IT and the corporate world’s loss is definitely the culinary community’s gain! Computers and a 9-5 job did not appeal nearly as much as the lure of spices, herbs, pots, pans and baking.

Bergville-born Zanele van Zyl’s love language is that of food: cooking for those she loves – and also sharing her love of food with others is what brings her joy. That she’s damn good at it too is obvious since she’s published two successful recipe books already, one of which (Cooking with Zanele vol. 2) was awarded Book of the Year at the Luxe Awards in 2021. She followed that up a year later with a win as the Luxe Awards Culinary Media Personality for 2022!

As a young girl, she grew up watching her mother cook soulful, traditional food at their home in the foothills of the Drakensberg escarpment in KwaZulu-Natal. But food and the culinary world was not her first choice when it came to careers and she initially went into corporate, in the IT field. Unfulfilled, she quit and instead studied and qualified as a professional chef.

Never one to settle for anything less than doing her utmost, she gave free run to her entrepreneurial side and began “Cooking with Zanele”, cooking classes where she teaches and shares her passion for food with eager (hungry?) foodies in kitchens across South Africa.

Her gift is to make food and cooking approachable and not daunting by demonstrating her creative, quick and easy recipes in a fun but educational environment. It’s how she’s been able to amass a following of 837 000 on Facebook and 466 000 on Instagram! (Check out @cookingwithzanele for some droolworthy pictures!)

Senidlile Kodwa? Have you eaten yet? is a genuine celebration of food and contains 100 simple but tasty recipes. Expect everything from bright and cheery breakfasts; wholesome veggies; meaty mains with heart; a signature Sunday spread; traditional village favourites; simply delicious sides; and, of course, something sweet to round it all off.

Chapters include Breakfast and Brunch; Meat, Chicken & Seafood; Sunday Spread; Home Grown; Elevate Your Meal: Sauces, Dressings, Dips and Marinades; Something on the Side; Nibbles; Bakery; Sweet Treats & Drinks and, of course, an index.

The biggest selling point of this book is that cooking beautiful food needn’t be a chore or hard work – it can be fun and unintimidating.

The dictionary definition of al fresco is to enjoy something outside, in the open air. It’s one of life’s greatest pleasures, especially when it comes to food. It could be a simple lunchtime salad eaten in the garden with the family – or a sandwich and piece of fruit while hiking a mountain trail, the enjoyment is amplified by the natural surroundings.

The assumption is that al fresco is derived from Latin – which it is – but if you were to approach a waiter at a restaurant in Rome or Milan and ask to be seated “al fresco”, you’d be laughed at! That’s because in Italian that phrase means “in the chill” or “in the cool”. (There’s also an alternative meaning: “in prison” because prisons were historically made with thick stone walls – and were thus cool.)

As the promotional material for Van der Merwe’s book states: “In Easy Al Fresco, Ilse van der Merwe offers a simple and inspiring guide for fabulous, fuss-free dishes that can all be prepared with a limited range of basic utensils – with the aim of dining outdoors. This should be the only book you pack for your next trail hike, seaside holiday or camping trip, but also the book you keep handy when the power goes out.”

With load-shedding a part of everyday life in South Africa, the award-winning Stellenbosch cook, food blogger, content creator and author of two other books, Cape Mediterranean and Simply Seasonal (both published by Penguin Random House SA), provides a range of 100% no-electricity-required dishes. There are more than 80 easy recipes from breads, spreads, appetisers, salads and sandwiches, through to mains and desserts.

Van der Merwe says it best in her introduction: “Food has always been a catalyst in bringing people together, hopefully for a good time with friends and loved ones, but the al fresco event becomes so much more than the sum of its parts. We come away energised, nurtured (in more ways than one) and deeply satisfied."

“This book celebrates that magic. Simple, scrumptious food, enjoyed and often also cooked in the open air without the need for fancy equipment, so that you can be truly present in those precious times and the new memories you’re making."

“As South Africans, we share an inherent, spirited love for outdoor cooking and entertaining, whether it is to light a fire and braai, or simply gather and share food under starry African skies. Yet, in an era of frequent scheduled power outages in South Africa (load-shedding), many of us have resorted to mediocre and usually unhealthy take-away meals to counter the cooking challenges that come with a lack of electricity.”

That needn’t be the case. The author not only supplies great recipes but has included a handy section on tools and equipment, cooking with fire, keeping it cool or how to make the most of store-bought shortcuts. Again, in her own words: “I’ve intentionally included the use of ready-made, store-bought products, such as tikka marinade, Thai curry paste, barbecue spice, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, falafel premix, rotisserie chicken, etc. It will cut hours from your prep time when your goal is to keep it effortless, especially when you don’t have access to electricity or power-driven food processing tools.

The recipes in this book vary from simple to ultra-simple – in many instances they’re more of a serving suggestion than an actual recipe – allowing you to prepare food without stress or effort, using minimal tools and accessible ingredients.”

Roll on summer!

It’s a survival strategy, busy author, chef, food stylist and mom Vickie de Beer maintains. And she would know. As the food editor for popular Afrikaans magazine Rooi Rose for 18 years, she knows how hard it can be juggling work deadlines and feeding a family of growing boys and their sports schedules! So meal prep of nutritious, balanced and tasty food is vital.

Planning is second nature to this food dynamo. It's something she has had to do for years after one of her sons was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. It turned out to be fortuitous because the family’s transition to a low-carb lifestyle inspired a range of books: The Low-Carb Solution for Diabetics which won the Sunday Times Best Cookbook of the Year award in 2015, My Low-Carb Kitchen and Low-Carb Express, all of whichhave sold thousands of copies locally and internationally.

Some of her family’s favourite dishes feature on the pages of this new book, from soups and stews to oven bakes and one-pan dishes. Then there are sauces and ‘flavour starters’, which can be prepared ahead of time, so a wholesome meal from scratch can easily be pulled together on busy nights.

What’s more, Vickie knows that all South Africans are faced with the unique challenge of loadshedding, which can disrupt cooking time in the kitchen. Meal prep is a clever way to work around annoying blackouts – making wholesome meals in advance, when the electricity is available, as a great way to ensure the family can still eat well, even with limited resources.

Vickie includes tips for freezing and defrosting food, batch cooking, as well as a sample seven-day meal plan to show how you can combine advance prep with dishes made from scratch on the night. All of the 75 recipes indicate how many portions they make, allowing you to choose whether to freeze them as a single meal, or in portion sizes to suit the family’s needs.

Chapters include meal prep, flavour starters such as pastes, spice mixes and rubs, marinades and the like. Then there are cook-in sauces, fermented salads and salsas. Broths and soups get their time to shine in a chapter, as does slow cooking. Naturally there are one pan and tray-bake meals, along with the old faithfuls of basics and side dishes.

It is indeed clever cooking.