Don’t stop shaping your dream, even when the odds are stacked up against you. And the odds will be against you on most days, that’s when you need to find something inside of yourself that propels you forward.

I love cooking. I love styling food. I love talking about food and most of all, writing about it. So when my manuscript is completed and the pages of my books designed and styled, I am faced with my biggest challenge – the cover!

That’s when I call in the big guns ???? and for me, that is in the form of my publisher @beverleydodd at @penguinbookssouthafrica She listens more than she talks and talks when it’s genuinely needed. In most cases, it’s when I am stuck Bev, gets me. She sees me. She hears me.

My latest cookbook cover was designed to be the partner to my first book. Therefore the covers have nuances that tie them together, very much like a union of two hearts. Two souls that yearn for connection. My 1st book was in memory of my father and the latest book, in honour of my mom. He was the Alpha and she was the Omega… and now the memory of them remains preserved in these covers. They found each other again and reside here, this is how I want to remember them.

Whether your dream makes you millions or nothing at all, something is always gained. Maybe not money, nor followers, and often not even satisfaction but inside of you, you will know that you had a dream. You had the courage to bring it to life. Memories were made, tears shed and a desire to create something emerged from nothing at all… with only your determination to give it meaning.

My books are more than cookbooks. They are more than heritage. They are more than the art of cooking and writing. Whether they are ridiculed or revered, they resonate and vibrate with my life.

To the Alpha (my Pappa) and the Omega (my mother) – they remain my creative force!