View Our Distribution Map

Journal

Subscribe to our Journal Updates

Travel with a Conscience

September, 2010 | No Comments

It is most important for every visitor to realise that you are just that … a visitor to a country, a region and for that matter to this planet. However, travelling to merely observe will leave you with a shallow experience of Africa. Get off the bus and take a walk through the village. Stay [...]
Read More >

In Search of Truth and Beauty

August, 2010 | 1 Comment

View the latest work of Tanya Bonello at the G2 Art Gallery in Cape Town. Tanya Bonello is a mixed media artist who works with gypsum, rust, linseed oil and oil paint. Her paintings are held in private and corporate collections locally, as well as in London, New York, San Francisco, Warsaw and Milan. Her [...]
Read More >

Tips for the Average Joe

August, 2010 | No Comments

In current times society has to adapt to issues such as credit-crunches, rising food- and petrol prices, speeding fines and World Cups. We all look out for good deals in any shape or form, because we all scrape the barrel from time to time. There are some handy pointers that I should equip you with [...]
Read More >

Sacred Cows of the Masai

August, 2010 | 6 Comments

Visiting a nomadic Masai tribe must be one of my most colourful experiences. They are driven by their passion for their land and cattle. Their daily life revolves around their cattle. Status is derived from their relationship to their cattle and the amount of children they have. The more cattle a Masai has, the richer [...]
Read More >

Land Rover Cooked Competition

August, 2010 | No Comments

Hi Cooked Fans! Stand the chance to win a Cooked in Africa book signed by Justin! All you need to do is this: 1. Subscribe to our newsletter if you haven’t already. 2. Answer the question below. 3. EMAIL your answer to info@cookedinafrica.com The Question: What nicknames did Justin and his crew give their FOUR [...]
Read More >

What Has the Trio Been Up To?

August, 2010 | 1 Comment

After such a fully packed, “lekker” (Afrikaans for “awesome”) year of filming Exploring the Vine, there’s been quite a few enquiries about what we’ve been up to. Off camera – myself and the duo still make time to get together (especially for those infamous Sunday lunches!) and constructively criticise and taste each others‘wines and the [...]
Read More >

His Journey, a Destination

August, 2010 | 5 Comments

It is incredible to see what can be carried on a bicycle. While filming “Getaway to Africa” in Malawi we met a mad hatter named Kenny Shane, a Canadian who had just about cycled right around the globe over a period of 25 years. He was making his way southwards to Cape Town and then [...]
Read More >

Vintage What?

August, 2010 | 1 Comment

Vintage is the year in which the grapes inside your bottle of wine was picked and processed. That is the year that’s visible on the label of your bottle. In the case of un-wooded white wines, the year is a reflection of when it was produced and bottled and probably sold. Some of you might [...]
Read More >

Stolen Innocence

August, 2010 | 3 Comments

From the bright light into the dark shack my eyes take some time adjusting to the darkness inside. My guide introduces me to Gogo, meaning Mama. For many years Soweto was the “small parliament” in the days of apartheid. Soweto is also the most populous township in Africa. I cannot help but notice the novel, [...]
Read More >

Shoot, Steal and Lie!

July, 2010 | 2 Comments

When we plan a trip into the great unknown it is most important to be properly prepared to go out there and brave all that Africa may throw at you, and believe me she will throw. So be ready to shoot! The biggest regret I have as a traveller is I always make the mistake [...]
Read More >

Making a Mountain out of a Molehill: Ideas for Organic Pest Control

July, 2010 | 6 Comments

I have a rabbit problem. Imagine my horror, when, lusting after a fresh garden salad I went to the veggie patch, basket in hand, ready to pick all the crunchy goodness my heart desired… only to discover that some fluffy little critter had beaten me to it! Yes, a cuddly wuddly rabbit had snacked on [...]
Read More >

