Cooking comes naturally to me. I grew up in Upington, in a typical South African home. My grandmother from Namaqualand, always got me to do things in the kitchen, but it was my mother, Susan, who was the biggest reason why I chose to cook. Living in a small town, she had a deep sense of community, and I saw how she used food to connect people and bring them joy.  This is essentially how I fell in love with food.

Funerals are one of my fondest food memories.  As a child, I knew that at the end of a funeral, after the sadness, there’s going to be a feast of food. It taught me that no matter what the occasion, the moment you serve food, it’s a form of celebration.

Whenever I cook, I want to make people feel happy. This is my philosophy.  My mother’s adage, “Kos is nooit kwaad nie” (food is never angry) resonates deeply with me. I believe that food is kind, warm, soft; sometimes it whispers, sometimes it shouts, and it always makes you feel welcome. Through my work, I also found that food can empower people, especially women. While some may view cooking as a chore, many find a lot of healing in cooking, offering solace and strength when life becomes hard.

When I started out, food had to be lush, rich, with no limits – my healing came from abundance! But a turning point came after my mom passed away in 2020. I was in an extremely dark place in my life. I was depressed and overweight. After that, I realised that there were demons in my life that I didn’t want to entertain anymore. I started eating in moderation and eating consciously, and I discovered the massive impact that food can have as a medicine.

What I hope to bring with this recipe set is to encourage living in balance: to create the same textures, and evoke the same feelings, while being conscious of the food. The recipes are easy, accessible, beautiful and fresh – everything you’d expect from a Herman recipe… Lekker eet!