A black domestic worker who captured the public imagination on South Africa’s edition of Masterchef has fallen at the last hurdle in her bid to win the title and prizes of half a million rand (£27,318) and a luxury SUV.
Siphokazi Mdlankomo, described as an inspiration for the country’s legion of underappreciated cooks, cleaners, housekeepers and nannies, was pipped at the post by Roxi Wardman, an assistant train driver, in Thursday’s final.
The hugely popular TV contest came down to a cook-off with Mdlankomo and Wardman challenged by British celebrity chef Marco Pierre White to prepare a roast rump of lamb on the bone with mussels in a white wine sauce.
White said he thought Mdlankomo’s lamb was slightly overcooked “but that doesn’t offend me”. “She’s cooked her mussels well. She did a very, very, very good job.” He was similarly pleased with Wardman’s effort, opining: “I think her cooking of the lamb is very good.”
The judges gave Wardman the edge, taking her total score for the final programme to 75 points, ahead of Mdlankomo on 67.
Wardman won 500,000 rand in cash, a VW Tiguan, 100,000 rand (£5,475) worth of food from retailer Woolworths, a trip to the French winelands, a year’s worth of wines and a five-night stay at a luxury resort and spa in the Seychelles. She has quit her job as an assistant train driver, which included 12-hour shifts starting at midnight in “a man’s world”, and now intends to open a cafe that will train young chefs.
Reflecting on how she became passionate about food, the 26-year-old from Durban said: “Growing up, my mum used to let me go wild in the kitchen, so I started there. Reading a lot. Google is my friend.”
Mdlankomo received a cheque for 100,000 rand, a fortune in a country where the minimum wage for domestic workers in urban areas is just 2,065.47 rand (£119) per month. She is considering her future options, including trying to launch her own TV cookery show. “That is my biggest dream,” she told a press conference after the results announcement in Johannesburg.
Asked if she would accept an offer to work for a top chef, Mdlankomo replied: “Definitely. Cooking is my life.”
Her culinary talents have won huge admiration in South Africa and she was mobbed by screaming fans at the airport, with many eager to be photographed with her. “It’s been quite amazing,” she said. “When I go for groceries, from eight-year-olds to 70-year-olds, it’s: ’There’s Sipho! Can we take a picture of you?’
“A lot of domestic workers have been supporting me. I’m a role model now! Everywhere I go they ask me, ‘How do you do it? We love to cook as domestic workers but can you just tell us how you do it?’”
Mdlankomo, 39, who grew up in a small rural village in Eastern Cape province with her mother, grandmother and three brothers, said her family did not have a satellite TV subscription when the series began and were unable to watch her, but she had rectified this so they could follow her progress.
Her employers had travelled from Cape Town to support her at the results announcement held in a convention centre in Sandton, reputedly the wealthiest square mile in Africa. Liz Andreasen, who hired Mdlankomo nine years ago, said: “She showed incredible talent from the day she started working for us. She’s always had the joie de vivre and sparkle in her eye.
“She’s effectively never been treated as a domestic worker in our home. She’s equal to all of us. It’s a misnomer that all domestic workers are treated badly in South Africa. That’s not what we experience in our household. It’s equal opportunities for all.”
Andreasen, 56, said her husband had risen at 5am to drive Mdlankomo to the Masterchef audition and they would help her pursue her love of cooking. “The world is her oyster. Regardless of her coming second, the public love her.”
This was the third series of Masterchef in South Africa. One of the judges, Benny Masekwameng, said: “Siphokazi’s story has inspired the country already. Her journey will inspire people to be more brave and make calculated decisions about what will be good for them. You can go for whatever you want to do if you have the passion for it. That’s what Siphokazi symbolises.”