Water: A Celebration

July, 2010 | 5 Comments

It is early on Saturday morning in Swaziland. All along the road I notice children walking. Some are chewing on sugarcane sticks. The boys are drawing lines in the sand with branches. The older ones are pushing the younger ones on the wheelbarrows. These children are off to the nearest source of water. Collecting water [...]
Read More >

Land Rover’s Great Service

July, 2010 | 1 Comment

We just had the Mothership, Panther and Christmas Tree serviced at Land Rover. The guys were so amazing, Justin gave them two Cooked books as a thank you! Maybe next time we roll up, they’ll get some of Justin’s famous Stuffed Vetkoek to munch on! Stuffed vetkoek are lekker padkos! Make them on the road, [...]
Read More >

Mama Africa

July, 2010 | No Comments

Most striking to me in my travels in Africa is that each country we visited over the shows we produced “Cooked” and “Getaway to Africa” was that in each country we experienced something special and different. Whether a perfect silence experienced in a village in Lesotho at nightfall, the rolling hills of the Kingdom of [...]
Read More >

Kosi Forest Lodge

July, 2010 | No Comments

“A place of shimmering lakes, meandering waterways, tropical forests, remote beaches all within the iSimagaliso Wetland Park” The route we took between Thonga Beach Lodge and Kosi Forest Lodge is meant to take about an hour and a quarter. We took 5 hours. Along the way we pulled into secluded bays, stopped at scenic view [...]
Read More >

Thonga Beach Lodge

July, 2010 | 3 Comments

“.. little piece of heaven situated in a world heritage site at Mabibi” We have had an interesting last few days. We left the Transkei and continued north all the way to Thonga Beach Lodge, just beneath Mozambique. En route we spent a night in Amanzimtoti, at a Guest house called Graceland – named because [...]
Read More >

Meat is meat, but must we eat so much?

July, 2010 | 3 Comments

We left Flip and Jeanie’s farm near Beit Bridge, on the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, before making the long hall up through Botswana and Namibia, along the Trans Kalahari Highway, to a free range cattle farm, just outside Windhoek. I would love to tell you about our experience in Botswana but to be [...]
Read More >

Flip’n Cool Mense

July, 2010 | No Comments

We arrived at the farm Klein Rivertjie, before the sun had set, which was very interesting as we got to see just how close we are to the SA/Zimbabwe border, only 800m. The Nel’s farm a wide variety of veggies, smart – not to have your eggs in one basket and now even I am [...]
Read More >

IF IT’S YELLOW LET IT MELLOW… And other tips for responsible water consumption

July, 2010 | No Comments

A little bit of rain is a very big deal here in the drought-stricken Eastern Cape. In fact whenever it does rain, I stop what I am doing to say a private Thank-You and then turn my attention to the relief-inspiring sound of rainwater running into our underground reservoir. It’s music to my ears. The [...]
Read More >

Green Tip for July

July, 2010 | No Comments

At Cooked, we get the travel bug more often than not. In fact, we are a big green travel bug! BUT no matter what our mode of transport or where we stay, we always make sure to keep it as green as possible. Here are five small things you can do to make sure you [...]
Read More >

Two new exciting reads now in production!

July, 2010 | 4 Comments

With the overwhelming response Justin received for his first book “Cooked in Africa” we decided to publish two more! Jump in the car with Weekends Away and shrug off the everyday pressures of modern living. The book is filled with ideas on how you can immerse yourself in your natural surroundings and while you’re at [...]
Read More >

Cooked’s Tasty New Showcase

July, 2010 | No Comments

Cooked in Africa Films is famous for its striking cooking and travel shows featuring South Africa’s very own celebrity cook Justin Bonello and a crew of fun-loving, mischievous friends travelling around South Africa experiencing breath-taking sites and having food-filled adventures. Cooked’s new website “bucks the trend”, and is an interactive, user-friendly showcase of the work [...]
Read More >

Cooked Season 4

July, 2010 | 2 Comments

Justin first caught the eye of TV watchers in Cooked Season 1. He was full of charm and charisma creating a new brand of bush cooking. Justin’s charm is still abundant, but in Season 4 he takes on the more serious side of cooking. If possible, try to forget for a moment that what Justin [...]
Read More >

The Proof is in the Cheese Burger

July, 2010 | No Comments

On Monday, I strolled to a beloved deli down the road from my office. It’s one of my favourite places because everything is made from scratch every day, including wraps, chicken pies, spaghetti meat balls and soups. When you walk inside, it smells like love. Read more on Tiny Planet…
Read More >

Wild!

