How do you put together a fun-filled, fast-paced cooking game show that is bound to become a daily local television staple? It’s easy. You take a “Red Tomato” and a “Green Pepper”, split them into a “Red Kitchen” and a “Green Kitchen”, add a top Mzansi chef on each side, and pair them with an enthusiastic home cook who is ready to challenge the food maestro’s creativity with a mystery bag of everyday ingredients delivered by Mr D. Then, you turn on the heat by setting the clock for a boiling hot 20-minute cook-off.
At the same time, you mix in the humour, flair and fabulosity of one of South Africa’s favourite personalities – foodie, comedian, presenter, actor and YouTube star Moshe Ndiki.
That’s the simple yet irresistible recipe followed by Ready Steady Cook South Africa, the thrill-a-minute daily treat with which S3 will spice up its Monday to Friday menu from Monday, 18 March, at 19:00.
You can also catch reruns of the show, Mondays to Fridays, on SABC 1 at 15:30 and SABC 2 at 17:30 or tune in for the week’s Ready Steady Cook South Africa omnibus on S3 on Saturdays between 08:00 and 10:30.
Based on the long-running BBC show represented worldwide by the media and entertainment powerhouse Banijay, Ready Steady Cook South Africa is a collaboration between Primedia Studios and the production company Rose and Oaks Media – the combo which was also responsible for the massive S3 hit The Masked Singer South Africa.
“Our new local version of Ready Steady Cook is like a paella or a “potjie” of everything that makes for good television,” says Anele Mdoda, co-owner of Rose and Oaks Media. “While the dramatic battle between Team Red Tomato and Team Green Pepper is packed with suspense, it’s also sprinkled with star power and non-stop fun. Simultaneously, the show addresses a nagging question many viewers grapple with every day: ‘What’s for dinner tonight?”
The star power, of course, belongs to show host Moshe Ndiki and the celebrity chefs lined up to show viewers how to create mouthwatering dishes from the five randomly selected food items.
“We’re thrilled to have Moshe as the on-screen coordinator of all the magic and madness cooked up by the two competing teams on Ready Steady Cook South Africa,” Anele raves. “From his call centre days creating content that made the entire country laugh from their bellies to his food trucks that spoke directly to our bellies, Moshe is the perfect balance of sugar, salt, flavour and heat… funny enough, everything you need to make a stellar dish.”
The well-known chefs who will show off their incredible food-making skills are Wandile Mabaso, Neo Nontso, Fehmida Osman-Latib, Kamini Pather, Kelly Njokweni, Liziwe Matloha, Lorna Maseko, Lufuno Sinthumule, Mmule Setati and Nthi Ramaboa.
In each of the 260 Ready Steady Cook South Africa episodes, you will find one of these famous culinary stars in the red kitchen and another one in the green kitchen, where they are tasked to create three mouthwatering dishes with the food items brought along by their Team Red Tomato or Team Green Pepper partner within 20 minutes. Once the time has run out, the studio audience then votes to determine the episode’s winning team.
What makes the show even more entertaining is that the two home cooks are related somehow. They’re either family members, friends, or business partners from the same profession or even sharing a hobby. During the cook-off, the audience learns more about their lives through their interaction with Moshe and the chefs.
If you and someone you know think you’re ready and steady to cook alongside the esteemed chefs on this juicy television show, you can WhatsApp the producers on 068 675 2542.
Ready Steady Cook South Africa is proudly sponsored by Mr D.
About S3
S3 is a revamped channel servicing the independent thinker and the progressive South African millennial. We want our viewers to open up to new lands, new content, new ideas and new ways of being. Through this new positioning, S3 invites viewers to take in all the new programming on offer to open up to a dialogue with your public broadcasting channel. Ultimately, our vision is to foster the spirit of curiosity and spearhead a generation of free thinkers. S3 is opening itself up to new viewers. These viewers, who fall under the millennial umbrella, are more socially conscious and environmentally aware than their predecessors. They are progressive and open-minded, and S3 will champion their frame of mind.
