Comedian Chris Forrest doesn’t joke when it comes to bacon jam.
Best known for his dry wit and steady delivery, he has spent more than two decades working South African stages. But it was a different kind of heat — this time in the kitchen — that ignited his latest side passion.
“I tasted it and it was amazing,” he says of his first encounter with bacon jam at a 2015 food event in Namibia. “So I decided to come home and make my own. I used to make it for my own home use, and every now and then I’d sell some for a children’s home fundraising.”
After a successful run on celebrity cooking show MasterChef South Africa, Forrest found himself experimenting with flavours.
During the Covid lockdown, he took things a step further, qualifying as a chef and clocking hours in a professional kitchen. It was there he tested a batch of bacon jam that sold like fatcakes. The concept, which he believes started in the US, wasn’t well known locally.
“So I’d get buyers to taste it, and once they did, they were like, ‘I want this.’ But unless people tried it, they were a bit nervous,” he said, handing over a sample.
His version — a slow-cooked, sweet-and-savoury blend of bacon, onions and secret spices — has slowly won over local palates.
“Everyone who tastes it really likes it. The problem is getting people to taste it,” he laughs.
The product has made its way onto shop shelves, and is used as a burger relish, pap topping, steak enhancer and cheese board addition. A big batch takes about eight hours, but he’s handed over the sales side to focus on comedy.
“Comedy’s got to always be about truth for me; whatever your truth is at the time, you’ve got to make a joke about it.”
For Forrest, that truth is often found in the mundane: family, neighbours and everyday South African quirks.
After 26 years in the business, he knows how to keep things fresh. His one-man shows have covered everything — from daily frustrations to the chaos of parenting. “The one about the birth of my child was probably the best,” he says.
In his latest project, Comedy Yama Grootman, ageing becomes both material and mission. “To stay relevant is to try to stay as funny as you can. Keep evolving,” he says.
He’s had highs, and some humbling lows. One of his worst heckles came early in his international stint.
“In 2003 I went to London, because people said I had British humour. There was quite a high-profile comedian in the line-up and I stole the show, and I thought: international comedian here I come, life’s gonna be good.
“The next night I went to a place called Up the Creek in Greenwich. My ego was huge ... and I just died hard. Nobody was laughing. Five minutes in, this guy goes, ‘You’re sh*t, mate’. I didn’t know how to handle that.”
When not doing comedy or cooking, Forrest is a busy dad. He’s planning his third Ultimate Braai Festival — working on a cooking-comedy show called Don’t Burn Your Sausage — and dabbling in TV production. And he’s coaching his daughter’s soccer team.
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