Journalist and writer Barry de Klerk, also known as ‘The Denim Chef’, has launched an online recipe book, ‘Eat Like a Namibian’.
The cook book was officially released online on 19 August.
There are 30 recipes. Some of the recipes include braais, curries, pastas, salads, side dishes, sauces and also some desserts.
It is a book of recipes that combines Namibian flavours with world cuisine. “It is basically the food I grew up with, but with a twist. I tried to keep the recipes as local as possible, to give people a sense of what Namibians love to eat. I tried to make sure my recipes are as diverse as possible,” he said.
De Klerk said the book was inspired by the love that he has for food. He spent a big part of his childhood in the kitchen. De Klerk says he started working on the project when he was 17 years old. While some of the recipes were written a decade ago, he tested and tried all of them again in February.
“The idea for a cook book had been brewing in my mind for a long time now. I just never had the chance to write down the recipes. The pandemic opened up my schedule and I was able to finally work on the book. All the recipes are so easy to prepare and can be a lot of fun to prepare, especially if you can get the whole family involved,” he said.
De Klerk said the inspiration for the recipes comes from himself, his mother and brother. He said the book is special because people do not have to have a lot of money as all the recipes contain ingredients that are affordable. He said most of the recipes were born when he was broke. “I had to make something delicious and unique from the food that I had left in my fridge and cupboard,” he said.
He said there is nothing like a great braai, as it can also bring a group of people together to have fun. He created special recipes for braaing such as pork ribs, lamb chops and even burgers.
A few of his recipes are also biltong-based, as according to him, Namibia has the best biltong in the world.
This time around, De Klerk did not include any seafood recipes, but plans to add a seafood version before the end of the year. For now, the recipes are only available online, although he also has plans to launch a hard copy at a later stage.
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