After an exciting, and mouth-watering, second season of The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition, 36-year-old Cape Townian Kyle Haytread has been crowned champion of the popular reality show.

Kyle wowed judges Zola Nene and Fritz Schoon with his unique, creative and delicious recipes throughout the competition, proving that he can think outside the box and deliver appetising creations – despite being challenged by some of the biggest names in the South African culinary space.

In his final challenge, Kyle, and his fellow Top 3 contestants Thando Manyoni and Jay Miller, used the skills they learned throughout the competition to create a Russian-inspired high tea presentation at the esteemed Hazendal Wine Estate.

Executive chef Michelle Theron joined the judging panel for the final challenge, while the three remaining contestants presented their creations to some familiar faces.

Kyle impressed with a spread consisting of a brownie and milk tart cremeaux, Russian zephyr sweet with coconut and honey, Russian inspired cheesecake pop with Amarula, cherries and nuts, peppermint crisp mousse, chilled beetroot soup (known as borscht) with creme fraiche and salmon trout mousse with salmon gravadlax and crispy skins. 

Appreciating his attention to detail and his ability to inject his personality and character into his creation, Kyle was ultimately crowned the winner of The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition.

“I can’t believe that I am the winner of The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition! This is amazing,” Kyle says. “There have been so many ups and downs and times where I thought I was going home, but here I am! First place! Well done to Jay and Thando as well, although they didn’t win, they baked their hearts out week after week. I will forever be grateful for this experience.”

As the winner of this season of The Taste Master SA, Kyle walks away with a Samsung oven, microwave and vacuum cleaner for their star kitchen, a Thermomix to the approximate value of R26 000, their choice of premium Le Creuset prizes to the approximate value of R15 000 and a cash prize.

“We are so proud of the 12 contestants on this season of The Taste Master SA,” says Patience Stevens, Executive Producer at Cardova Productions. “Each one of them showed such unique skill and wonderful positive energy. A perfect example of the shining young talent we are lucky enough to have in South Africa today.”

Bradley Van Den Berg, Executive Producer at The Taste Master SA, adds “There has been a rejuvenation for the love of baking – a creative and empowering art. Collaborating with Royal Baking Powder brought the nostalgia of baking at home to life. Contestants bakes gave viewers inspiration to bake more memories of their own.  We would also like to thank Samsung, Thermomix and Le Creuset for giving the contestants the premium means to bake more memories .”

“And the winner is….Kyle!! Congratulations Kyle for winning the first baking edition of the Taste Master SA. Well done to all our contestants on their successful journey on the show- such an incredible experience to see them learn new skills and impress us with their creations over the past 13 weeks.  It’s been inspiring to hear the contestants baking memories and that Royal Baking Powder has been part of those memories for many generations in the kitchen.” – Tamryn Seopela, Senior Brand Manager of Royal Baking Powder

Kyle has always been a curious baker and culinary experimenter who started his career as a junior pastry chef in London. He eventually worked his way up to becoming an executive pastry chef at various well-known establishments across Cape Town. Kyle is so passionate about food that he recently started experimenting with cheesemaking and developing his own range of artisanal chocolate and confectionery. “My food ethos: Farm to plate, conscious and kind ingredient choices, the classics are the classics and the plate is merely an extension of the heart,” Kyle says.

For more information, visit www.thetastemaster.co.za.