Hard to believe, but this is Justin Bonello’s ninth title, and it’s nine years since he burst on to the local culinary scene with his first television show, Cooked, which was also the title of his first book. Helena Lombard joined the Cooked in Africa film team in 2011, and has travelled with them, cooked and researched for four of his titles.
The symbiosis between the popular TV series and these titles is guaranteed as the book will reflect highlights of the journey undertaken: the photographs are there, the content – in this case route and destinations – predetermined as are, I presume, the recipes. This does not detract from the book’s appeal, rather the opposite: readers who have seen the filmed series of a braai contest and those who haven’t are likely to relish this gastronomic adventure across some of southern Africa’s little frequented parts.
The foreword offers a good idea of just what such an undertaking entails when it consists of a diverse group of more than 70 crew being on the road for more than two months, travelling almost 9 000km of dirt roads, with long working hours to complete a 13-part reality TV series.
Bonello starts by offering would-be travellers a list of important items to pack and recommends planning the route in advance – but being flexible and finding the roads off the beaten track. In their case they started at Noordhoek, moved east to Witsand, then west to Paternoster before moving inland to the Cederberg. The Orange River was a popular destination, then it was off to Namibia to Luderitz, Sossusvlei and the Fish River canyon. The Tankwa Karoo was another stop, followed by Oudtshoorn and the journey finished on the Breede River.
Bonello was not the only source of the recipes in this collection – members of the crew included a couple of top chefs, and some were the creations of the top contestants in the series
The trip started with a fiery Durban fish and prawn curry, before setting off in a convoy of cars and trucks for a lengthy nomadic lifestyle. The Breede River lodge at Witsand was their first stop so a recipe for fish head soup is appropriate, followed by braaied brandy banana splits. With KWV as one of their (presumed) sponsors, cooks could jazz up their recipes with wine and brandy, and frequently did.
Doughnuts, cooked in a flat-bottomed potjie over coals provided welcome padkos for the trip to Paternoster, where they camped at Tietiesbaai in the middle of winter. One of the professional chefs on the team, Bertus Basson, produced whole braaied fish with pesto, tapenade and ash tomatoes, dished up with sauvignon blanc – and skewered fresh sardines, both of which sound delectable, while Bonello and others made the most of the black mussels in the area.
Then they headed to the Cederberg where various potjies were prepared.
Chef Petrus Madutlela produced an apricot malva pud with brandy glaze as a finale before the convoy travelled to the Namaqua National Park. Their destination was the Diamond Diver Cottages, built by divers in 1989 at Noup.
Some robust salads were on the menu, along with details of games they played between work, including one called Hacky Sack and another Shithead. Inviting-looking mealie bread was baked by Petrus to accompany sophisticated oriental chicken and slaw sarmies from Bertus.
The three photographers provided the book’s editor with some fantastic scenic shots as well as food photographs, and there are several of the crew in action, working, playing, cooking, eating.
The book’s design – a combination of retro meets up-to-the-minute, using mixed fonts and varying background colours – lends instant appeal to this hardback.
* Road Tripping by Justin Bonello and Helena Lombard is published by Penguin
Lifestyle Reporter