Cookbooks are an abiding passion for me. There’s always at least one open in the kitchen and they fill every bit of bookshelf space. Inspired and surrounded by so many titles, I created my first cookbook in 2014.
‘Season’s Bounty’ is very precious to me because it was my first. A colourful feast of seasonal recipes it provides a list of what’s in season when and how to make the best use of various seasonal ingredients in your kitchen.
Photographing and writing books became an obsession, and I’ve now published seven more. The series ‘Flavours & Traditions’ looked at various aspects and quirks of South African cooking. These are now available in a box set and look at the cornerstones of South African cooking.
From Cape Town, with its Malay and other influences, to our love of spices and the national passion for live-fire cooking, the series gathers the best and quirkiest of local cuisine. Underlying the joy and diversity of the recipes collected in ‘Flavours & Traditions’ is a journey through the food and ingredients that make us South Africa.
The deeply personal ‘Going Home’ was produced during lockdown in 2020. It tells the story of my father’s death and how I travelled ‘home’ to Lebanon to find his (and ultimately my own) roots. Filled with images captured in the streets and kitchens of Lebanon with stories and recipes learned from the women in my family, and new friends made in the country of my forefathers.
‘Going Home’ was followed by a couple of e-books I produced from home. ‘A Handful of Earth’, is a plant-based recipe book driven by a lockdown-inspired urge to return to my farming roots and get my hands in the soil. Digging and tending vegetables in a small patch of earth produced incredible bounty – and a cookbook that you can download here.
The gluten-free recipe book ‘At My Wheat’s End’ is an exploration of recipes and kitchen coping mechanisms developed to manage my own severe intolerance to gluten. From feeling somehow cheated at first, I began to discover how to break old habits and create gluten-free deliciousness in my kitchen. It is here for you to download and enjoy.
