In a gruelling final Ultimate Braai Master challenge Who Dares Wins “Braai Master”, Laertes “Tubby” Melidonis with Elaine Ensor-Smith swept past the opposition to take the title.

It was a testing challenge as the braai masters had to spend the day braaing 7 different meals for special guests who each brought their own ingredients and the contestants had to prepare a meal for them based on what they brought.

But there was a twist, the guests were all past Ultimate Braai Master contestants and each brought a variety of ingredients with which the braai masters had to prepare a feast for them and their guests.

They only had one hour to prepare each meal, if they went past the hour mark it would be disqualified from the judging process and valuable points lost.

Tubby & Elaine planning each meal meticulously, with Elaine as his braai buddy Tubby could not go wrong

It was not just the day’s braaing that was taken into consideration either but the judges looked back over the course of the whole competition when it came to choosing the winner.

Marthinus said that it was very close and came down to a few points between the winners and the runners up.

There was no question about braai buddy Elaine Ensor-Smith being the power behind the throne, she has been a sterling performer throughout the show and grew with each episode.

She thanked Marthinus Ferriera for that

The words that Marthinus spoke to me one night, will sit with me for the rest of my life and I believe that’s why we’re here.

So I would like to thank Marthinus for that actually because it was really coming out of my shell and doing what I know I can do but he’s behind it.

So I’m really grateful

Tubby said,

We’ve come so far since the Orange river, we’ve come a million miles not 8000 km

Braai’s will never be the same at our house

Lee and Roger would occasionally add some spice to the show but only when they were not shouting at each other. When they were it just became uncomfortable

But that was not the only surprise of the night as the top three teams colluded together and agreed to share the winnings with 20% going to the runners up and therein lies the fundamental problem with Ultimate Braai Master which has plagued it all through the series.

Everybody is so bloody nice and buddy-buddy which is great for those competing in the show who are enjoying a lekker time cruising around the country braaing but it does not make for gripping television drama. The show lost a little of that when Oscar Foulkes left as he had the innate ability to ruffle peoples feathers

If the producers of Ultimate Braai Master wanted the runners up to win cash prizes then they should have offered them as part of the deal and not leave it up to the contestants to start making their own terms and conditions. They also need to find a way to spice things up a bit, the biggest shows on TV are filled with conflict and drama, water cooler talking points around which more and more people are attracted to watch each episode.

The show is a great concept but at times was too slow and anti-climatic, even when it came to the end it was not the winner that was announced but the two runners up, Roger and Greg.

But most important of all for season 2, no more screen shots of Justin about to burst into tears!

Justin Bonello about to burst into tears… again!

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Ronel Theron strategically stepped out of the shadows in Episode Five of Ultimate Braai Master to lead her team away from an elimination round.

The Braai Master’s headed to the historic museum town of Maitjiesfontein to compete in the “Snout to Tail” challenge which involved using as many different cuts of a lamb as possible as they prepared a large menu that was to be served to guests in the railway train dinning car.

The menu had to comprise of three canapes a soup / broth, three main courses and a hot baked dessert to finish everything off. Ronel Theron saw a very strong team around her and decided this was the time to take on a leadership role.

Ronel quickly stepped forward to take leadership of the team she found herself in.

It was a good move as it was a strong team that included Warwick Thomas, Laertes Melidonis, Greg Gilowey and Annerie Burger.

It had been a random selection that brought them all together, receiving numbered tickets as they boarded the Maitjiesfontein tour bus earlier in the day with the teams split into odds and evens.

This competition requires a strategy and it is important to know when to step forward and when to stay back especially when it comes to avoiding elimination challenges, something that the losing team leader will inevitably have to face.

Having some of the strongest Braai Masters and Braai Buddies in the group presented Ronel with her best opportunity yet to assume a leadership position and she went for it.

She said, “Look we are going to be working as a team, we’re going to be pooling everybody’s strengths and I think the team leader has to oversee and make sure that everything goes right.”

“If you guys are comfortable with me being team leader I’d be prepared to take team leader.”

Tubby goes all Hannibal Lecter

Warwick Thomas strips out the ribs for the kebabs

Ronel put Tubby and Warwick in charge of cutting the carcass, something that Warwick has done before and both of them set about the task with aplomb.

Tubby became a little overly engaged with the task though and began to imagine himself as Hannibal Lecter.

Ronel said, “I’m feeling confident, I feel we’ve got a very strong team today and I think everybody wants to win, everybody wants to do well.”

“So there’s going to be no politics, no people trying to sabotage one another.”

Her final comment could well have been referring to competitors like Roger Harris and Frank Dunn who have found themselves in confrontational situations in the past on Ultimate Braai Master

Team Ronel’s Lamb Roll with Anchovy Butter went down very well with the judges.

For this challenge the judges were to get more involved in guiding the teams through this tough 60 plate service and Marthinus Ferreira assumed that role for Team Ronel while Bertus Basson looked after Team Sebastian.

This added a lot more spice to the challenge as their competitive streaks were revealed, especially Marthinus.

Both Chefs worked in some of the toughest kitchens in the world as they mastered their trade and we have had occasion to see glimpses of that background in them, particularly Marthinus who has worked for Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay.

When it came to the moment of truth it was a very close call between the two teams and a tough decision for the judges who despite supporting individual teams earlier in the day now one of them had to turn.

It was Team Ronel that took it leaving Sebastian to choose two Braai Masters to face the elimination challenge, it was no coincidence that he chose Roger and Frank.

One of them would be going home.

