Chef Ollie’s new cook book Freestyle Cooking available at Poetry stores
Freestyle Cooking is about not following rules
Of course I had to purchase a copy of his book for a friend, but Ollie also generously gifted me a copy, and signed it on the spot.
Like Chef Ollie, I also like to cook with feeling and taste, and not following recipes step-by-step.
In his welcome speech at the launch of his new book ‘Freestyle Cooking’ at Poetry, Ollie explained how this works in practice sometimes: “if you have got a lime that’s not as juicy as another lime…if it needs more lime, put more lime.”
The event at the Poetry Seapoint flagship store was both a celebration of Ollie as a person, and his cook book ‘Freestyle Cooking,’ which includes six chapters filled with different recipes that represent a different time in his life.
“Those who know me well know there’s one thing I don’t do easily: follow rules”
The Flagship Poetry store in Seapoint
Chef Ollie’s book event took place at the new Poetry flagship store in Seapoint. The two-story space situated in the historic Laughtons Hardware building recently opened. ‘Freestyle Cooking’ is stocked in select Poetry stores around the country.
Poetry is best known for its fashion, but did you know you can buy amazing home items there too? While at the event, I made sure to check their ceramics and glassware and went home with twelve gold rim carved coup glasses (4 for 3 on special at the moment), an oval platter with a sardine on it, and this hatty green oval platter. I’m hosting a lunch on Sunday, so I think some of these items will be used very soon!
As part of the celebrations, there was a Chef Ollie 20% discount on all glass ware, crockery and cutlery too, which was a great deal. Of course I also went home with a copy of Freestyle Cooking. It retails at R450, which is a steal for a hardcover book with 170+ pages of recipes.
Poetry marketing manager Hannah Neil and Chef Ollie Swart at the launch of Freestyle Cooking at the Poetry flagship store
While at the Poetry flagship store, I made sure to check their ceramics and glassware.
About Chef Ollie
Chef Ollie is named the South African Jamie Oliver, and for good reason. Not only is his cooking style reminiscent of the British chef, but his zest for life and always unapologetically himself. Ollie was professionally trained at Silwood School of Cookery, one fo the best culinary training institutions in Africa. Before he started there though, he started working with Annalize Buchanan, who founded the well-known and respected catering company Annalize Catering. Today, Ollie still works alongside Annalize, and as he has married her daughter Julia, she is not just his mentor and business partner, but his mother-in-law too.
“This madman will change the way you cook at home forever...”
Cape Town’s food scene
Cape Town’s food scene had come to the Poetry flagship store in Seapoint to celebrate the launch of Chef Ollie’s new cook book at Poetry. I spotted MasterChef judge Justine Drake, Karen Dudly from The Kitchen, Freshly Ground lead singer Zolani, and many other familiar faces from the food industry and beyond.
Food and music
Other than a passion for cooking from the heart, Chef Ollie and I also both love cooking with music. Every chapter has a QR code for a different play list, that goes with the vibe of that chapter, so that you can play his tunes while cooking his recipes. The first chapter is about Durban, where Ollie was born and grew up and the QR code links to a 90s kids music playlist - taking me back!
At the event, the music that played was from his ‘Gone Surfing’ chapter, and included his favourite tunes from the shoreline, that he likes to listen to while on the road. We also had the opportunity to taste some of his dishes, such as a Green Thai chicken curry with jasmine rice, green beans, courgette, green chilli and mung bean sprouts. We also had the roasted red pepper, black mushroom and basil rigatoni with parmesan and olive oil. My absolute favourite though, was the smash dry-aged beef burger slider with banging burger sauce, cheese and pickle. That was banging great, and I smashed at least two of them in my face. Chef Ollie’s dessert was a honey rooibos Basque cheesecake with raspberry. Unfortunately I missed out on tasting that one, but it did look amazing. Fortunately the recipe is in the cook book (p. 147), and available in PDF format here, so I will just have to make one at home.
The recipes in ‘Freestyle Cooking’
The name of Chef Ollie’s cook book already explains, that this is not the type of cook book where you have to follow the steps exactly, to recreate his dishes. The book is filled with quick, accessible recipes and Chef Ollie shows that great cooking is about understanding basics and layering flavours, not following rigid instructions.
“It has obviously has guided recipes, but I want people to make the recipes their own. I want them to cook with flair. ”
Paging through the book, I’m most keen to try Chef Ollie’s braaied fish with garlic parsley and lemon butter (page 44) and see how it compares to my braaied snoek with plum jam recipe. I am also a big fan of ribs, and his lamb staanrib with salsa verde (page 54) sounds amazing (something different to my braised beef short rib recipe). One of my most popular recipes is my samp and bean butternut potjie recipe, but next time I think I’ll try Chef Ollie’s master stock-inspired beef potjie (page 58). Last but not least, Chef Ollie and I share a food hero: Anthony Bourdain. His Bourdain-inspired braai broodjies I must definitely try. While my signature braai broodjies are filled with bobotie, Chef Ollie includes thinly sliced onion, mortadella, provolone cheese and dijon mustard. That sounds incredible.
Chef Ollie’s cook book: Freestyle Cooking
Freestyle Cooking was published by Penguin Books in February and is currently sold out on his website. It is available at most major retailers where books are sold, including, but not limited to, Poetry, Exclusive Books, Checkers, Woolworths, Amazon, and Takealot.com.
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).
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