Why I never started a restaurant after winning MasterChef South Africa
“Why did you not start a restaurant after winning MasterChef?”
This is probably one of the question I get asked most often. I started my Instagram account The Roasted Dad during the Covid-19 lockdown. After winning MasterChef South Africa, The Roasted Dad became more than just a passion project. I became more serious about food and cooking. I started running events, from cook-with-me demos, to pop-up restaurants, restaurant takeovers, and food and wine pairings. I designed a menu to be enjoyed onboard LIFT Airlines. But I never started a restaurant.
Italian Food, Wine & Music Pairing at Feastival
When I was asked to do another restaurant pop-up at Feastival, I was hesitant. I never started a restaurant because I think it would take the fun out of it for me. But something niggled at me. I do really enjoy the challenge of designing a menu, and love cooking in front of people and sharing my passion about food and the stories behind it. I enjoy collaborating with proudly South African small businesses, who are just as passionate about “food as a craft” as I am.
And when my wife asked me “will it bring you joy?”, and I knew the answer to that question was “yes” the decision was made.
Baard & Co. deliver The Roasted Dad Sourdough!
“Can you make on that says ‘The Roasted Dad’?” I asked tongue-in-cheek.. but low and behold, the next day Ronel de Jager, the power house behind the BAARD & Co brand…
Using a Gas Braai on the Expresso Show
Being on “Your Feel Good Morning Show” isn’t how it looks on TV… Being a guest on Expresso gave me a whole new level of respect for the presenters. Live TV is not easy. You have to be quick on your feet, and be able to multi-task.
A Cook-with-Me Demo in the Bosch Showroom in Cape Town
You can hire the Bosch Showrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg for Private & Corporate Functions. In order to raise funds for three charities I auctioned off a cook-with-me demo and this is how it went down!
What it was like to cook live on the Expresso Show
Being on “Your Feel Good Morning Show” isn’t how it looks on TV… Being a guest on Expresso gave me a whole new level of respect for the presenters (Ewan Strydom, Graeme Richards, Ryle Rene de Morny and). Live TV is not easy. You have to be quick on your feet, and be able to multi-task.
Shawn Godfrey’s Pop-Up Restaurant at Makers Landing
Less than a month after winning MasterChef SA, I opened a pop-up restaurant together with Chefs Darren Badenhorst and Callan Austin at Makers Landing, the V&A Waterfront. Having made it through many MasterChef challenges, dreaming up a fine dining menu and then executing MasterChef quality (fine dining) dishes to twenty-four guests simultaneously was a new challenge altogether.
SA's MasterChef winner on Algoa FM Breakfast Show
The Algoa FM Breakfast Show with Wayne, Lee and Charlie T were adament that even though I have been described as Capetonian in the media, the word needed to get out there, that actually I am Gqeberha-born, even though I am now based in Cape Town.
Get To Know Me, The Roasted Dad
When I initially applied to be a contestant on Masterchef South Africa, season four, I had to fill out a long application form. The questions and answers below are largely derived from that Q&A form.
Meat Free Mondays…
I had so much fun experimenting with the concept of meat free Mondays. The challenge set myself recently is to create a vegetarian and zero-waste dish at least once a week. This came from the realisation that I am daunted by cooking vegetarian dishes.
