Dynamite cook Siphokazi set to explode back onto our screens

MasterChef SA runner-up and former domestic worker Siphokazi Mdlankomo returns to the small screen with her reality cooking series.

The pint-size chef is back on Mzansi Magic on Friday at 7.30pm with her second season of Let’s Eat with Siphokazi.

Mdlankomo’s inspirational journey resonated with her fans in season one‚ and left them wanting more. Unlike the first season where Mdlankomo went out to her guests‚ in this season she will be entertaining at a house in Johannesburg.

“It’s exciting working on camera. This season is going to be different. I am not going to people’s homes. Guests will be joining me at a house where we will interact and cook. We will prepare local dishes that were a favourite of my guests when they were growing up. Maybe something their mother used to cook when they were little. One of the dishes we will be cooking is mogodu (tripe)‚” said Mdlankomo.

Among the celebrity guests to feature on the show during the 10 episodes‚ include actress Baby Cele and radio and television presenter Dineo Ranaka.

After coming second in the 2014 season of MasterChef SA‚ Mdlankomo published her own cookbook‚ My Little Black Recipe Book‚ landed a contract as a brand ambassador for a retail chain and has her own television show.

“Participating on MasterChef was the best thing ever. My life has been amazing since the competition. A year after the show I quit working as a domestic worker but am still very close to the family I worked for in Cape Town‚” she said.

The 42-year-old mother of one said for the first season she was a bit afraid of interacting with celebrities.

“I am not a celebrity. I used to ask myself how do I‚ this small person‚ interact with those big people in South Africa? How do I approach them? I got tips. And now I am a lot more comfortable. I realised they are normal people like me‚” said Mdlankomo.

Her advice to other domestic workers is to believe in themselves and ask for help.

“You know what you are good at. I never thought I would be where I am today. But I always said to myself that I would not remain a domestic worker for the rest of my life. Somewhere‚ somehow there has to be something‚” said Mdlankomo. - TimesLIVE