The highly-anticipated second season of The Taste Master SA returns to the small screen on Friday, 10 September at 19:00 on SABC 2 – and this time, it’s all about baking. In association with Royal Baking Powder and Samsung appliances, the new season promises to showcase more good food and high drama as the contestants are set to put their baking skills to the ultimate test.
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This season, Zola Nene returns to the judging panel and will be joined by artisanal baker Fritz Schoon who makes his judging debut this season.
Zola Nene is no stranger to the world of television. This celebrity chef and author is best known as the resident chef on the SABC 3 breakfast show Expresso. Zola’s journey with food started while studying for a BCom Law degree. Two years into the degree, Zola realised that it was not the career path that she wanted. So, she applied for a holiday working visa and went to England where she looked for a job in a professional kitchen. There, she worked in a brasserie in Cheshire for two years, first as a hot section chef and then as the head pastry chef.
After her two-year stint in England, Zola returned to South Africa and enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. She specialised in Food Media in her third year of studies and subsequently worked at Top Billing magazine as a food assistant for six months. In 2010, Zola started her career as a celebrity chef by joining the Expresso Morning Show which ultimately saw her releasing her first cook book in 2016 called Simply Delicious while landing a stint of other impressive hosting and judging spots.
Fritz Schoon has always been passionate about food but his appetite for baking, specifically artisanal breads, has made him one of the most sought-after bakers in South Africa. Fritz’s career officially began after he completed an apprenticeship with a fifth-generation Austrian master baker. It was then when he built a wood-fired oven at the back of the old bank building in Stellenbosch in 2010 which eventually turned into the popular Oude Bank Bakkerij.
Fritz’s obsession with bread and pastries has catapulted him into a household name. The baker owns a number of SCHOON Cafés around the Western Cape and his bread has also become a staple at a number of popular restaurant chains across the country. His knowledge and passion for baking makes him the perfect addition to The Taste Master: The Baking Edition.
The winner of The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition will receive an incredible pool of prizes including a Samsung gas cooker, microwave and vacuum cleaner for their star kitchen, a Thermomix TM6 to the approximate value of R26 000, premium Le Creuset prizes to the approximate value of R15 000 and a cash prize.
The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition premieres on 10 September 2021 at 19:00 on SABC 2. For more information, visit www.thetastemaster.co.za.
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