Remembering Mynie Steffens: Beloved cooking show host dies in helicopter crash

Pilot, author, and cooking show host Mynie Steffens died Monday morning in a helicopter crash while spraying crops on a farm near Patensie in the Eastern Cape. 

Steffens co-hosted the popular cooking and lifestyle programme Speel met Vuur on DStv’s VIA channel, a dream she turned into reality after reconnecting with childhood friend Aldi van der Walt 16 years after last seeing each other.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Majola Nkohli said the freak accident occurred just before 8am and that an inquest had been opened.

Van der Walt said she was still coming to terms with the “massive shock” and “tragic loss".

“Mynie lived life to the full,” she said.

“She was always full of ideas that had transformed into successful endeavours, and then executing that with success, winning over people as she went along.

“She could make time for people from every walk of life, and that was her priority.

“She had a big heart, gentle soul, the glue that kept people together.”

Van der Walt said they played hockey together when she was in matric at Nico Malan High in Humansdorp.

“Sixteen years later, we bumped into each other at an event and she shared with me her dream to do a cooking show for television,” she said.

“A year or two later, that dream was realised.

“I remember on our road trip during filming of Speel met Vuur, what made an impression was that she wouldn’t let schedule and time infringe too much when she deemed it important to show compassion and make someone feel valued.

“She had patience and kindness coupled with humour, and that made her irresistible to people. I will miss my friend. Her absence will be felt by many.”

Steffens’s sister, Lanie, did not immediately want to comment.

Kouga mayor Hattingh Bornman said he was deeply saddened by the death of his friend.

“It’s terrible,” he said.

Cape Times