July, 2010 | No Comments

So, my search to green my life and live more sustainably continues. My first stop? Wild Organics Trading Store. Since finding this place, it’s changed what I eat, when I eat it and how I think about food. Lately, when I walk down the gleaming supermarket aisle or ponder over a menu at a restaurant [...]
Read More >

Cooked 4 Competition

July, 2010 | 43 Comments

Hi Cooked groupies, We are giving away a DVD box set of the new Cooked Season 4! How do you enter? 1 . Simply, subscribe to our website newsletter and stand a chance to win this amazing prize! (To subscribe to our “What’s in the pot?” newsletter: Go on to the homepage, there is a [...]
Read More >

Aweh Danny!

July, 2010 | 4 Comments

Danny, who has been with us since we began shooting a month ago, has left us. We all knew the day was coming but had hoped it wouldn’t. In much of Southern Africa a true reflection of a man’s wealth is the number of heads of livestock he has. It’s a little different with us, [...]
Read More >

Legend in the making – Black Mamba, White Witch

June, 2010 | 6 Comments

The contrast is overwhelming. Thea Litschka, the white witch, as called by the locals, catching black mambas. Compassionate deeds, kindness, mercy, and reaching out to others are required of all of us who desire to be on the path of wisdom. If you ever drive past Simunye, Swaziland, ask for Thea or Clifton who will [...]
Read More >

Fleet of Landies… Half Way Mark

June, 2010 | No Comments

We left Cape Town, just over a month ago to shoot our 5th season of Cooked, Living Free. To date, after travelling more than 12000 km’s around South Africa to say that we were amped to take on the Mountain kingdom of Lesotho in our fleet of Landies would be a complete understatement. The first [...]
Read More >

Vino-Philia

June, 2010 | No Comments

What does wine mean to you? Take a second and swirl this around in your head, and answer this question internally, yet truthfully. Your answer determines whether you fall into the novice, lover, connoisseur or even just consumer category (Which is great too!). My aim is to narrow the wide scissors between these different levels [...]
Read More >

Sand gets everywhere, ask me I now know

June, 2010 | 1 Comment

Its funny how easily one can fall into the swing of the way things used to be, where our daily priorities were not only about those things that make us happy but the ones that are an integral part of survival. But at what cost? After two solid days of travel, starting at Katse Dam, [...]
Read More >

Justin (1) Wild Rainbow trout (0)

June, 2010 | No Comments

We have been at Matobeng Village in Lesotho, on the banks of the Katse Dam for 4 days now. And the area is renowned for its wild trout fishing. So after working solidly since we got here it came as no surprise when Justin said yesterday that reckoned that he had sussed out the local [...]
Read More >

Moms away from mom

June, 2010 | 1 Comment

Travelling and shooting means we are up each morning before sunrise and (most of us) like to fly the Cooked in Africa flag proudly way into the next morning (some days). By default Ray and Megs have become our foster mothers during this time of travel; which means that not only do they have to [...]
Read More >

Motebong Village, Lesotho

June, 2010 | 4 Comments

If you’re partial to vast mountainous regions, with beautiful river valleys and unrivalled peace and quiet, come spend a few days here, you’ll love it. We have been here for the last 3 days and it’s one of those crazy beautiful places that takes your mind far away from the humdrum monotony of city living. [...]
Read More >

Goodbye Elgin Chickens, Hello Karoo Lamb

June, 2010 | 1 Comment

Day 5 Goodbye Elgin chickens, Hello Karoo Lamb We left Elgin as early as possible and made our way up the N2 as far as George, where we then travelled inland over the Outeniqua pass. It was goodbye to the sea for now and hello to the Karoo (South Africa’s largest semi-arid desert). We drove [...]
Read More >

