If you are one who seeks fame,
fortune and overnight success, then Ultimate Braai Master is not for you.
However if you seek experience, wealth in knowledge (about food and life),
Success within yourself, conflict resolution skills and a taste for life then
UBM (Ultimate Braai Master) is for you. On the 7th of March, Johannesburg produced 33
teams eager to get into the next stage of the show. Finding itself at the
Indaba Hotel in Fourways, UBM wakes before the sun rises, getting ready to
register the tired, yet eager contestants for the day’s festivities. Having
been a part of the registration process for the past four seasons in
Johannesburg and Durban when it was held there, I am somewhat biased in certain
opinions of the show, however looking objectively at the processes and aims of
the show, I have a new found respect for the masterminds behind the show.
When someone says, okay now
Braai, the first thing that comes to mind is steak, chops, garlic bread, Wors
and pork rashers( just to name a few). One certainly does not think of a three
course meal prepared purely on a Braai. Well this is what contestants had to do
if they had any chance of impressing the highly renowned judges, to make it to
the next round of UBM. Looking at the creations the people produced, it is not
an average meal for the average Braai’er. Some of the words used to describe or
name the food the contestants were making was defiantly not what the average
Joe would know.
Ultimate Braai Master started
on the 8th of April
2012.
“The
Ultimate Braai Master is SA’s first original reality-based television series,
hosted by Bush-Cook Guru, Justin Bonello, and professional chefs, Bertus
Basson and Petrus Madutlela.
Season 4 will see 13 teams travel off the beaten track on the journey of a
lifetime! 60 days. Thousands of kilometres. Bigger prizes. Tougher challenges.
Only ONE winner!
The Ultimate Braai Master Season 4 will premiere on eTV IN 2015!
Nominated
for 2013 Best Reality TV show at the SAFTAs “
During the show I had the
opportunity to interview some of the contestants as well as host, director,
producer and mc of the event to. I interviewed three teams which included,
Zambeze Breezers, Team Gee Gee and Team Braai Code.
I asked the contestants the
following questions and they responded accordingly:
Question: What
made you enter UBM this year?
Answer:
Zambeeze
Breezers(ZB): This father, daughter duo had seen it on TV and thought they
should enter
Team
Gee Gee: Full of enthusiasm, this Granny team wanted the experience, they
wanted to feel the excitement of the everything, wanted to try something
different, wanted to experience the adventure of it all and most excitingly, it
was on their “BUCKET LIST.”
Team
Braai Code: It was this team’s third try at the cooking show, they are
passionate about Braai’ing, they want to go on the road trip to see the
country, to have the experience of the show, and they loved having a fun day
out with people who loved Braai’ing as much as they do.
What are you making?
Question: What
are you making?
Answer:
ZB:
Starters-Prawns and avocado
Main- Fillet, Rotisserie
Chicken, Salad, Caramelised Carrots & Mushrooms
Team
Gee Gee: Starters-Bacon,
Cheese Meat Roll With Spinach and Cheese.
Main- Braised Lamb, Tomato
Rice, Mint with Peas Soaked In Olive Oil, Carrots, Onions and French Leaves.
Dessert- Blueberry muffins with
poached meringues.
Braai
Code: Starters- Smoked Tequila, Citrus Infused Hot Wings
.
Main- Grilled Rack Of Lamb
(which had been marinated in brine since 1 am that morning). Grilled
Barley and green veggies.
Dessert- Baked chocolate
pudding with a Bar One centre, Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey creamy Caramel
Sauce. (Jack Daniels breaks the sweetness of the caramel according to the
experienced team.)
Question: What
do you want to achieve from this show?
Answer:
ZB: They
said that they own a safari lodge in Namibia and would like to gain more
experience for the lodge and for people to go to their lodge; they even offered
for the winner of UBM this year to stay at the lodge.
Team
Gee Gee: They
answered that they would like to go further, to show people that
“JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE OLD, DOESNT MEAN THAT YOU CANT GO OUT AND
DO SOMETHING, GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY LIFE!!”
Question- What would you say to future contestants?
Answer:
Team
Gee Gee: “Go for
it, it’s wonderful, it’s a buzz”
Team
Braai Code: “ Prep
well, think out of the box, you won’t get into the completion by just doing
normal chop and Wors, it’s important to show the judges on the day that you can
maters different techniques on Braai’ing, not just putting a piece of meat on
the fire, techniques including smoking and baking etc. Different disciplines to
get to the next level of the competition.”
Then moving on from the
contestants, Justin Bonello, Peter Gird, Andrew Faber and Charmaine.....
First up, Justin Bonello, Host and Creator of UBM....
Question: What is UBM?
Answer: “Ultimate
Braai Master is a home grown reality TV show, that is made by South Africans and
that stars South Africans, and strutting our stuff around the Braai. It’s
probably one of the hardest reality based competition on in air in the country.
We are very proud, because we take good
cooks and turn them into very good cooks.
There are thirteen teams who
embark on the trip of a lifetime, travelling across South Africa to beautiful
places. We want to show what South Africa and South Africans have to offer,
putting the teams through hardcore challenges, resulting in one team walking
away with half a million rand, a brand new car and most importantly the title
of Ultimate Braai Master season 4. We Love the show.
Question: What is your favorite part
of the show?
Answer: “Introducing South Africans to their
own country. People from all walks of life become friends for life. There are
very few things that can do that, the way the Braai does. (bring people
together)
Question: What is the
best part of the turn out this year?
