Justin Bonello hosts SA’s first Ultimate Braai Master competition. We chatted to him to find out how he get his braai on…

Firstly, congratulations on your new show! What was the initial inspiration behind the show? 

Firstly we want to open up the braai universe to everyone and show them that we can do everything and anything on the fire. The second (and probably more important) thing is that Ultimate Braai Master is a show for South Africans, made by South Africans, starring South Africans that taps into the South African psyche. And really, what we want to do is celebrate being South African.

What can we expect to see on the show?

An epic road trip, great locations, fantastic people and really hard challenges. From our sneak previews that we’ve been showing to certain individuals we are confident that this show has achieved all its objectives.

What is your earliest braai memory?

It has to be on the banks of the Breede River where we used to head up every weekend and every school holiday. In those days my dad would have us picking and shoveling and building our piece of paradise. We used to get rabbit from the old Swiss butcher in Gardens (Cape Town) and our Sunday river treat was always spit-roasting that rabbit and eating it on fresh rolls with squashy avocado. That memory is still engrained in my mind some 35 years down the line.

How do you think the traditional South African braai has evolved?

We’ve been cooking in the great outdoors on the open fire since ma and pa fell off the wagon. Our braai culture has evolved from killing, preparing and cooking our own venison (survivalist) to being more practical braaiers today. South Africans truly are the masters of the braai universe and I don’t think Americans, Australians and other nations with similar outdoor cultures can compete with us any more. We truly own the next level of the braai…that’s the creation of umami and the gees around the fire.

It seems as if we’re getting more experimental with the types of things we braai – do you agree?

Yes, I agree 100%. Our elevated gourmet cooking nowadays all started on the fire out of our necessity to be able to cook our meat. So all that we’ve done is taken what we learned around the fire and applied it to the kitchen. Now we’re taking what we can do in the kitchen and applying it back to the braai and this means that we’ve come full circle. As for the most outrageous things to do on a braai…there are so many things we can do nowadays, from making malva pudding, to getting back in touch with the less-used parts of an animal (think tongue, liver, kidney, tripe) to spitting entire animals. I think the sky is the limit and the contestants’ skillsets on Ultimate Braai Master has opened up a whole new world for me, which I can’t wait to explore.

What are your favourite things to cook on the braai?

I love Karoo lamb. My favorite is a deboned leg of lamb, Greek style. But really I’ll cook everything on the fire.

Can a braai ever be romantic?

Listen, I think with the addition of a decent bottle of bubbly, anything can be romantic.

Is there a braai secret you’d like to share with us? 

Get all the prep work out of the way before your friends arrive so you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen while they get to have fun. And make sure you start your fire on time. My mantra? Plan, prep, cook, serve – in that order. Mix it up and you’re bound to end up with a disaster.

What’s your favourite braai recipe?

I still love braaiing a whole lamb on a spit, which my wife’s godfather taught me how to make.

Click here to view the recipe.

What do you think constitutes a typical South African braai?

The kuier – as only South Africans can do. And you can’t translate that word to English. It’s the only word that encapsulates what the braai is about. Add to this good food, good wine and good company – then you have a winning recipe.

Tune into SABC3 Thursdays at 8PM to catch Ultime Braai Master.

Images via Facebook/Justin.Bonello.Foodie