Chicken in bread crust

June, 2010 | 4 Comments

If of you can remember in the 3rd season of Cooked Justin made a particularly ‘savoury’ chicken baked in bread dough. Well tonight Tina Beaumont, the proprietor of this recipe and a couple other mates would be coming for dinner. So Justin and Tina met at Jeanne’s house and proceeded to show a new bunch [...]
Read More >

They taste so good cos they eat so good – IS SIMPLY NOT THE CASE!

June, 2010 | 2 Comments

First off I’d just like to thank Jeanne Groenewald for allowing us access to all parts of the process of farming her Free Range chickens. Especially with the stigma that is attached to battery farmed ones, it was a true eye opener to see how these noble birds live out their days. Last night ended [...]
Read More >

Greener Pastures…

June, 2010 | 5 Comments

Is the grass greener on the other side? Last year I decided to recycle my life, and inevitably discovered the answer to that question. My husband and I traded in our film-industry careers to farm organic vegetables, and replaced the hustle-and-bustle traffic fumes of Jozi for a windswept sea-view stoep in the forgotten frontier of [...]
Read More >

Exploring the Vine on Nat Geo

May, 2010 | 5 Comments

Three hot young men making wine, drinking wine and talking about wine. What’s not to love about this series? South Africa with its rich cultural history, diversity and natural beauty also boasts a thriving and internationally award winning wine industry. Less than an hour’s drive from the majestic Table Mountain and Cape Town’s famous beaches [...]
Read More >

Oak Lane Cottages, Elgin

May, 2010 | No Comments

We wake up at 6am, some of us are going to take a bit of time to adjust to the ‘Cooked’ way of life but seeing as it’s the first day of shooting on the road we are all sporting our poker faces. The shooting crew pile into the Mothership and Panther in search the [...]
Read More >

It’s Elgin

May, 2010 | 2 Comments

It’s Elgin, not ‘El Jin’ that’s what Mexican prostitutes would call it. So we have finally said goodbye to our Mother city. Today was complete madness as we combined a full work day with the mightiest of all packing of the vehicles sessions (to become part of the daily routine). In the end we managed [...]
Read More >

Disco-Disco

May, 2010 | No Comments

So if you don’t know already, Land Rover have generously given us 4X4X4’s (all a little confusing at first). They are Justin’s bad ass Discovery 4 otherwise known as the ‘The Mother ship’ Sunel’s Defender, Panther, Wesley’s defender, Daisy and the newest member of the Team, Calvin’s yet to be named (Cal wants to call [...]
Read More >

Tiny Planet

May, 2010 | No Comments

Whether you’re making your space more beautiful, extra edible, adding fragrance, being more bio-diverse, further welcoming, more thought provoking or any of these, join Helena on her journey to discover little patches of green in the big concrete jungle on … The Big Shi(f)t I’ve been called a tree-hugging hippy more times than I care [...]
Read More >

Making Money on Holiday

May, 2010 | 5 Comments

When I was in my twenties, struggling to find a career, I lucked upon a movie and remember a line that went something like this “find something you really enjoy doing, then try find a way to make a living out of it”. I figured well, I really like going on holiday, so I did, [...]
Read More >

Depicting Life

May, 2010 | 5 Comments

(Delve into the heart of the African community, with photographer Chris Litschka, as she explores moments in their lives, depicting many mysteries through words and images. Join her as she shares her lessons in passion and traditions on …) When I saw the movie “Out Of Africa” I fell in love with its people, its [...]
Read More >

Who am I?

May, 2010 | 3 Comments

I’m known as Howard Booysen, son of happily married parents and one older sibling, my sis. I was born in the Northern suburbs in the mother city of Cape Town. (Not on a farm though…) I’m a 27 year old bachelor who’s highly energetic with a passion for creating, living, experiencing and people. I have [...]
Read More >