The 2024 Championship Boerewors winner is Centurion financial manager, Ruard Briel.

• Ruard Briel, a 37-year-old financial manager from Centurion, has won the 2024 Shoprite and Checkers Championship Boerewors competition after perfecting his recipe over a decade.
• Briel beat nine others at the grand finale in Stellenbosch, earning a brand-new Toyota Fortuner, R20 000 in cash, and the title of SA’s boerewors champ.
• His winning recipe will be available nationwide in Shoprite and Checkers stores from 6 September, just before Heritage Day celebrations.

Centurion financial manager Ruard Briel, 37, is the 2024 Shoprite and Checkers Championship Boerewors competition winner.  

After more than a decade of perfecting his wors recipe, Briel, an avid game hunter, emerged victorious after battling it out against nine finalists from across the country at the grand finale at the Blaauwklippen Familly Market in Stellenbosch on Saturday. 

His winning recipe will be available nationwide at Shoprite and Checkers stores from 6 September, just in time for Heritage Day celebrations. 

Checkers and Shoprite have sold 5 million kilogrammes of their Champion Boerwors range. Briel cannot wait to see his recipe on supermarket shelves in September.

“I am ecstatic,” Briel told News24 Food. “It is a passion of mine to work with meat, and that is why I continued to enter. I wanted to win. Last year, I got to the top 30. This year, I made it to the top 10 final and won. I am in disbelief. I have tried every year until this year when I finally won.”

Along with the sought-after title of South Africa’s number one Boerewors Champion, Briel also walked away with the grand prize of a brand-new Toyota Fortuner and R20 000 in cash. 

Balancing flavour profile 

The competition, now in its 32nd year, attracted a record 2 300 entries, showcasing the nation’s unwavering love for this beloved South African staple.  

The finalists were judged by a panel of food experts, including surprise guest judge, former Springbok lock Bakkies Botha

“It’s a great privilege to be part of this competition because boerewors brings people together,” said Botha. 

Traditionally, boerewors is made from minced beef, pork, and lamb, spiced up with coriander seed, black pepper, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Add a dash of salt and vinegar, nature’s best preservative, and stuff it all into sausage casings. And voila! 

There is actual maths to the madness, Briel added. By law, boerewors must be 90% meat – beef, lamb, and pork – with no more than 30% fat.  

The rest of the boerie is a mix of spices and other goodies, but offal is not allowed.  

READ MORE | Govt has defined what boerewors is – and is not

The trick to Briel’s award-winning recipe was balancing traditional flavours and perfecting his technique.  

“You don’t want anything to stand out or be overpowering; it just comes down to balance,” he said. 

A self-proclaimed meat lover and hunter, Briel said that the little details made a huge difference in perfecting his recipe.  

“Your meat must be at a certain temperature as you put it through the grinder, creating friction and heat. Your meat must be cold. If you have everything ready to go through the whole process, you will come out with a nice product,” he said. 

“A crucial part is using quality ingredients, meat, and fat. You get different kinds of textures on the animal and different sorts of fat. You don’t want anything to be overpowering.”