Ultimate Braai Master Season 8 Episode 11
My experience on set and behind the scenes.
There really isn’t anything more South African than a BRAAI. That’s why, when the producers of the South African production Ultimate Braai Master contacted me and said they wanted to do a full episode on the best tuna in Cape Town, I jumped at the opportunity.
The scene was set at the De Hoop Nature Reserve, with a very early start. I cannot believe the number of people, hours and work that goes into the few minutes of viewing that we see at home on TV. This gave me an appreciation for the TV business and how tough it is. I think there could have easily been 50-60 crew members, multiple trucks and more gear and cameras than I could count. It was the first time I have ever been on a reality TV set. From sitting at home thinking they must help these guys on TV, and now seeing that it really isn’t the case was pretty cool.
I prepared and presented a tuna master class to the contestants of this reality show.
It started off with an entire locally caught yellowfin tuna of 71kg on display. We covered topics such as why Cape Town is a tuna hotspot, how tuna is caught in a low impact manner using a single pole and line method, why we should eat local wild caught tuna, and how to prepare and grade tuna.
Then the fun began and I broke down the entire tuna from head to tail with the contestants, talking about each cut of fish and the best application and dish for each cut. We discussed what section of the fish is best for sushi, which cut contains the most fat and flavour, and I really tried to give them the best armory of information for the grueling day they had ahead of them - preparing many tuna dishes over the coals.
If you would like to watch this episode, please search Ultimate Braai Master South Africa Season 8 Episode 11. It was aired on E-tv and is apparently going to be on Netflix soon.
