Foodie Di Bibby on what inspires her and creating ‘deceptively easy’ recipes

Based in Johannesburg, Di Bibby is the author of Bibby’s Kitchen Cookbook and the e-book Beautiful Home Food.

She shares her love of food through teaching, food styling, recipes and her own evocative food photography — and her memes.

You may drool over the visuals but her words, the storyline, are the essence of deliciousness. Bibby is a cookery teacher, food stylist, recipe developer, food photographer and content creator of Bibby’s Kitchen.

Where do you find the inspiration for your posts?

Finding a good post always starts with developing unique recipes that are reliable and on trend with what’s happening in food. When I launched the Bibby’s Kitchen blog I had to learn how to style and photograph food. Ultimately, these skills have enabled me to create, style and photograph both cookbooks.

Apart from your cooking skills you are an accomplished food photographer.  

Having previously worked in the fashion industry definitely helped with the creative process of food styling and photography. Other than that, it’s just practice and repeat and all the images are captured on camera.

A positive spin- off of the pandemic has been the surge in interest in home cooking.

Home food and eating together has become something we all look forward to. It creates a sense of community and normal. During the hard lockdown I was inundated with requests for ideas of what to cook and bake so I decided to publish an e-book with recipes that were simple but, above all, completely delicious.

For the first four months of lockdown I worked on Beautiful Home Food. Most of the recipes are deceptively easy and flexible using pantry staples and a handful of fresh ingredients. It’s about homely food, nothing too fancy, just a little special. Almost like eating out but staying in.

When did your food journey start?

Unlike most cooks my food story is somewhat unconventional and self-taught. I never imagined years later I’d find myself in the kitchen. It has taken long hours, years of practice and stickability.

Of all the recipes you’ve featured in your posts, which two stand out as the most popular?

Chicken and chocolate are always outright favourites. Chicken must be the one of the most popular foods. It is homely, comforting and simple to cook. Chocolate speaks a universal language, one of indulgence, escapism and celebration. The brownies are properly rich, made in a blender and healthy to boot. Impossible not to love.

• Visit bibbyskitchenat36.com for a vast selection of recipes and kitchen goodies from Bibby’s Kitchen brand.