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

Citrus, feta, mint & seed salad
Shawn Godfrey Shawn Godfrey

Citrus, feta, mint & seed salad

I always have fresh mint in my fridge. Delicious in a gin and tonic on a hot summer afternoon, I also enjoy adding it to salads, sauces and even desserts. When I have a large punnet of mint, this salad recipe is my go-to.

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Whole chicken on the braai and in the oven
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Whole chicken on the braai and in the oven

In this recipe, I give away my secrets making a delicious whole chicken on the braai. My top tip is to cook the chicken on a fire, to get the skin crispy and full of smoky flavour, but to finish it off in the oven on a low heat, so that the meat becomes succulent and doesn’t dry out.

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How to make ribs from scratch
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How to make ribs from scratch

I love serving food as a harvest board. It’s fun to serve and visually appealing. You eat with your eyes first so you need to make sure it looks appetising.

Food should be fun, flavourful and rewarding. This easy recipe is a combination of all three.

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Gnocchi side dish with fried curry leaves and raisins
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Gnocchi side dish with fried curry leaves and raisins

Gnocchi is often served up as a starter, but can also easily be made into a delicious side dish. I have fried sage leaves before, which is delicious, but when at Saloon in Woodstock I tried a dish with fried curry leaves and I was sold. I was keen to try this at home in a dish so here we are.

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Traditional South African vetkoek recipe (with curried mince)
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Traditional South African vetkoek recipe (with curried mince)

Every South African has childhood memories eating vetkoek with curried mince. I hadn’t made vetkoek for the kids in years, and knew they would love it. What is not to love? Deep-fried, soft bread with a crispy outside, filled with flavourful curried mince, grated cheddar cheese and of course some apricot jam.

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My favourite chocolate recipes
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My favourite chocolate recipes

It is World Chocolate Day on July 7th, and no one really knows why. It could be to celebrate the anniversary of the introduction of chocolate to Europe, way back in 1550. Apparently it was first mentioned in a 2009 marketing book which shared a business marketing calendar of ideas. But let’s be honest - we don’t really need a reason to have chocolate, do we?
And so I’m using this as an excuse to share some of my favourite chocolate recipes

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A compilation of my favourite South African recipes
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A compilation of my favourite South African recipes

I am a proudly South African, but before being on MasterChef my cooking was mostly focussed on Asian and Middle Eastern flavours. Being on MasterChef taught me about the amazing local ingredients we have available in South Africa, and I was challenged quite a bit on the show to steer towards our dishes. Fun fact: I ended up winning season four with a dish that included a malva pudding, the quintessential South African dessert. I have published quite a few of my favourite recipes on this blog, and it’s about time that I share my favourite South African dishes. There are a few international dishes on this list as well, that I have “South African-ised” with a local twist.

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Cheesy Polony Rollups
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Cheesy Polony Rollups

I made these cheesy polony rollups together with the children. By adding some spinach, it had some good nutrients in the dish. They loved being part of the process, and loved eating it too!

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