KOO crowns Zandile Makhoba as Mzansi's next cooking star.

Mzansi’s favourite cooking show Colour Your Plate with KOO has crowned Zandile Makhoba as their first ever winner. Zandile walks away with R50,000 in prizes, along with the title of Mzansi’s newest cooking star during the 2-part grand finale, which aired on SABC 2.

The KZN born chef wowed the show’s panel of judges which included media personality Basetsana Khumalo, renowned chef Reuben Riffle and KOO nutritionist Author Ramoroka with her versatile range of colourful and healthy KOO dishes that celebrated the Mzansi plate. Her culinary prowess also challenged food enthusiasts that tuned in weekly to adopt well-balanced eating habits by taking on the KOO 5-A-DAY challenge, which includes introducing introducing 2 fruits and 3 vegetables from KOO across their daily servings – making eating healthier better for everyone in Mzansi.

‘We are so proud of Zandi as our first ever Colour Your Plate with KOO winner. Throughout the competition, she has shown impeccable skill and created some of the most colourful, innovative and of course, healthy dishes the judges as well as the viewers enjoyed. The show became a vehicle for us to introduce our mission to promote our KOO 5-A-DAY campaign and edutain our consumers on making eating better easier using their favourite offerings from KOO.” Said Marketing Director for KOO, Edna Mohale-Maphita.

“We are also very proud of the impact our show managed to create in the culinary space. Not only did we expose South Africans to the raw talent and skill our country possesses, but through the Colour Your Plate with KOO TV show, we launched our all-inclusive culinary bursary programme that aims to give rising chefs an opportunity to kickstart their culinary career at the prestigious Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine with mentorship by the country’s top chef and Colour Your Plate with KOO judge Reuben Riffel. We are so excited and proud of the opportunities we managed to create that give back to those that have an innate love for food, as well as our brand” Edna concluded.

The self-proclaimed introvert could not be more elated about her monumental victory. A chef by profession and social entrepreneur, Zandile Mathoba has been relentless in her mission to uplift communities through her organization Zandi The Chef International.

“Being crowned Mzansi’s next cooking star is such an important, yet unexpected victory for me. Colour Your Plate with KOO has been such a wonderful learning experience; not only did I learn a lot about cooking with the help of our incredible judging panel, but I have also learned the importance of diversifying your pallet by incorporating healthy meals in your diet everyday using products from KOO we all know and love. I am excited to see where this journey will take me in my culinary career and I hope I get to do incredible work in the culinary space and create more opportunities for people who are as passionate about food as I am” Said Zandile Mathoba.

The Colour Your Plate with KOO cooking star walked away with the R50 000 cash prize, as well as other incredible prizes which include a KOO hamper, Lecreuset homeware items, a nutribullet as well as an Instant Pot air-fryer for Zandile to continue making healthy dishes for her loved ones.

You can follow, as well as participate in the conversations online by following @KOO_FOOD on Twitter and @koofoodsa on Instagram. SA foodies can continue to showcase their KOO 5-A-DAY meals by using the hashtag #KOO5ADAY and #ColourYourPlatewithKOO.