Writing Mile 8 was an incredibly special journey for me. It's part autobiography, part cookbook.
Writing Mile 8 was an incredibly special journey for me. It's part autobiography, part cookbook.
Mile 8 is a marker on the Namibian coastline. It's also the place where I caught my first fish and my food journey began. I grew up along this coastline. I learned to fish here. Learned to cook and hunt and play here. Namibia shaped who I am, and it will always be my home.
And while my personal mile markers have kept increasing – first when I left for boarding school, then to the Army, the Cape and now Johannesburg – Namibia is the place to which I will always return.
This is my story, beginning in the small, coastal town of Walvis Bay, through the cowboy kitchens of Cape Town in the 90’s, to the heart of South Africa’s lush winelands, and culminating at Marble, a culinary tour de force in the heart of Johannesburg.
With over 90 dishes and 150 recipes influenced by the journey of my career, Mile 8 is a culinary adventure bringing together the unique and interesting flavours of Southern Africa. Impala Tartare, Snoek & Apricot, Amadumbe & Chakalaka, and my version of the classic Malva Pudding are just some of the delights to be found in this wonderfully illustrated book.
It was through fishing and his backyard hydroponics (we lived in a desert) that he introduced me to food and cooking without even realising it. The fires on the beach, the frequent braais and the cooking of what we had caught all taught me so much. During the writing of this book, I was asked which meal I would have cooked for him if he were still alive. I was stumped. I realised that a meal for my dad was the one meal I never cooked.
What I really want is for you to have fun with the book. Use the recipes as guidelines,
or for inspiration. Make the dishes your own, and in your own way.
Follow parts of recipes. Replace elements or ingredients.
Challenge yourself and see what happens.
And above all, enjoy it.