The Roasted Dad’s Recipes

I am an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw my business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep me sane. To keep track of my recipes, and encourage friends and families to join me, I started my instagram account The Roasted Dad.

Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim I (encouraged by my wife) enter 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 I get selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, I decide to go all in. Leaving my 7-month-pregnant wife to look after our then three and one-year-old children, I battled it out and came back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in my pocket.

It all started with an Instagram account, and then entering -and winning- MasterChef. But The Roasted Dad is so much more now. I now host Private Dinner Parties, Restaurant Take-Overs and Pop-Ups and Cook-with-Me Demos, and am a Key Note Speaker at events. I share recipes on my website and regularly post accommodation and restaurant reviews too. This is a glimpse into the wild and wonderful life I lead with my wife Lianne, and our three children Aiden (8), Olivia (6) and Harvey (4).

After winning MasterChef South Africa, I started sharing recipes on this blog. They are easy to produce at home, using basic cooking techniques with ingredients found at your local grocery store.

Recipe Index

Poultry Recipes

Red Meat Recipes

Seafood Recipes

Vegetarian Recipes

Salad Recipes

Dessert Recipes

Outdoor cooking

Whole Leg of Lamb Slow-Roasted Over an Open Fire
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Whole Leg of Lamb Slow-Roasted Over an Open Fire

We recently stayed at Ou Skool- an accommodation that is an absolute paradise if you enjoy cooking. Along with a well-equipped kitchen and wood-fired pizza oven, the indoor braai has traditional meat hooks that allow you to hang ingredients over the fire and cook them Argentinian-style.

I obviously had to try it.

We hung a whole leg of lamb over the fire together with honey and thyme-basted butternuts, mini red cabbages basted with balsamic vinegar and a whole pineapple.

This is not a quick midweek recipe. It is the type of cooking you do with friends, a glass of wine and nowhere else to be.

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Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe

This is the Melanzane alla Parmigiana recipe we cooked at the Stir Crazy CookingCulinary Theatre. It was so delicious - you have to try it!

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Charred honey-glazed carrots and parsnips with whipped feta hummus
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Charred honey-glazed carrots and parsnips with whipped feta hummus

This was another side dish that we had with a braai with friends the other day. The root vegetables are caramelised and served over a creamy whipped feta and hummus base, finished with toasted pine nuts, honey-balsamic dressing and fresh lemon zest. To die for!

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Blood orange, grapefruit and bocconcini salad recipe
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Blood orange, grapefruit and bocconcini salad recipe

We had a braai with friends the other day and tired of the usual boring salads and sides, I decided to make something different. This citrus salad was a hit; enjoyed by both children and the adults and it went great alongside the braai meat.

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Bokke braai & cheese board
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Bokke braai & cheese board

For this Bokke braai board, I cooked two Castello camembert cheeses over the fire, made a smooth whipped feta dip and turned ordinary wholewheat wraps into crisp braai bread.

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Cape Malay Coconut Cream Chicken Drumsticks
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Cape Malay Coconut Cream Chicken Drumsticks

Cape Malay cuisine is famous for its unique fusion of fragrant warm spices, coconut, and sweet fruit accents like apricot jam and mango chutney. By browning the drumsticks and letting them slow-simmer in a lush coconut cream and chicken stock sauce, the meat becomes so tender it practically melts off the bone. Try these Cape Malay Coconut Cream Chicken Drumsticks.

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Braai blik mac ‘n cheese cannelloni
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Braai blik mac ‘n cheese cannelloni

During the week, supper time is always a rush. I love cooking a few larger meals on the weekend that we can have on the evenings when we don’t have time to prepare something from scratch. This dish is a South African variation on the classic mac ’n cheese.

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