Hello! Thank you for visiting :-)
I am originally from South Africa but currently reside in the United States with my husband, where a wonderful platform called Instagram occupies most of my time as I develop recipes, style, and photograph food for brands and magazines. My goal for this website is to share a few recipes per month, ones that mean a lot to me and this usually has something to do with my heritage.
After graduating from Stellenbosch University in South Africa with a degree in Social Work I thought about taking a year off to do something completely different. A friend suggested that we teach English in South Korea and after a quick search on a map I threw all caution to the wind and set off for this new adventure. I spent six years teaching cooking to students at an English Language Academy in South Korea. The food, culture, and ability to use cooking as a way to teach students English was my idea of heaven.
In my last year, I met a soldier from Mississippi and we fell hopelessly in love. We decided to move back to the United States. We bought our current home, a charming gingerbread-style Victorian, where I started to experiment with both Korean and South African flavors, along with all of the Southern dishes that I was now being introduced to. Sharing on Instagram was a natural progression. One of the best things about it was that my adjustment to small-town Mississippi was made much easier because borders were eliminated online...I could talk with people from all over the world who had similar interests as me. It grew from there and allowed me to quit teaching and pursue this passion full-time.
I am a home cook who’s thrilled to present beautiful food to my loved ones. I believe that the stories behind it all and the memories made are more precious than anything. Sharing these stories online is what led to my cookbook, South of Somewhere: Recipes and Stories from My Life in South Africa, South Korea & the American South (A Cookbook). It has been featured in print in Garden & Gun, Local Palate, People Magazine, Southern Living, and Women’s Day magazine. You can find it at your local bookstore, on Amazon, or there’s a link with other options on my publisher’s website, Simon & Schuster.
To keep my passion alive I sometimes work with brands here and on Instagram, but they are always brands that I believe in. You can read more about me here, and visit my Instagram. My work has been featured by Martha Stewart, Cooking Light Magazine, Taste of the South Magazine (People to Watch in the South, 2022), Food & Wine, TheKitchn, Eat & Drink Mississippi, Bake From Scratch Magazine, and more. I was named a Saveur Award nominee in 2019 in the category of “Best Instagram.” Please use the form below if you’re a brand of business looking to contact me to discuss potential collaborations. I’m happy to discuss travel opportunities, media appearances, recipe development, and food styling. I also offer consulting services to new cookbook writers, bloggers, and brands.
Thanks for visiting,
Dale
