It’s the first leg of the third season of South Africa’s toughest outdoor cooking competition and 15 teams of two contestants each, from all across the country arrive at the Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, Cape Town. This marks the start of an epic, 70-day, 9000 kilometer culinary road trip where teams will face a new barrage of challenges in pursuit of the title, the cash, the new 4x4 Renault Duster and a host of other awesome prizes. Contestants have mixed emotions as they arrive to face their first challenge and confront what Justin and the Judges have in store for them. This year, it’s time for tough!
The remaining fourteen teams travel to the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve on the West Coast. This iconic fishing area marks the third leg for teams battling it out to get their hands on this year’s title, but Justin and the Judges have a few tricks up their sleeves! Teams go head-to-head in three tough challenges – requiring them to prepare a selection of camping food to traditional West Coast fare . Sadly two teams are sent home after their efforts fail to impress.
It's the third leg of South Africa's first ever Ultimate Braai Master and the 12 remaining teams are living in luxury at the five-star Table Bay Hotel in the Mother City. This hotel is known as the 'best address in Cape Town' and is the venue for the next challenge.
In this fourth leg in the bid to win the title of South Africa's first ever Ultimate Braai Master, the eleven remaining teams travel to the Hout Bay Harbour, on the coast of Cape Town. The cold Beguela and the warm Agulhas currents makes this ocean one of the richest fishing grounds in the country. The Braai masters have to leave their teammates behind as they go out to sea to get their first taste of catching snoek.
The competition heats up as the ten remaining teams travel from the Cederberg back to the West Coast to the infamous Diamond Diver Cottages in Noup – that hidden place that’s far off the beaten track and in times of old, was not a destination for the faint-hearted. This challenge’s hero-ingredient happens to be South Africa’s most loved protein: Chicken! Teams are put under pressure as they have to braai five different chicken dishes in a mere two hours and in the end the pressure becomes too much for three teams who cross tongs in a nail-biting elimination.
In the sixth leg of The Ultimate Braai Master nine teams depart Matjiesfontein and travel to Cape St Francis, situated on the south-east coast of South Africa. The bay of this small coastal town is prone to good swell, which makes it a chokka fishing hotspot. After enjoying a typical Calamari, chips and tartar sauce lunch, Justin reveals that the braai buddies will go out to sea to get their first taste of fishing for squid. When they finally return after sunset, the challenge begins: teams have to bake, grill and fry a seafood platter on the braai. After a long day of travelling and fishing, teams start to show some strain and the three weakest teams up for elimination are revealed.
t's early morning and Justin reveals that teams have to travel to the Pick n Pay in Jeffrey's Bay and purchase everything they need to make the ultimate campsite braai for Bertus and Marthinus. From Jeffrey's Bay they travel to Morgan Bay - home to one of the best campsites in the country. The next morning, just as the sun rises, teams compete in a breakfast challenge and three teams go into elimination, where they have to cook a beef stew on their cars' engine blocks while travelling to their next destination, the Wild Coast. After a long and tedious travel day, one team's dreams are shattered.
It's early morning and the remaining 8 teams set off to a local Transkei village on foot. Along the way teams are taught how to forage off the coast. They enjoy a night of kuiering with locals in their village and the next morning they set off again and travel to a new village and the destination of their next challenge: a traditional village feast. At the end of the day three teams are announced for elimination.
In the 9th episode of Ultimate Braai Master, the remaining six teams travel from the rural Wild Coast to the hustle and bustle of Durban in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The Braai Masters are taught how to make Crab Curry at one of the best curry joints in the city. The next morning teams meet at the Durban Market where they must follow a set of clues that places them in a race against time and each other in their efforts to make it through the Team Challenge. In the end, three teams come head to head in one of the most gruelling Elimination Challenges yet.
The final five teams make their way to the Rawdons Hotel in the Natal Midlands for the 10th of South Africa's very first Ultimate Braai Master. The area is well known for its horse stud farms, cattle, fly-fishing and some of the best pub grub in the country. After a day of fun and games next to the trout dam, a 12-hour challenge starts the next morning. Each team has to braai a pub grub for 25 people. The reward? A fast-forward to the 12th leg of the Ultimate Braai Master. Even though this is a non-elimination round, teams still have to think out of the box to impress the judges and secure a place in the final 4.
The final five teams travel from the Natal Midlands to the Golden Gate National Park on the edge of the Maluti Mountains. After Coal Shoulder won the fast-forward in the previous challenge, they get to sit back while the other teams face each other for a spot in the twelfth leg of The Ultimate Braai Master. Teams are split into two groups and each group has to make two goat potjies, beef, lamb and chicken sosaties as well as beer bread for 35 guests. In the end, four close friends have to go head to head against each other in one of the most trying elimination challenges yet.
After an emotional Elimination Challenge in the Drakensberg, the remaining four teams travel to Pilanesberg and compete head-to-head in one of the longest Team Challenges yet! After an exhausting 24 hours, two teams are sent into an immediate Elimination Challenge, where they have to bake rusks on the fire overnight and serve homemade 'moer koffie' to the judges for their early morning adjudicating.