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From the Western Cape, Laertes Melidonis and Elaine Ensor-Smith make up Team ‘Who Dares Wins’ in the fist season of Ultimate Braai Master.

Laertes and Elaine have known each other for 24 years and consider themselves to be family.

Laertes says that they complement each other well, “We both have diverse talents that complement each other”.

“I hunt, I fish, I spear fish”.

He then went on to say, “Elaine is brilliant with spices and hot things”.

While we are confident that Elaine is capable of a lot more than just spices we hope that during the show Laertes will expand a bit more on Elaine’s range of talents giving her a little more credit.

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Laertes Melidonis chats about his special talents for hunting and fishing while life long friend Elaine Ensor-Smith looks on

‘Who Dares Wins’ with a few subtle changes to the original – we like it!

Laertus said they chose the name ‘Who Dares Wins’, “because it is a good motto to live by”.

The motto originated with the British Special Air Service (SAS) and is today used by nine special services around the world that have a connection to the SAS.

These include the special military services in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, France, Greece, Israel and Belgium. The motto was also used by the Rhodesian Special Air Service pre 1980.

It now takes pride of place on Ultimate Braai Master, although the motive has been modified to include a chicken and a cooks knife.

“Like” Who Dares Wins on Facebook

They prepared a Yellowtail for the Ultimate Braai Master judges and followed that up with Grilled Banana’s with syrup for the audition.

It certainly kept the judges happy with one saying, “Delicious, well done guys”.

The Yellowtail looking pretty damn good on the braai.

The judges give it a thumbs up and Who Dare Wins makes it onto Ultimate Braai Master.

On the UBM profile Laertes says he entered Ultimate Braai Master because he loves challenges, can hold his own against the best around a fire and was inspired by his daughters to take the leap.

Elaine is most scared of encountering spiders on the trip, while Laertes’s fear is doing something silly on camera.

They both believe that the title of the first Ultimate Braai Master will reside in Cape Town after the impressive audition rounds.

Elaine has a long list of things she would love to do if they win the title, including buying a new bicycle and getting a yorkie.

Laertes wants to build a cottage in the Karoo to share with his family and friends.

Check out:

Ultimate Braai Master – How the competition works

All the Ultimate Braai Master Teams

The Ultimate Braai Master Judges

The Prize! What are they competing for?

Vote for your favourite in the GGS Ultimate Braai Master Winner Poll

Braai Recipes

Braai Tips

‘Who Dares Wins’ Team Mantra: “COOK IT, EAT IT, WIN IT!”

We think they may have left “kill it” off the beginning of that mantra.

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WHO DARES WINS ULTIMATE BRAAI MASTER AUDITION

WHO DARES WINS ULTIMATE BRAAI MASTER INTERVIEW

WATCH ULTIMATE BRAAI MASTER ON SABC 3, THURSDAY 8PM

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Justin Bonello and Malcom Mycroft announced the final fifteen Ultimate Braai Master Teams on the SABC 3 Expresso Show.

Once the audition process was completed it was time to announce the teams vying for the title of South Africa and the world’s first Ultimate Braai Master.

The GM of Marketing at Pick ‘n Pay (headline sponsors) Malcom Mycroft and the shows host Justin Bonello made the announcement on the Expresso Show.

When the opportunity to get involved came to Pick ‘n Pay, Malcom said it was a “no brainer”.

In South Africa the “culture is about the braai” and the Ultimate Braai Master is about “being South African.”

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Gregarious Greg Gilowey of Rust n Dust, cracks Justin Bonello up at the Ultimate Braai Master Sun City auditions.

When asked about the audition experience, Justin Bonello spoke about an incredible insight he had garnered from the auditions.

He said, “If you have a braai master in your group of friends, that person is naturally gregarious, outgoing etcetera and to throw 200 of those people together for a day on the audition round was incredible.”

“The most amazing thing was what South Africa was doing on the braai.”

“There were things that I’ve never seen before in my entire life before.”

“People were building their own braais out of bicycles, windscreen wiper motors.”

What looks like a car battery at the Cape Town auditions

Rigging up the rotisserie

There are a number of women putting their hands up for the title of Ultimate Braai Master, with 11 in the final 30 of which 5 are Braai Masters and two ladies only teams.

Justin said, “the perception (is) that only men braai, women do it just as well.”

He went to say that he would like to see a female team in the top 3, if not take the title.

Justin Bonello would love to see a ladies team lift the title. Could the ‘Which Way Braai Chicks’ from Cape Town fit the bill?

The Pick ‘n Pay Wild Card Team, ‘Gal Power’, Sindi Manthata (Braai Master) and Lethu Ncengwa (Braai Buddy) from Gauteng are another female double act who could win Ultimate Braai Master.

The final fifteen who will be gracing South African television screens as they make their epic journey to become the Ultimate Braai Master are:

2M

Chi Town Braaisters

Coal Shoulder

Cooking Soul

Fat Cow

Gal Power

The Green Feet Team

Green Okes

Hout Cuisine

Popeye and Olive

Rust n Dust

The Stoned Olives

Umlilo

Which Way Braai Chicks

Who Dares Wins

Check out:

Ultimate Braai Master – How the competition works

All the Ultimate Braai Master Teams

The Ultimate Braai Master Judges

The Prize! What are they competing for?

Vote for your favourite in the GGS Ultimate Braai Master Winner Poll

Braai Recipes

Braai Tips

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Ultimate Braai Master begins September 13th on SABC 3

Stay up to date with the most comprehensive coverage in South Africa with GGS on Twitter and Facebook.

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