My city: Cape Town - Justin Bonello

The cook, author and TV producer on his sweet tooth, hangovers and being dubbed in Russia

I am ... unreliable, creative and think on my feet.

Where were you born? In Durban, in 1971, but I don't support the Sharks.

Where did you grow up? In Gardens, Cape Town.

Where do you live? In Noordhoek.

Who do you share your house with? My wife, Eugenie, my newborn son, Samuel, and three dogs.

How did you become a chef? As a child, my family had homes in the Transkei, on the Brede River, and on the Wild Coast. My cooking skills developed from having to know what to do with what I harvested from the ocean. I'm 100% self-taught - a natural cook.

What are the secrets to being a good cook? It's a combination of alchemy and timing.

I gain inspiration from? Being in my garden where I grow my own veggies, herbs and have a compost heap and a worm farm. Also, the Wild Coast. I always come back armed with ideas, rod in hand.

Describe your style of cooking? Very few things take me more than an hour to do. The key word is fresh.

What are some of your favourite dishes? Risotto and seafood.

The best lesson I've learnt is ... Prep. Slaving away while friends and guests are drinking vino is not okay. Also, use good ingredients. Without them, there's nothing.

How do you get around? In a bronze Land Rover called Rocketship. I've taken her all over the country.

What's next for you? I'm going to the Karoo to shoot a new series with my production company. We watch too much sterile overseas junk. I create TV shows and actually, I'm on air on every continent and am better known in France and Germany than here. I'm also on in Canada and America. In Korea and Russia, I'm dubbed!

What's one of the best adventures you've had? I illegally slept on top of my bakkie on the Swartberg Pass.

What would people be surprised to know about you? I'm intensely private and never had ambitions to be in the public eye.

The worst thing about being a cook is ... Everyone expects that your food will be great every time. After I shoot a show, I don't pick up a pan for three months: I'm creatively corrupted.

How do you spend your free time? I have green fingers and the space where I relax is my garden.

If you weren't doing what you do, you would be ... saving the environment. I'm an eco-warrior. But I actually studied IT.

I met my wife ... she stalked me. Only joking! I was with the crew for a night out on the town and after a few drinks, I had enough Dutch courage to ask her to walk my dogs with me. She relented, but I was mugged the next day and lost her number. It took me two weeks to track her down.

I'm predisposed to ... getting lost in the garden and waking up in the wee hours and thinking about irrelevant stuff.

My most valued possession is ... a Rolex that my dad gave me when I matriculated.

What do you love most about living in Cape Town? We have such great access to outdoors, fishing, mountain, you can sit in your back yard and appreciate the ocean.

You know you're in Cape Town when ... the wind's blowing.

What's the worst thing about living in Cape Town? All the business is in Joburg.

One of my life philosophies is: There are no bad cooks, just friends who aren't hungry enough.

I can't go a day without ... caffeine.

If you inherited R100-million what would you do with it? Retire!

What are your creature comforts? Chocolate. I have a terrible sweet tooth but am trying to kick the habit.

I always collect ... old cooking utensils.

My friends and I like ... getting away to the great outdoors.

Success to me means ... doing something significant. We're so busy chasing dollars, but at the end of the day, if you're not creating relevance, what's the point?

Everything in moderation but ... sometimes waking up with hangover is worth it.

My worst vice is ... procrastination.

If money could buy happiness ... good food can buy friends.

I'd like to be remembered as ... being myself.

Loves&Hates

Being in the great outdoors: I have a bucket book of places to go.

New experiences

Sincere people and people who make a difference

My family and friends

Mushrooms: I am growing my first batch of oyster mushrooms now.

People who litter: It shows no respect.

People who don't recycle: It's so easy.

Restaurants that don't know where their ingredients come from: I want to know that the animal that died in order to feed me had a good life.

Insincere people: Guys who talk great ideas, but don't mean what they say.

The fact that we work for five days a week to live for two days a weekend: The weekend should be at least four days long.

My little black book

The Food Barn, Noordhoek, 021 789 1390

They have amazing ciabatta breads and a wonderful deli.

Magica Roma, Pinelands, 021 531 1489

I have respect for restaurants that are owner run and managed.

Kobus se Gat, Swartberg Pass, 083 311 5267

A cave on the road between Ceres and Calvinia.

Silvermine Nature Reserve, 021 780 9002

You walk from Cape Point, over Kommetjie beach and stay overnight on the Silvermine Reserve.

Houseboats on Langebaan Lagoon, 021 689 9718

An amazing experience.