Answer: “It’s a bitter sweet situation. The
sweet side is the callabre of chefs and cooks has been higher than ever. The
bitter side is that South Africans are scared of the show, it’s very hardcore,
the challenges are difficult in trying circumstances and the contestants are
away from home for up to two months. The sad part is that part is that parts of
South Africa think it’s too hard for them.”
Question: What would you say to future
contestants?
Answer: “The best advice
I could give is that we are looking for outgoing people who can cook, get onto
the road show and to learn enough to take the title. We want to encourage South
Africans to be a part of something that is truly and proudly just who we are.”
Peter Gird: the Producer
Question: Tell
us about Ultimate Braai Master
Answer:” UBM
is an outdoor, lifestyle cooking show that is meant to talk to all South
Africans, and who is now talking to a hundred million people around the world.
It is more than a Boerewors and Chops show, it is what is achievable on a
Braai. It is also a travel show where we take people to amazing places and show
them an amazing time. It’s not just a cooking show. “
Question: What
is your favourite part about being a part of UBM?
Answer: “What
I am so proud of is that we have created a show in South Africa for South
Africans, filmed in South Africa and it has travelled globally, and I think
that really is an achievement. We are selling ultimate Braai Master to Canada,
Australia and Sweden if those negations are happening. And it’s something we’ve
created and it’s something all South Africans love to do.
“It’s a truly
home-grown show.”
And I think that’s what South
Africans need right now.”
Question: What
would you say is your favourite part of this year’s show?
Answer:” Well
this year’s show, the one we are about to shoot, is going to be different for
people who have watched the show before. I think that we have learnt a lot of
lessons from other reality shows, where there is a lot more strategy, and a lot
more animosity and we are going to create that this year, so there is going to
be a lot more needle, there is not going to just be this loving group of South
Africans cooking like we have had in the past. And hopefully we will have
some bigger prizes. I think that the exciting part for me is that the winner of
this year’s show will, not only be winning the money and the car but will also
represent South Africa at the World Barbeque Championships, In Las Vegas, and
they will get their Springbok Colours.”
Question: What
would you say to future contestants?
Answer: “Well I think what I want to say for future
contestants, is that is it for ordinary people, yes we have put chefs and
trained people in, but we try and level the playing field. But I want the show
to be for everyone and so I think you have got to be able to cook, as I say
everyone loves to Braai a chop and do chakalaka and all that sort of stuff, but
it’s not about that, it is about if you can achieve amazing things in your
kitchen, you can take that skill onto an open fire, and that’s what we try and
do. So it’s for anyone who loves cooking.”
Andrew Faber- Director of UBM
Question: What has been the most challenging
thing about being the director so far?
Answer: “Working with Justin Bonello
(chuckles, only joking).
The whole show is challenging, it’s a lot
of logistics, a lot of pre- thinking, pre-planning, though and production.
There is a lot of effort that
goes into planning a trip so that they ensure everyone is safe and that they
are successful in making a show. It is a big task travelling around the country
with 80+ people. “
Question: As the director, what do you look for
in a contestant?
Answer: “What I look for in a contestant
is, first of all, it’s a cooking show; they have got to be able to cook.
Second, I like people who are fighting for the money, and willing to cause
conflict with fellow competitors. I found that last year the harder we pushed
them and the harder we made the show, the more they became like a family as a
posed to wanting to fight with each other. A lot of people who watch reality
shows like that sort of drama where they fight with each other, for me
personally I like people who are nice people and people who get along with
other people that have respect for the fellow competitors, but
it doesn't make the best TV, that’s the only problem. “
Question: What is your favourite part of this
year?
Answer:” Definitely
going on the road for two months, it’s absolutely awesome, and being on the
road, it’s tough and hard and you don’t want to be there, but when everything
is all finished and done and you look back and think what an awesome
experience. And it’s the same for the contestants, they battle it out, they cry
the scream the laugh they shout, they want to leave and feel home sick but
after a week of being home they want to go out on the road again, because it
was such an awesome journey.”
Question: What
would you say to future contestants?
Answer:
“Be yourself and cook with your heart,
there isn’t anybody who you can be but yourself. Cook with love and you can
taste it.”
Charmaine: MC of the event.
Question: It is the first time at the show,
what are your thoughts?
Answer: “I have had the
most phenomenal experience and I couldn't have ever imagined it would
be as good. I have met the most interesting people and have seen what can
really do on a Braai. I am a vegetarian so I thought that you just slap on a
piece of meat, left, right, and center done.”
Question: What has been
your favorite part of the show so far?
Answer: “Definitely
meeting the contestants, working with the crew and tasting all of the food.”
Question: What would you
say to future contestants?
Answer: “Be creative; never put a hold on your imagination. Add your own spin to
spices, some contestants have grown their own veggies and to be open and
creative.”
The
following teams made it to the shortlist at the Johannesburg Audtions:
Braai
Vingers
The Fire Flies
Rustenburgers
Cinnamon Zest
Yolo Roadies
Braai Code
Dad's and Lads
Big D's Braai
Gee Gee
Smoking Hot
Die Worsmasjiens
The Travellers
Double Trouble
Tjop en Ou Top
Warriors
Wild
Card Teams:
Vat n Kans
Guts, Grills and Glory
Wine and Dine
Let’s
see what happens with this year’s contestants, we wish you the best of luck.
Written
by Shannalee Doran.
