# MasterChef South Africa season 5

The fifth season of MasterChef South Africa was announced on 17 January 2024, premiered 13 July 2024 on SABC 3 and concluded on 23 November. The season was won by Bridget Mangwandi while Nabila Shamshum was the runner-up. Bridget is officially the youngest MasterChef Winner in franchise history as she is a few months younger than Dara Yu ,who was also crowned the world’s youngest winner.
Returning judges for this season were Zola Nene and Justine Drake. They were joined by new judge Katlego Mlambo. Filming took place from 29 April – 8 June 2024 in Cape Town. Series Director was Geoffrey Butler.

## Contestants
### Top 20

| Contestant | Age | Occupation | Hometown | Episode of Elimination | Place Finished |
| Bridget Mangwandi | 20 | Content Creator | Johannesburg | Winner | 1st |
| Nabila "Bealah" Shamshum | 23 | School Secretary | Johannesburg | Runner-up | 2nd |
| Chanel Brink | 34 | Internal Sales Consultant | Durban | Episode 20 | 3rd |
| Refe Dimbaza | 31 | Financial Accountant | Centurion | Episode 19 | 4th |
| Lona Rode | 35 | Brand Developer | Tsolo | Episode 18 | 5th |
| Tebogo Mabye | 28 | Model | Johannesburg | TBA | TBA |
| Tinashe "Nash" Zwambila | 38 | Operations Director | Johannesburg | TBA | TBA |
| Naledi Matshitse | 42 | Homemaker | Muldersdrift | TBA | TBA |
| Amogelang "Amo" Maluleka | 25 | Community Manager | Johannesburg | TBA | TBA |
| Penelope "Penny" Rider | 65 | Retired | Johannesburg | TBA | TBA |
| Shreya Beekum | 22 | Recent Graduate | Ballito | TBA | TBA |
| Ketsia Malela | 31 | Influencer | Kyalami | TBA | TBA |
| Tzu "Tina" Ting Long | 41 | Owner of Frozen Dumpling Store | Cape Town | Episode 5 | 13th |
| Zakariyya "Zak" Ebrahim | 46 | Entrepreneur | Durban | Episode 4 | 14th |
| Melanie Jo-Anne van der Merwe | 39 | Entrepreneur | Stellenbosch | Episode 3 | 15th |
| Robyn Africa | 28 | Law Firm Manager | Johannesburg | Episode 1 | 16–20th |
| Mahlodi Lesego Matuludi | 26 | Self-employed | Johannesburg | Episode 1 | 16–20th |
| Andrew Nye | 42 | Video Producer | Johannesburg | Episode 1 | 16–20th |
| Lucas Roothman | 33 | Rugby Recruiter | Stellenbosch | Episode 1 | 16–20th |
| Elaine "Ella Bella" E. Consrantinides-Leite | 39 | Educationalist | Bedfordview | Episode 1 | 16–20th |

## Elimination table

| Place | Contestant | Episode | Episode | Episode | Episode | Episode |
| Place | Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| TBA | Amo | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN | LOW |
| TBA | Bridget | IN | LOW | HIGH | WIN | IN |
| TBA | Chanel | IN | IN | IN | LOW | IN |
| TBA | Ketsia | IN | IN | IN | IN | HIGH |
| TBA | Lona | IN | LOW | LOW | IN | IN |
| TBA | Nabila | IN | IN | IN | HIGH | IN |
| TBA | Naledi | IN | WIN | IMM | IN | HIGH |
| TBA | Nash | IN | IN | LOW | HIGH | IN |
| TBA | Penny | IN | IN | IN | IN | LOW |
| TBA | Refe | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN |
| TBA | Shreya | IN | HIGH | IN | LOW | IN |
| TBA | Tebogo | IN | IN | IN | IN | WIN |
| 13 | Tina | IN | HIGH | WIN | IN | ELIM |
| 14 | Zak | IN | IN | IN | ELIM |
| 15 | Melanie | IN | IN | ELIM |
| 16-20 | Andrew | ELIM |
| 16-20 | Ella Bella | ELIM |
| 16-20 | Lesego | ELIM |
| 16-20 | Lucas | ELIM |
| 16-20 | Robyn | ELIM |
    (WINNER) This chef won the competition.
    (RUNNER-UP) This chef received second place in the competition.
    (WIN) The chef won the individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge, Pressure Test or Invention Test).
    (WIN) The chef was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and was safe from the Pressure Test.
    (HIGH) The chef was one of the top entries in the Mystery Box Challenge, Pressure Test or Invention Test but didn't win.
    (CC) The chef received the advantage of competing against a celebrity chef in this challenge. If they won, they advanced farther on in the competition, skipping a number of challenges. The chef could not be eliminated after this challenge.
    (IMM) The chef won Immunity in the previous challenge and was safe from cooking.
    (IN) The chef was not selected as a top entry or bottom entry in the challenge.
    (PT) The chef was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.
    (LOW) The chef was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, but was not the last person to advance.
    (LOW) The chef was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, and was the last person to advance.
    (ELIM) The chef was eliminated from MasterChef.

## Episodes

MasterChef South Africa Season 5 Episodes :
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 86 | 1 | "Final Audition" | 13 July 2024 (2024-7-13) |
| The top 20 contestants must each cook for a final place in the Top 15. ||||
| 87 | 2 | "Apple of Your Eye" | 20 July 2024 (2024-7-20) |
| Mystery Box: The Top 15 contestants cook for the apple of their eye. The main ingredient that must feature in the dish is apple. The winner wins immunity from the next elimination. ||||
| 88 | 3 | "Legendary Pepper Steak Pie" | 27 July 2024 (2024-7-27) |
| Pressure Test: The Top 15 must recreate chef Nokx Majozi's legendary pepper steak pie. Will they rise to the occasion or crumble under the pressure? ||||
| 89 | 4 | "It's in the Stars" | 3 August 2024 (2024-8-3) |
| Invention Test: The chefs must prepare a dish for one of the three judges complimenting their star signs. ||||
| 90 | 5 | "Fashion and Food" | 10 August 2024 (2024-8-10) |
| Invention Test: The chefs get paired with wonderful designs. They must create a dish resembling the design they paired with. ||||