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

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad

“Awter mewons!” is what my two year old shouts through the shopping aisle when he spots one of these bad boys. And his excitement is for good reason. Delicious when simply cut in slices and eaten off the skin, there is so much more you can do with watermelon.

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Exotic Pumpkin & Butternut Salad on Whipped Feta
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Exotic Pumpkin & Butternut Salad on Whipped Feta

Easter is traditionally when South Africans serve up a leg of lamb or lamb roast, but a good host includes some vegetarian dishes as well, to serve as either a side for the meat-eaters in your midst, or for vegetarians to dish up as their main.

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South African Banana Bread made from scratch
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

South African Banana Bread made from scratch

Banana bread has gained in popularity in recent years. I have seen it on menus at trendy coffee shops like the very popular Butter All Day and Baard and Co., but franchised coffee shops like Ou Meul and Bootlegger serve banana bread as well!

The best banana bread is eaten straight out the oven, and what better way to achieve that, than to bake your own? Slicing it up whilst still warm, banana bread is delicious with generous dollop of butter, which will melt and fill the whole slice with deliciousness! Make your own, using this recipe.

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Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts

With December here, Christmas is fast approaching and so over the next few weeks I will be sharing my favourite Christmas recipes. This Beetroot Salad with Whipped Feta, Bacon, Roasted Olives and Toasted Pecan Nuts is a crowd pleaser. To make a vegetarian version, you can replace the bacon with citrus slices. 

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Bobotie Quesadilla Fold Overs with an Avo Dip &  Bean and Atchar Side
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Bobotie Quesadilla Fold Overs with an Avo Dip & Bean and Atchar Side

South African food culture includes many international influences. I love Mexican food, but also enjoy adding South African flavours to it. I cooked these bobotie-inspired quesadilla fold overs on the Expresso show using the Kiln pizza oven, and they turned out great! Try the recipe yourself and let me know what you think.

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Rib, Slaw and Smokey Mayo Garlic Rolls
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Rib, Slaw and Smokey Mayo Garlic Rolls

I was invited to be on Expresso again, and cooked this irresistable lunch recipe with Carl Wastie! If you want to make it too, here is the recipe to make your own Rib, Slaw and Smokey Mayo Garlic Rolls.

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