Season 4
Cooked is a South African travel and cooking television series created by Justin Bonello and produced by Cooked In Africa Films in which Bonello and friends go on an adventure around South Africa cooking simple but delicious meals in sometimes very surprising circumstances.
The series premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Food channel (which later became BBC Lifestyle) on Tuesday 18 April 2006, at 21h00. It later aired on TopTV's Top One channel and on SABC3, beginning with Season 4. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4 - entitled Cooked: Out of the Frying Pan - premiered on SABC3 on Saturday 1 October 2011, at 16h30. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 episodes in the fourth season.
Season 4 Episodes
Season 4
Justin Bonello has lost his mojo and appetite for cooking and believes that the only way to get it back is to up his game.
So over a three month period he'll be spending three or four days in the kitchens of 13 of South Africa's premier restaurants. Here some of South Africa's best loved chefs and their assistants guide him through the intricacies and rigours of preparing an array of traditional, exotic and very original dishes.
The hours are extremely long and the work exacting but the people he meets have the same passion for food that he does and in no time he's right back in his element.
They get him to do his fair share of kneading dough and chopping onions but he can see right off that there is a vast difference between cooking for mates on a beach and preparing food for paying guests.
It's obvious why everything has to be prepared well in advance and that each unit needs to operate like a well oiled machine. As he gains in confidence, the chefs allow him to prepare some of their signature dishes and he even gets to work on the pass.
Justin quickly begins to appreciate the real attraction of this profession. How when the pressure's on and the place starts rocking there's a tremendous adrenaline rush and a huge satisfaction in being part of the team that makes it all come together.
During this season Justin goes from rough bush cook to smooth operator as his skill set improves. Whenever possible he reciprocates by taking his mentors out into his open air kitchen and giving back some of what he's learned.
While picking up the finer points of haute cuisine Justin also makes lifelong friends and spends time at some spectacular locations.
Seasons
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Channel: BBC Food | Premiere: 18 Apr 2006 | Finale: 11 Jul 2006 | Tuesdays, 21h00
Channel: Top One | Premiere: 5 Jun 2011 | Finale: 28 Aug 2011 | Sundays, 18h30
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Channel: BBC Food | Premiere: 13 Jul 2007 | Finale: 5 Oct 2007 | Fridays, 19h30
Season 3 (13 episodes)
Channel: BBC Lifestyle | Premiere: 12 Jan 2009 | Finale: 23 Feb 2009 | Mondays, 18h30
Season 4 (13 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 1 Oct 2011 | Finale: 24 Dec 2011 | Saturdays, 16h30