Rising to the challenge of a riveting Season Two of The Taste Master SA: The Baking Edition, sponsored by Samsung, 36-year-old Cape Townian Kyle Haytread has been crowned as the winner. Despite being challenged by some of the biggest names in the South African culinary space Kyle wowed judges Zola Nene and Fritz Schoon with his out-of-the-box creations.
Samsung partnered with the hit culinary show, by providing the contestants with appliances and devices that gave them cutting-edge features to create winning dishes and presentations. Kyle’s prizes included a versatile Samsung Microwave oven, incredible Samsung Jet Vacuum, as well as the Samsung Gas Cooker, which proved to be much-loved appliance in the Taste Master Kitchen. Powered by five burners, including a Triple Burner, a Rapid Burner, and a Simmer Burner, this appliance became one of the contestants’ most popular culinary tools as they went head-to-head in the Taste Master kitchen.
“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.”
The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy Tab S7 5G were also on hand in the kitchen to help the contestants flex their creative muscles. Using Samsung’s famous S Pen with the Galaxy Tab S7 screen Kyle and the fellow contestants wrote and sketched out their ideas for success. Kyle was clearly one of the contestants who made the best use of the pro-grade, multi-lens camera and video technology of the Galaxy S21 smartphone to capture and edit perfect images for social media – an important component of the competition.
“Congratulations to Kyle and all the contestants who put their impressive baking skills to the test in this season of the Taste Master SA. Samsung was proud to be a part of a competition that reflects our vision of empowering people to express themselves through technology designed to delight. We were impressed by how seamlessly the contestants made the most of the technology to get ahead and look forward to seeing what Kyle creates with his Samsung Gas Cooker on his personal culinary journey – that will also be worth watching,” says, Mike Van Lier, Head of Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa.
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. Contestants bakes gave viewers inspiration to bake more memories of their own. We would like to thank Samsung, Royal baking Powder, Thermomix and Le Creuset for giving the contestants the premium means to bake more memories.”
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 cheese making and developing his own range of artisanal chocolate and confectionery.