Our cookbook of the week,  Karoo Kitchen: Heritage recipes and true stories, is a real gem, a microcosm of our beautifully diverse country, and a mouthwatering selection of heritage recipes and true stories from the heart of South Africa.

Whether it’s how to clean and cook a sheep’s head, make an old fashioned milk tart, a Karoo lamb pie or rolled shoulder of venison, you’ll find these recipes here.  For five years author Sydda Essop based herself in Beaufort West and took trips into the towns, farms and tiny settlements of the Karoo, doing research. She met farmers’ wives, farmworkers, foodies and wildlife trackers, as they shared their stories and recipes with her.

In the end she took over 70 of these people’s stories and treasured family  recipes, to combine them into this compelling book.  They span the cultural spectrum that typifies the makeup of our country today, from the Khoi-San, Xhosa, Dutch, British, French, slaves from the East, Greeks, Portuguese, Jews, Indians and Somalians.

Food, is a great healer and this publication is as much a splendid cookbook as it is a social document. Produced by arguably south Africa’s premier publishing house, Quivertree Publications, Karoo Kitchen is also  beautifully designed, and laid out, with classic old Karoo family photos alongside inhouse photographer, Craig Fraser’s, exceptional images adding and visuals spice to the book – more than just a cookbook – it is an inspiring journey of discovery, heritage and the human spirit.

This is definitely a cookbook that Wickedfood Cooking School will treasure and used as a constant reference when developing South African cooking classes such as our A Taste of the Karoo cooking class.

Interested in buying this book? Visit – Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R384 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R450)! Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R66.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients. We’ve just launched a new and exciting class, Wickedfood Master Cook. Think Master Chef with a fun twist.