TV personality and celebrity chef Lorna Maseko is returning to the small screen.
Why the hoopla since this is her playground?
Well, it’s been a while since fans have seen her. She was on the celebrity edition of M-Net’s “MasterChef SA”, she hosted “Top Chef SA” and bagged her own cooking show, “The Hostess with Lorna Maseko”, on SABC3.
And the award-winning cookbook author of “Celebrate with Lorna Maseko” will once again be doing what she loves best – talking food and tucking into the best of what Mzansi has to offer on BBC Lifestyle’s “Homegrown Tastes South Africa”.
The epitome of grace, I chatted to her post the media launch of the show on Wednesday. She couldn’t stop raving about the show and proudly claimed it’s unlike anything on the small screen.
That’s high praise, of course. Perhaps, a tad biased, too. After all, Chef Nti did “Street Food in Africa”. And Siba Mtongana did something similar as well.
But Maseko isn’t far off the mark, this new food show offers something different. It looks at food from gourmet cuisine to urban street food culture. It also delves deeper by looking at ingredients unique to a region, sustainability in the food sector and fynbos foraging.
Every place she travels to has an interesting story that celebrates food, flavour and technique.
She also covers the full gamut of options, which includes a wine and cheese and a seafood detour.
In each episode, she gleans expert knowledge from a renowned chef and is joined by a celebrity who happily tags along on her culinary adventures.
Karabo Poppy, a creative illustrator, street artist and graphic designer; Katlego Malatji, an entrepreneur, CEO of HomeComing Events and the head of legal and business affairs at Sony Music Africa; Pearl Modiadie, TV and radio presenter, actor and producer; Kamohelo Bombe, a TV presenter and poultry farmer; Dineo Maduna, a travel blogger and entrepreneur; Jason Fortuin, executive chef at the Drostdy Hotel; Lungiswa Joe, a ceramicist from Cape Town and the founder of the Inxwala Slow Market; Tracey-Lee Oliver, a singer, actor and comedian; Khaya Mthethwa, a gospel singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist; and, last but not least, Jo-Anne Strauss, an international master of ceremonies, speaker and entrepreneur, join Maseko on her foodie adventure across South Africa’s beautiful cities.
Think of this show as SA’s glam version of Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”.
“Homegrown Tastes South Africa” premieres on BBC Lifestyle (DSTV Channel 174) on Wednesday, March 23, at 8pm.