Lusaka set for Mastercook Zambia competition

A competition which will put local Zambian ingredients firmly on the world’s cooking map is set for launch on January 30, 2023 in Lusaka.

The competition and television show duped “Mastercook Zambia” will feature local delicacies such as Trotters, Tente Mushroom, visashi, offals and Lumanda, among others.

The focus for this year is showcasing local ingredients and how the indigenous foods can be staple ingredients in fine dining menus, says Abigail Mbuzi the creator and executive producer of the show.

Mbuzi said in a statement issued on Thursday that Mastercook Zambia team would traverse the whole country visiting every single province to conduct auditions for Chefs competition and television show.

“We are looking for the best chefs, foodies and home cooks who are not only great cooks, but are creative with their dishes, think outside of the box in their use of ingredients and can come up with dishes that can take the world by storm.

“We aim to put local Zambian ingredients firmly on the world’s culinary map, our current product range includes, Trotters and beans, Village chicken and Visashi, offals and Lumanda, Jollof rice mix, Chilli sauce, Dry Fish and Katapa as well as Tente Mushroom,” she said.

This year, Mbuzi said, the show had collaborations from across the African continent with Celebrity Chefs coming in from Ghana, South Africa and Kenya throughout the competition to help in picking winners.

“Our Mastercook meals team wanted to find ways to ensure that our customers can have delicious traditional meals at home even when they don’t have the time or the skill to cook it themselves,” she said.