BBC Lifestyle anounces Homegrown Tastes South Africa Season 1

BBC Lifestyle and Rapid Blue are delighted to announce a Best Lifestyle Programme win for Homegrown Tastes South Africa Season 1 at the Annual South African Film and Television Awards 2023 (SAFTAs). The series was awarded the Golden Horn, the official SAFTA trophy, on Friday 29^th September.

Celebrating the flair of our local culinary landscape, Homegrown Tastes South Africa follows international award-winning chef and TV personality, Lorna Maseko, on a culinary expedition across South Africa.  From gatsbys at sea level to tasty treats in our highest town, Dullstroom,  Lorna spends each episode sampling various tantalizing delights, meeting a feast of local heroes along the way.  Throughout the series, Lorna is joined by an array of local celebrities as they are introduced to the chefs and personalities behind our best street food and haute cuisine. Lorna celebrate the hero ingredients born in South Africa by preparing her own delicious version of what the area has to offer.

The SAFTAs are South Africa’s premier film and television industry awards under the custodianship of the National Film and Video Foundation and the winners are chosen by a panel of local TV experts. The Awards’ main objective is to honour, celebrate and promote the creativity, quality and excellence of South African film and television talent, and encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new talent in the industry.

Ziyanda Ngcaba Managing Director at Rapid Blue says, “Homegrown Tastes South Africa has provided an inspirational look into South African cuisine in a way that has never been done before. With the fabulous Lorna Maseko at the forefront of the show, the inspiring celebrity guests, local heroes and of course the talented team at Rapid Blue and BBC Studios, it’s an incredible production and I am so proud of the show and team. We are honoured to accept the show’s first SAFTA”

Pierre Cloete, Commercial Director at BBC Studios in Africa says ‘I’m delighted that season one of Homegrown Tastes South Africa has been presented a prestigious SAFTA award. HGTSA joined BBC Lifestyle’s local line-up in 2022 and it’s been amazing to see how many people have shown love for the show and Lorna Maseko. I am extremely proud of the team that made the show a success, including Commissioning Executive, Emile Nawagamuwa who bought incredible insights into making the new format come to life. This win marks a second SAFTA for our local productions on BBC Lifestyle, joining Come Dine With Me SA, which fills me with so much pride”

Rapid Blue, who are part of the BBC Studios international family of production companies, has a strong legacy of producing award winning localised African versions of international formats including Strictly Come Dancing, Come Dine With Me, The Great South African Bake Off amongst many others. With this win Rapid Blue continues its trend of producing highly successful local versions of many of the world’s leading formats for South African screens.