KIA COOK-OFF SA 2012

Kia Cook-Off SA 2012 is a spicy new cooking show on the television menu with a difference - bringing together 27 South Africans to compete for the honour of being the best one-pot chef in the country.

These are not top trained chefs but unsung heroes and heroines making the best home-cooked meal. Contestants hail from townships and suburbs throughout the country bringing curry recipes handed down from generation to generation. Potjie recipes that were developed in the "bush" have been improvised with ingredients that whet the tastebuds of a "new South Africa".

Also on the stove are complex casserole recipes and mouth-watering stews, all for the bragging rights to the best one-pot dish in South Africa and walk away with R50,000 in cash.

Among the contestants is Kasturi Lachman, a 63 year-old grandmother from Durban whose love of cooking was developed as a youngster helping her grandmother in the kitchen. Self-employed, she started her career at a very young age and went on to run a successful take-away business. She had to surrender this business when her husband passed away in order to take on the management of his transport company. Since then, she has become involved in the construction, building and maintenance industry.

In the final episode of the series, the three remaining home chefs face off against each other for the top spot and the distinction of being crowned the best one-pot cook. Presented by Cape Town radio jock Kieno Kaamies, Kia Cook-Off SA is judged by renowned cooking-school owner Stephen Billingham and infamous Sunday Times food critic "Bandit" Garth Van Der Walt.

Kia Cook-Off SA 2012 airs on DStv’s The Home Channel (182).at 20h30 every Thursday for the next few months. Kasturi Lachman’s episode will be aired on August 9.