Over the last nine weeks contestants have been battling it out all across southern Africa for their chance to get their braai singed fingers on the R500 000, the Renault Duster SUV, a spice trip to India and the title of this year’s Ultimate Braai Master. The final three teams arrive at the Felix Unite Round the Bend Camp on the banks of the Breede River. They are excited and nervous, but the question is which one of the final three teams will have the right combination of teamwork, fireside skills and drive to take it all?
The 15 teams arrive at the Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, Cape Town, which marks the start of an epic, 70-day, 9000 kilometre culinary road trip. The judges set the bar of what they expect teams to produce on the open fire and contestants soon realise that this isn’t going to be a walk in the park when they battle it out in their first challenge in the treacherous weather conditions the Cape of Storms is so famous for!
Fifteen teams travel to the Breede River Resort and Fishing Lodge the picturesque town of Witsand, situated at the mouth of the Breede River. Here they are split into five groups, and after enjoying an unexpected adventure on the river, they regroup to battle it out in a highly pressurised challenge that’s all about fish! Contestants who can’t deliver the goods end up in an elimination challenge and the first team’s dream of taking the title goes up in smoke.
Fourteen teams travel to the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve on the West Coast. This iconic fishing area marks the third leg for teams battling it out to get their hands on this year’s prize and title, but Justin and the Judges have a few tricks up their sleeves! Teams compete in three tough challenges – from preparing a selection of camping food to traditional West Coast fare. Sadly two teams are sent home after they fail to impress the judges.
The twelve surviving teams travel to the Rondeberg Resort situated in the Cederberg Mountains, home to the most incredible rock formations and one of southern Africa’s best rock art sites. The game gets a lot tougher as teams are divided into four groups to produce an array of potjie dishes in a grueling challenge. While some teams crack the challenge, others melt under the pressure and end up in an emotional Elimination in the Bulshoek Dam Resort that sees two more teams sent home
The ten remaining teams travel from the Cederberg back to the West Coast to the infamous Diamond Diver Cottages in Noup – a hidden place that’s far off the beaten track and in times of old, was not a destination for the faint hearted. Contestants are put under pressure in the ultimate chicken challenge, and while some rule the roost, three unlucky teams cross tongs in a nail-biting elimination that sees another team’s dreams going up in smoke!
The remaining teams continue their epic road trip and cross borders into Namibia. Their first destination is the Felix Unite Provenance Camp on the banks of the mighty Orange River. Teams are tired but a trip down the river and a magical night sleeping under the stars revives their wilted spirits, but not for too long as they have to compete in an intense six-hour challenge that requires concentration and team work. The weakest team ends up in a surprise elimination, which sees one team sent back to South Africa with nothing more than braai-filled memories to keep them warm.
The town of Lüdertiz, Namibia, stands in isolation on the frontier between the ‘great dune sea’ and the rich, cold Benguela Current that runs up the west coast of Africa. This marks the 7th leg in what has proven to be the toughest season of Ultimate Braai Master yet, and it’s not about to get any easier. Teams are split into two groups and are challenged to braai a variety of snoek dishes for 450 school kids from the area!
The remaining teams travel deep into the desert to Sossusvlei situated in the Namib-Naukluft National Park situated on the edge of what is considered to be the most ancient desert in the world. After a tough venison challenge, the winning team gets a reward and a fast-forward to the tenth leg of the competition, while the two losing teams who have become close friends during the road trip have to face-off and cross their tongs to remain in the game.
The Fish River Canyon in the south of Namibia marks the start of the 9th leg of South Africa’s toughest outdoor kitchen and the tension is rising between the remaining seven teams as they cross tongs in a challenge that’s all about quintessential roadhouse food. While it seems like an easy task, many of the contestants fail under pressure and two teams face off in a traditional South African Elimination with one more team’s dreams going up in smoke.
Teams cross the border back in to South Africa after three weeks in Namibia and travel to what is known as the Northern Cape’s Green Kalahari on the banks of the Orange River. This is the tenth leg of their epic road trip and after a freezing trip down the river teams have to produce braaied pizza. While some teams ace the challenge, others serve up burnt offerings that see them go into an elimination challenge that’s all about swine.
The Karoo is a 400 000 square kilometer semi-desert that engulfs a third of southern Africa’s landmass. It’s a harsh environment where water has always been a scarce commodity and life has had to adapt accordingly. It’s another desolate, beautiful part of the country and the top five teams cross tongs in the longest, toughest challenge yet. After an exhausting challenge and with no elimination to fight to stay in the game, one more team’s dreams go up in smoke!
The remaining four teams travel to Buffelsdrift Game Lodge just outside of Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo. With only one more leg to go to the final, contestants are under pressure as they find themselves racing to complete five challenges. After failing to impress the judges during the main challenge, two teams cross tongs in the elimination challenge. One team is too exhausted to focus during the challenge, and after a poor performance, they lose their spot in the finals.
Over the last nine weeks contestants have been crossing tongs all across southern Africa, battling it out to get their hands on the cash, the car and the title of this year’s Ultimate Braai Master! The final three teams arrive at the Felix Unite Round the Bend Camp on the banks of the Breede River. Now all that remains is to see who has the right combination of teamwork, fireside skills and drive to take it all in the final challenge!