TV News South Africa

Tsogo Sun back on board for second season of MasterChef SA

Tsogo Sun Group has returned as a full sponsor of the second season of M-Net's MasterChef SA, following the successful first season that aired early in 2012.

It will air on M-Net channel 101, during prime time on a Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11 June to 11 September 2013.

Tsogo Sun celebrity chef, Benny Masekwameng
Tsogo Sun celebrity chef, Benny Masekwameng

The first winner, Deena Naidoo won the right of use of a Montecasino restaurant for two years. Her restaurant - Aarya - opened in early November 2012 in the SunSquare hotel on the Montecasino Piazza and is proving to be a hit with MasterChef fans as well as Gauteng's foodies, consistently exceeding booking expectations.

Sponsorships involved

"Tsogo Sun is delighted and proud to be partnering with M-Net in this hit show," says Rob Collins, Tsogo Sun chief marketing officer. "The partnership with the MasterChef SA reality culinary show is a meeting of like-minded brands and a natural fit for us. It is also testament to the group's commitment to supporting the world-class South African hospitality industry.

"Tsogo Sun is proud to once again be an official sponsor and the accommodation partner. This new season promises even more top quality entertainment than the first one."

MasterChef SA Season Two will entail promotional activities at several of the group's hotels and leisure destinations around the country and that "the group is looking forward to giving South African consumers the opportunity to engage with MasterChef promotions on our properties, all of which take great pride in ensuring an excellent and varied food offering."

Benny is back

Tsogo Sun celebrity chef, Benny Masekwameng, will also once again make an appearance, as one of the three MasterChef judges.

Says Graham Wood, MD of Tsogo Sun - hotels, "Chefs are the lifeblood of the group's hotels and we're extremely proud to have a chef of his calibre representing us on MasterChef. He is a homegrown South African celebrity chef who hails from Alexandra Township, where he was inspired to join the culinary world by his mother. She was a cleaner at a local fast food outlet and ran a catering business in her spare time, supplying meals to local construction workers. From those humble beginnings, he has forged an exceptionally successful career and will no doubt inspire both participants in the MasterChef programme as well as millions of viewers."

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