It is my smile, my heart, my everything. I am in love with being in my flow and allowing my imagination to run wild with the simplest of ingredients. I believe the magic lies in their special language: it is an invitation to visit the realm where humans and animals alike receive nourishment from plants. I am the woman in the market touching and smelling the rinds of melons, weighing the oranges like jewels and eyeing up the greens for the deepest, darkest green leaves. My food philosophy is unashamedly simple: simplicity is where the true magic happens. I grew up in Western Cape, South Africa. The wine region and fruit basket of this beautiful country. Surrounded by the best produce in a moderate climate and influenced by the cosmopolitan amalgamated Indian, Malaysian, European and Mediterranean cuisine, my style resembles homely, earthy dishes that burst with flavour and leave epic memories. In my early 20’s my foundation for flavour and simplicity crescendoed as a result from touring the south coast with hard core surfers to the most remote areas to catch the big waves. There was no other alternative than cooking over an open fire in the bush and on the beach. Over a period of five years I pushed my creativity around the fire pit and in the most challenging of environments, I was still able to conjure magic with just a pumpkin, cinnamon, coconut oil and salt. Later in life I swapped the wild coasts of South Africa for a small island off the coast of France, nl Jersey. Here I was able to learn more about Europe’s wild foods and foraging. Sea vegetables and hedgerow herbs became a fascination with my growing food curiosity. Daily we would forage for sea spinach and in season for elderflower, sloe berries, gorse flower and rosehip. As it was so close to France, trips to the continent sparked my learning journey with more traditional, classic French cooking and I still use some of the techniques I learnt then today. Here in NZ, my food journey started with a bang. We arrived on the back of a very stressful period and spurred on by stress related health challenges, life pushed me to go deeper with my understanding of food and this is where Tea & Happiness bloomed into what it is known for today - healthy, plant based food to heal and nurture. I became obsessed with fermentation and fermented everything and anything. The ribbon in my logo resembles the gut and I learnt to value the crucial benefits of microbiotics and enzymes. My health and my family’s health would not be the same without this profound knowledge. I steadily gained a reputation for creating cultured and aged vegan cheeses, tasty kombucha, vegan kimchi and all the other creations in between. From market stall to food truck to opening a cafe, I am nowadays in my happy self as a traveling retreat and events chef. My tag line is simple: Happy food, happy people.
