Team Spectacular showed in episode two that they have one goal, to win Ultimate Braai Master.

Braai Master, Nonkululeko Zondo, returned from the mornings fishing with the biggest catch of the day earning Team Spectacular direct passage through to the next round.

It was an exhilarating experience for the girl from Johannesburg who had never fished before.

Team Spectacular are, in some ways, reminiscent of last years Gal Power for whom every round brought with it something new and they tackle it with the same optimism and vigour.

Nono’s determination shone through when she requested they be allowed to cook the fish in a competitive environment.

Every second on the braai counts, everything that you learn, especially when working with ingredients you may not have cooked with before, will be of use to you later in the competition.

Without any risk of elimination they served up a meal to be proud of.

Bertus Basson rightly said;

You know what I’m really enjoying is very rapid skills development.
You know, they listen, they take it in and they make it their own.
It’s really cool to see.

They’re an absolute delight to watch, always smiling and always bringing a simmering energy to what they do.

Long may they survive Ultimate Braai Master.

Tweets by @UBM_TS

Images courtesy Ultimate Braai Master

Team Spectacular are in it to win it reeling in the biggest fish of the day first appeared first on Gourmet Guys

Team Spectacular did not get off to the best of starts in the first Ultimate Braai Master episode.

The teams had to replicate elements from the previous nights welcome dinner, competing in three groups of five with the worst team in each going into the elimination round.

While Mojo and Coal Play were the best teams of the round the same could not be said for Team Spectacular who were anything but.

The other two teams in the group to get through were Good Better Braai and Quince Cooks.

But if season one of Ultimate Braai Master taught us anything it’s that when the going gets tough the tough get going and Team Spectacular did exactly that.

For the elimination challenge the three teams, had to produce a traditional African meal using chicken as one of the components and the girls set out to produce a veritable feast.

They cooked with their hearts, from their souls and they cooked something that they would cook at home.

Bertus said that while the pap on its own was quite bland when you eat it with the sauce as you should it’s delicious and the chicken was beautifully cooked.

Judge Marthinus Ferreira brought it all together saying;

It’s very difficult to say anything bad about this food.
Team Spectacular have blown us away.

In giving Nonkululeko and Lebo the good news Justin Bonello said;

Team non-Spectacular from yesterday, today you’re our team spectacular.
Well done, you hit the brief, you produced great food so have a drink, a celebratory one you can have now.

It was Darkies Unleashed whose Ultimate Braai Master journey came to a sudden and disappointing end while Boerie Brothers survived to braai another day.

Not so spectacular for Team Spectacular at first and then they blow the judges away. first appeared first on Gourmet Guys

SPECTACULAR

BRAAI MASTER: Nonkululeko Zondo, aged 29 – Coffee Shop Owner from JHB, Gauteng

BRAAI BUDDY: Lebo Thebe, aged 28 – Owns a Tshisa Nyama joint in JHB, Gauteng

RELATIONSHIP: Friends

FACEBOOK: Team Spectacular

STAY IN TOUCH: Ultimate Braai Master Newsletter | RSS

The two friends entered Ultimate Braai Master, because as striving businesswomen they think it’s great exposure and will help them create a brand. They also want to show people that it’s still fun to do what you love.

Tweets by @UBM_TS

Ultimate Braai Master premiers on SABC 3 on Wednesday 18 September at 8.30pm

Spectacular | Team Profile first appeared first on Gourmet Guys

The final round of Ultimate Braai Master auditions got under way at the Indaba Hotel in Johannesburg over the weekend.

This time however there was something a little different about them… a Gourmet Guy was around as a guest judge for the audition phase.

It is not surprising that the producers call on an array of people to help with this part of the process, 60 teams lined up on Saturday with as many as three courses on offer. Far too much for Bertus Basson and Marthinus Ferreira to handle.

The judges were assembled into groups of four with my compatriots being restaurateurs Martin Venter, Local Grill, Dillon du Plessis, Burnside Cafe and some Gal Power provided by season one’s Top Five Braai Buddy, Lethu Ncengwa.

Others in the star studded judging cast included Season One Winner, Laertes ‘Tubby’ Melidonis, Luca from the very popular Luca’s in Sunginhill, Braaiboy – Gareth Daniell and an array of professional chefs including Dallas Orr and Coco Reinharz.

Many of the contestants had been preparing since 6am to get ready for the first round of judging which commenced at 11:45am which considering some of the braai contraptions seen at the auditions was essential.

Judging the first table is always a difficult challenge as this is the benchmark against which all other meals will be judged and extra care was taken to ensure that each aspect of the meal is judged appropriately. What makes it even more important is that all the judges where informed that the first meals they taste will generally be the best. They were the people who were up the earliest and put the most work into getting everything perfect.

They were not wrong, as the judges passed from table to table the food generally got worse.

When I say worse it was not that the food was inedible (apart from the camel kebab) but mostly poorly thought out, under-seasoned and in some cases under/over cooked. Many of the competitors over complicated their dishes and did things that were totally unnecessary like marinade a beautiful rack of lamb in balsamic vinegar overnight… Why???

Perfect tortilla made on the braai with a little feminine flair.

Those who shone however really did shine brightly and for me it was the Diamond Divas who stood out head and shoulders above the rest of the meals we tasted that day. They displayed knowledge, skill, innovation and most of all confidence in what they were presenting, no doubt fostered by the preceding three qualities.

They made it through to day 2 of the audition process along with 14 other talented Braai Masters. How they performed the next day in the pressure test we do not know. The second day is a tough challenge and seeing as we did not get to taste everybody’s food we’re not quite sure how our favourites would stack up against the rest. We don’t have long to wait as the finalists are due to be announced on Friday 5th April.

The Diamond Divas get to meet Justin Bonello.

The teams that made it through to day 2 are:
1. Bravo Echo ta From Scratch
2. The Plot Rots
3. Blus
4. Ying Yang
5. Bare Grills
6. Darkies Unleashed
7. Diamond Divas
8. Simply Sisters
9. Team Spectacular
10. Kasi Guys
11. Sprigs & Sprouts
12. Hot Coals
13. Sumting Fresh
14. Mojo

Ultimate Braai Master will air on SABC 3 in September 2013.

Ultimate Braai Master wrap up the audition phase in Jo’burg. first appeared first on Gourmet Guys