I love stories. I remember being transfixed as a child, listening to fairytales and looking at the pictures. Even now, the illustrations in Ladybird books make my heart swell. As a child I loved language too and how it could make people laugh, or smile. I made up jokes before I could write, and once I could write, I wrote stories with funny bits in them.
My most recent book is Love You Madly (2021). It’s a romantic comedy. There’s humour and heartbreak, lyricism and lunacy.
I wrote it with Lucinda Hooley. I loved the process of co-authoring. Lucinda and I received warm praise for the book. Critics’ reviews were positive too. We’ve been panelists at several literary festivals, including the one in Franschhoek (twice).
Prior to the publication of Love You Madly, I won national plaudits for my cookbooks Star Fish and Real Food, Healthy, Happy Children.
Star Fish is about South Africa’s top 10 sustainable fish, and how to cook them. It won the 2014 Sunday Times Cookbook of the Year and the Jenny Crwys-Williams / 702 Cookbook of the Year. Real Food, Healthy, Happy Children with nutritionist Kath Megaw was shortlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times Cookbook of the Year.
I’ve been writing my whole career. I was first published in 1994, when I was a post-grad student. One of my poems was included in the anthology, The Heart in Exile (1996). I was published in the literary journals New Contrast (five poems in 1994) and New Coin (1995). Imago – the University of Cape Town literary magazine – included me in their 1995 edition.
After university, I was accepted into the Independent Newspapers School of Journalism. This launched my career in news and feature writing, the highlights of which were covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for The Star and covering education for Business Day as a senior writer.
In the early 2000s, I started writing for magazines, focussing on art, design and entertainment. I worked my way up to regional editor of Citylife Magazine.
In 2008, I switched to writing about food exclusively, publishing bi-weekly restaurant reviews in Winemag, remaining Winemag’s Cape food reviewer for 15 years (you can read my reviews here).
And now I’m here. In Washington DC with my husband and my two children, writing newsletters and books, and exploring as much as I can.
Daisy Jones 