestants and sharing this journey with them. And it was amazing to be with people who share the same passion as you.
2. Winning the first Mystery Box challenge in the kitchen and bagging my first overseas trip ever. (She went to Dublin, Ireland, for an exclusive lunch with world famous Irish chef, Kevin Thornton).
3. Cooking my strawberry and basil dessert for Chef Margot Janse, from the award-winning Le Quartier Français in Franschoek.
4. Meeting Chef Marco Pierre White.
5. Of course, winning MasterChef. That’s the biggest highlight of all.
RUNNER-UP
MEDIA darling Siphokazi Mdlankomo, 39, is proof that dynamite comes in small packages. While her backstory as a maid piqued curiosity, it was supported further by her masterful proficiency in the kitchen.
Let’s just say, her culinary creativity was on a continental scale.
While she lost to Wardman by eight points, she did walk away with R100 000 consolation prize.
Famous for her delightfully cheeky one-liners on the show, she shared: “I have no plans for the future. Right now, I’m in between… I don’t want to make irrational decisions. I want to sit down and think clearly about what it is I really want to do. Hopefully, I will have my own show.
As for the overall experience of her TV debut, she quipped: “I realised, ‘ah okay, I’m quite good in front of the camera (laughs)’. So, for me, that was not a big deal. But when it came to the Mystery Box challenges – Lord have mercy! That was the one thing that threw me.”