Winning the fourth season of “MasterChef South Africa” was no easy feat.
Contestants, present and past, will attest to the heat in that kitchen being something else.
That said, Shawn Godfrey, 35, can be proud of his skill set, seeing him to the finish line where he was able to clinch that sought-after trophy, the bragging rights and, of course, the R1 million prize money.
The entrepreneur, along with Andriette De la Harpe (33), also an entrepreneur who lost her job during Covid, and senior researcher Tarryn De Kock (28) who lost the second spot in a cookoff with Andrietta, were also given a range of kitchen appliances and a double-door fridge in the penultimate episode.
Andrietta, who needs little excuse to get those waterworks going on the show, was moved to tears by the gesture that will now help her take her culinary journey forward.
And Tarryn, who bowed out after making the Top 3, had a nice R50 000 prize money boost from a previous win in the kitty, too.
When the fourth instalment of M-Net’s popular reality show returned after a six-year hiatus, viewers almost gave up on it returning.
Of course, jaws dropped when the judging panel of Zola Nene, Gregory Czarnecki and Justine Drake were introduced.
Although they are influential names in the industry and French-born chef Gregory has a wealth of experience in fine dining from the Michelin-starred restaurants he worked at, viewers were unsure as to how they would fare in comparison to their predecessors: Pete Goffe-Wood, Benny Masekwameng and Reuben Riffel.
From a production standpoint, the show ticked all the boxes. It was stylish, beautifully shot and edited to give it that compelling edge.
But the dynamics among the judging panel just didn’t work. Honestly, it lacked that playfulness, and the serious mood was thankfully salvaged by Zola’s vivacious personality.
Maybe it was the first time on TV awkwardness for Justine and Gregory, who are both lovely and engaging people off-camera.
The cooking show also received a bit of flak for casting mostly contestants from Cape Town. However, putting together a show of this calibre during Covid lockdown probably came with its own set of challenges.
Back to Shawn. The doting father and husband explained that it was thanks to Covid that he entered. Like most people, he ended up cooking up a storm – well, more so than usual – during this time.
He admitted: “During Covid, I was pretty much locked in the house. I run a business, and it was stressful and so one of the outlets, focusing on as a family, was cooking at home. So we just cooked and cooked, and I started writing the blog, The Roasted Dad, which is my Instagram account.
“The more I started posting, the more it became a fun journey for how far we could push cooking. And the more we did it, the better we got.”
It was his wife Lianne who suggested he enter the competition.
He remembers it as quite a gruelling process but was keen to throw his hat in the ring, so to speak.
At that point, Lianne was pregnant with their third child, Harvey, who has since arrived. They also have two other toddlers: four-year-old son Aiden, who is Shawn’s biggest fan, and daughter Olivia (Liv).
His wife was unbelievably supportive, though.
Shawn is a very studious individual. He gave nothing away with his poker face and collected demeanour on the show.
He joked about brushing up on his knife skills by binge-watching YouTube videos before making his TV debut.
As a home cook, it was an invaluable learning experience for him. Then again, being on this show and being challenged by other contestants achieved the same result.
He added: “Going into ‘MasterChef’, I did realise there were going to be stronger competitors than me. In the first episode, I did have that kind of oh-crap moment because I was listening to the folks around me, very eloquent words, very fancy cooking techniques, and I was really quite stressed.
“But one thing I did rely on throughout the episodes is that I’m very tenacious and focused, so if I want something really badly, I can put everything into it.”
Shawn admitted to being really out of his depth when it came to desserts. He said that was his wife’s forte.
And so, going up against Andrietta in the finals concerned him as she was in her element when it came to sweet dishes.
As such, he gave his all in his savoury main dish of pork tenderloin with quail eggs, which he got right on the third attempt, with crackling crumb, smoked apple purée, bacon, charred leek and crème fraîche sauce. His dessert was a classic - malva pudding.
There were many times when he felt like his goose was cooked on the show. But he felt his determination and continual studying saw him pull through.
Describing himself as a calculated risk-taker, he was stunned when Zola called out his name as the winner.
He shared: “When I went into the competition, I felt like it was such a sacrifice for the family. It was something heavy to put on them for personal achievement. I knew that that burden was on them. I really wanted to almost win for them for that.
“There’s something about, in life, when you work really, really hard for something. There’s a validation of that process and belief system.
“The one thing I would like to give to my kids is that it doesn’t matter what you do in life and where you are going as long as you put your whole heart and soul into something and give it your 100%, you will succeed.
“The crowning moment for me was validating that whole belief system.”
He added: “I had all my focus on getting to the end and winning. As I got to the trophy, I couldn’t absorb it. It was about 45 minutes later, when I got to phone my wife, it literally sunk in that I just won one of the most challenging competitions in the world.”
Upcoming plans include a pop-up restaurant at Makers Landing on April 27, which is called The Chefs Collective. Him and his wife have launched their Roasted brand, which is adult leather and cooking merchandise and they are looking to launch Little Roast for their kids, which will look at cooking apparel for little ones.
Last, but not least, he plans on travelling through SA in six weeks time, journalling the experience with his family.