Ex-Bay presenter cooks up a storm
Brook-Thomae and partner in line for R1m prize as finalists in Mzansi Magic show
AS a small child she would shadow her mother in the kitchen until finally she was given a small stool so she could climb up to look at the ingredients and watch the cooking process.
From there, Pumla Brook-Thomae’s passion for food grew and now the finalist in Mzansi Magic’s new cooking reality show, KFC Taste Kitchen, stands in line to win the R1-million prize, along with her partner on the show.
Brook-Thomae, 43, a former Bay TV cooking presenter, might have not gone to culinary school, but the selftaught chef, who missed out on a chance to audition for Master Chef, has proved her mettle in the kitchen during the competition, which started on July 14.
Over 13 weeks, 11 teams of two will compete against each other until just one team stands.
Brook-Thomae said: “I was that kid who always hung out in the kitchen to the point that my mom organised me a small stool which I used to hop on while I watched as she prepared the ingredients on the table for each dish.
“Her food was always tasty and that inspired me to make food as great as hers.
“When I saw the television advert about KFC Taste Kitchen, inviting home cooks to audition for their new reality TV cooking show, I decided to grab the opportunity with both hands. This was a dream come true as I had applied for Master Chef before but unfortunately fell ill just before the auditions.
“KFC Taste Kitchen came at the right time and I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity for which I had waited so long.”
Brook-Thomae is no stranger to the kitchen and a little bit of limelight – she released her first cook book titled Pumla’s Food last year in June.
It featured more than 60 dishes which she describes as family recipes that would be enjoyed by anyone.
“Being in this competition is very challenging as we are working in an unfamiliar kitchen. The past week was one of those bittersweet weeks as the stuffed pepper that I made with my partner, Ngcingci Mbalentle, was a turn-off for chef Lentswe Bhengu.
“However, chef Lucia Mthiyane tried it and loved the flavours. This week we are under pressure to up our game. Our strategy is to first take into consideration all the critique from last week and not repeat the same mistakes but rather show judges that when they spoke, we listened.”
Brook-Thomae said if she were to win, the first thing that comes to mind would be to start a cooking academy.
“It has always been my wish to have a cooking school and I would also fund my second cookbook,” she said.
KFC Taste Kitchen is on Mzansi Magic’s 161 on Fridays at 7pm.