The Durban University of Technology’s (DUT’s) Nqobile Ngcobo is a contestant on The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition. It premieres on Friday evening, 10th September 2021 at 7pm on SABC2.
An avid baker in the making, the bubbly Ngcobo will showcase her culinary skills on the television show as one of 12 contestants.
She relayed that with the advent of COVID-19, and due to the pandemic there are no physical classes on campus so she can afford to shoot episodes in Cape Town and attend lectures that are taking place in Durban (via Microsoft Teams which can be recorded so that she can always listen to the lecture when she has time). However, she did confess that she does miss physical lectures and the old way of learning
“I am excited and honoured to be one of the contestants on The Taste Master SA. I have learnt a lot in the competition, I have had to challenge and I also learnt to be kinder to myself,” she said.
The 20-year-old lass is currently doing her Advanced Diploma in Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition at DUT, and is forever thinking about her next meal: that’s how much she loves food.
“Food is what I have always wanted to learn about. It was either I study food or nothing,” she said.
Explaining her journey into the competition, Ngcobo said she started following The Taste Master SA on Instagram and she came across one of their posts on Instagram where they announced that applications for Season 2 (a baking edition) was open.
“This had me very excited, so I decided to enter because I love food and The Taste Master SA is a great platform for me to share my love for food,” she relayed.
To enter the competition, she had to send a video of herself baking something special, go to The Taste Master SA website, fill in the entry form and submit the video.
“I baked feather light scones because they are a family teatime favourite. I later reviewed an email stating that I was a potential top 12 contestant and I then had to send a video of myself motivating why I should be one of the top 12 contestants,” she quipped excitedly.
Ngcobo was beyond elated and expressed that this is the first time she is competing in a contest.
“I have entered a lot of competitions before but I have never made it through to be part of any of them,” she said.
Speaking further on her passion for baking, she confessed that her style is simple and inspired by ‘homey’ flavours.
“I love incorporating home-grown, seasonal ingredients into my cooking and baking and this is influenced by my late grandmother,” she said.
She conveyed that to be part of the food industry requires a lot of dedication.
“The food industry is big; however, it is not as glamorous as it seems. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. One must have a genuine love for food in order to survive and excel in the food industry,” she said.
Her long term goals, include travelling, exploring different cultures, cuisines and nature destinations in Africa, owning farms, and assisting in fighting against food insecurity, especially when it comes to vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
“I am a huge believer in nutrition, education and improving the livelihoods of the people of Africa,” she stressed.
Ngcobo urges the DUT community to watch the show and said that the viewers must expect a lot of drama and proud moments on the show.
Catch glimpses of the first episode on The Taste Master SA which are up on their social media pages:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TasteMasterSA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TasteMasterSA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastemastersa/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheTasteMasterSA
Pictured: DUT’s Nqobile Ngcobo, a contestant on The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition.
Waheeda Peters
