What do a minister, dog breeder, chartered accountant and former flight attendant have in common? They all go on the new season of the cooking show Kokkedoor Fire & Flame participate.
A total of 20 participants, who come from all over South Africa, will take part in this exciting competition to determine who is the country’s top griller.
For Kokkedoor Fire & Flame participants will prepare all their dishes in the flames, on the coals, inside the ashes or on the grill. The award-winning chef Bertus Basson and the grill guru Kobus Botha are looking for the perfect combination of a memory grill and a twist grill.
A remember griller does not have formal chef training and professional experience, but his or her heart beats warmly for traditional food. They are chosen for their ingenuity as a home cook and their knowledge of memorable food. Grillers are selected for their qualifications and/or their experience in a recognized restaurant or professional kitchen.
Numerous food or product specialists, as well as a well-known personality or two, make an appearance in the series, while the renowned food experts Herman Lensing and Errieda du Toit are part of Kokkedoor Fire & Flame ‘s manufacturing team.
Meet the memory roasters
Anel Marais (51), Aggeneys
Anel was born and raised in the Northern Cape and she knows her way around food. She is a proud grandmother and a touch person who obtained her MPhil in community development. Anel already worked in a butcher’s shop during school. She does catering these days.
Bertus Fourie (49), Wellington
Bertus is a master griller and his fire skills have a place for him Ultimate Grill Master s final round loose. He is a winemaker who also does gourmet barbecue catering for everything from intimate and fancy birthday parties to large corporate events with 900 guests.
Francois de Wet (51), Struisbaai
Francois is a resident of Struisbaai who knows the sea water and barbecue fire equally well. He even manufactures his own barbecue equipment. Francois is an outspoken man with strong opinions, and although he has a 50% hearing loss, this does not hold him back from living life to the fullest.
Jan Grobbelaar (37), Cradock
Since 2017, Jan has been a minister at the NG Church on Cradock and he belongs to the waste guild. Apart from being a passionate braai, he also has reasonable knowledge in meat processing.
Joubert Spies (38), Pretoria
Joubert is a chartered accountant from Pretoria and a man with a great love for hunting and the outdoors. He tackles meat processing and grilling with confidence and different techniques. He entered together with his cousin Lara van der Merwe, also one of the remembered barbecuers.
Karen Els (46), Malmesbury
This Swartlander is a former flight attendant who has long dreamed of becoming a flight attendant cook door participate. For her, this is an experience that she undertakes for herself – she started in 2013 MasterChef participated and subsequently had to face stormy waters in her personal life.
Lara van der Merwe (23), Durbanville
Lara has a degree in BSc Food Science. Her barbecue experience is quite limited, but cook door is a chance for her to test and prove her skills and qualification.
Nate Smith (48), Durbanville
Nate is the co-owner of DNA Café in Kuilsrivier which was one of the eateries featured in the second season of kykNET’s In the soupseries was redone. The DNA stands for Duke, Nate and Adele (Nate’s wife). Duke has since passed away and the restaurant is his legacy to Nate and Adele.
Nicole Buirman (35), Robertson
Nicole is a mother of two boys and she and her husband breed with dogs. Her grilling skills made her the Ultimate Grill Master made it to the top ten. In between, she has also won several potjiekos competitions.
Rodney Gelant (47), Oudtshoorn
Rodney is a caterer in Oudtshoorn with a penchant for traditional dishes and old favourites. He achieved second place in Boiling point on VIA.
Meet the twisters
Ashley Dokter (34), Mossel Bay
Ashley grew up in Murraysburg, a small town in the Karoo. Ten years after completing his hospitality studies, he ended up at a prestigious nature farm. This is the fifth time he has entered for cook door.
Borries Bornman (46), Alberton
This Gautenger studied at the Wits Hotel School after which he was overwhelmed by the braai and BBQ cooking style. Not only did he have the sixth season of Ultimate Grill Master won’t – but he also leads BBQ tours to America.
Braam Potgieter (25), Paarl
As a child Braam sharpened his teeth for a nice steak in his father’s Spur on Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal. After his studies, he gained work experience at some of the Cape’s leading restaurants such as Le Coin and Grande Roche. He won second place in One and Only’s Young Star Chef of the Year competition in 2021.
Cindy Menigo (38), Wellington
Cindy takes her second chance after dropping out early Cook door 2. She combines her advanced diploma in culinary arts and City & Guilds diploma in pastry with her chef experience as a lecturer.
Gert Joubert (31), Jeffreys Bay
Gert had his own restaurant in Gqeberha, Fine Time Steakhouse Co., and it was voted the best steakhouse in the Bay. It was a huge setback for Gert and his family when they were forced to close the restaurant’s doors in 2021. He now works at the Addo Country Estate.
Kevin Reed, 24, Brackenfell
Kevin is a former agricultural school learner, rugby player and talented chef who already shows at a young age that he is a standout. At 24 he has already obtained his chef qualification and is also an honorary presenter of the food program Menu on SABC 2. Kevin did Chef’s house won on VIA.
Lara van Heerden (25), Bellville
Lara initially studied BSc Microbiology, but after two years decided to pursue her dream of being a chef instead. Today she lives the dream at JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town where she plays with flavors to create something new. She was crowned the winner of Boiling point and she also took third place in Chef’s house on VIA.
Mandre Campher (22), Loevenstein
Mandre’s impressive résumé includes internships at JAN, La Colombe and the Leeu Collection. He was also the winner of Boiling pointa finalist in Chef’s House (both on VIA) and among the top free of One and Only’s Reaching for Young Stars competition.
Natalie Erasmus (26), Cape Town
Natalie is a trained pastry chef and she also designs jewellery. She has worked at the Queen Victoria Hotel as well as at Fyn, one of the top restaurants in the world. She has also been introduced to the world of cooking competitions for television as a contestant on Chef’s house and Boiling point on VIA.
Tjaart Prinsloo (27), Stilbaai
Tjaart is a boer goat farmer, coffee shop owner and creative cook from Stilbaai. He was trained as a chef at the renowned Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch and has worked under culinary mentors such as Herman Lensing, Darren Badenhorst and Bertus Basson.
- Kokkedoor Fire & Flame starts on Thursday 27 July at 20:00 on kykNET (DStv channel 144).
