About

My name is Michelle Matthews. I’m a writer based in Cape Town, and author of The Whole Food Almanac. I live with my husband Arthur in a flat with a bright red kitchen.

I cook to relax, like other people would make model airplanes or knit scarves. I also love to eat. Ripe cheeses, sushi, dark chocolate, wine, pretzels and potato chips, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, Edie’s lemon and ginger cordial, dried apricots, vienna sausages with German mustard, fresh pineapple, roast chicken and carrot cake are a few of the things that make life worth living.

Cookie (Not Cheffy) is my blog about everyday cooking. It’s about trying new techniques (new year’s resolution: must make gnocchi), following new recipes (like the quiche that needed 600g of cheese for the pastry… it was a typo) and eating new things (mmm, baked cucumber).

Arthur was vegetarian for twelve years, and we still eat very little meat. I’m working on a book about organic and local produce. What I’m trying to say is, sometimes the posts on this site may seem a bit, ahem, worthy (some might say smug). However, I promise to throw in the occasional champagne hangover and lamb chop (grilled with rosemary, lemon juice and garlic).

My professional website is www.michellematthews.co.za.