The eagerly anticipated first episode of KFC Taste Kitchen aired this Friday 14 July, 2017 on Mzansi Magic - and it was everything South Africa thought it would be. From the Auditions, right through to the first Elimination (and even a Disqualification thrown in the mix – keep reading), #TasteKitchen certainly had all of us talking. Here’s a recap, in case you missed it.
So much food. So much talent.
We kicked things off with country-wide auditions that included stops in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, (basically everywhere). The turnout? Amazing! Our esteemed judges prepped themselves for a feast of colour and delicious tastes and got exactly that and some change. Brilliant homes cooks, all vying for a spot in our kitchen, stepped forward and entered their Finger Licken’ Good Audition sides, leaving our panel (and our audience) thoroughly impressed.
Say what?
While some home cooks travelled from province to province, hoping to score a “Yes”, some still made a good job of completely missing the brief. From “rooti” to “skop”, there were plenty of quotables for social.
One cook spoils the broth
Before anyone could yell “Kentucky Fried Chicken”, there was drama with a capital ‘D’ that was already threatening to throw a spanner in the works. Patrick and partner were Disqualified and given their marching orders, after it was revealed that the former had failed to disclose his history as a chef.
Blood on the knife
Our nervous duos assembled in front of host Bonang Matheba, judges Lentswe and Lucia, got their brief for the evening and got to work on their first ever Challenge. As expected, panic took over as the race against the clock began, with duos finding it difficult to keep a lid on it. Butter fingers led to cuts and ultimately bleeds on countertops, snippy salvos were fired and some duos had no idea what to do with some of the ingredients. As frustration mounted, it became pretty evident still that some duos were struggling to work together.
Tasting and Elimination
After putting in work in the #TasteKitchen, it was time to plate up and get ready for the first Blind Tasting of the season. And our judges didn’t hold back one inch. There were undercooked potatoes, not-so-great spinach and not-quite-right flavours to contend with, as well as other transgressions that have no place on a plate. Once all three groups had their creations through the wringer, it was time to reveal who had the best side dish of the week. Hafizullah and Naseera emerged victorious, but shocked all and sundry when they decided they would be exiting the competition and going back home because they were “uncomfortable”.
And of course by the end of the episode, we all needed a little KFC in our lives.
Watch KFC Taste Kitchen every Friday at 19:00 on Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161)