About Simply Delicious
Hallo! I’m Alida and I’ve been developing recipes, photographing food and running Simply Delicious since 2009. What started as a way to share recipes with family and friends living in different cities has grown into a food blog with over 1,600 recipes, read by millions of people around the world. I never imagined it would become what it is today but I’m grateful every single day that it did.
I live in South Africa with my husband and our twins, Abigail and Aidan, who are busy with their final year of high school (when I started Simply Delicious they were 1 year old 😲). They’ve gone from being my little taste-testers to having very strong (and sometimes brutally honest) opinions about everything I cook. They keep me grounded and they keep the fridge empty, which is a talent in itself.
Where It All Started
My relationship with food started when I was about 5 or 6 years old, begging my Gran to bake cookies with me. We would mix the dough, roll it out, cut the shapes and get the first batch in the oven. I would sit in front of that oven, waiting as patiently as a child can, for the smell to fill the kitchen. When the timer went off I’d call Gran to take them out, wait just long enough to not burn myself, then disappear to the couch with the entire first batch while she continued baking the remaining nine batches I’d insisted we make.
My Gran was incredibly patient with me, like only a Granny can be, and she always said that the kitchen was a magical place where a lot can be forgiven. She had the same passion for food that I have. Her whole life was spent either running a hotel kitchen or running a catering business. Sunday lunches at her house were legendary. Tables groaning under roast meat, gravy, rice, roast potatoes, sweet pumpkin, glazed carrots, green beans mashed with potatoes and onions, two or three salads and always finished with Malva pudding, pineapple mousse pudding and custard. She passed away in 2011 and I think of her every time I step into the kitchen. She was the best Gran any kid could ask for.
My mom wasn’t quite as keen on cooking. I think she liked the idea of it more than the practicality. She was the ultimate express cook and rarely spent more than 30 minutes in the kitchen, unless she was making her amazing Chicken Fried Steak. But she always insisted I try new things, ate all my flops with a smile on her face and when I did get it right she was all too proud. She was the only fan I ever needed. She passed away after a year-long battle with breast cancer in December 2005 and I miss her every day. Everything I do is in honour of her.
What Simply Delicious Is About
Growing up in a food-loving family gave me the freedom to experiment, fail and eventually get really good at cooking through years of trial and error. That’s what Simply Delicious is built on. The food I make is straightforward and achievable, but I never compromise on flavor. You won’t find overly complicated techniques or long lists of obscure ingredients here. Just honest, delicious recipes that work every time.
The name says it all. Simply Delicious. Simple food, big flavor, no fuss.
I handle everything on this site myself. Every recipe is developed and tested in my own kitchen, every photo is shot and edited by me, and every word is written by me. My husband, Chris, is my business partner and handles all the back-end admin of the blog (as well as the finances because I’m a very keen prop-shopper). When you make a recipe from this blog, you’re cooking something that’s been through my kitchen and onto my family’s table before it ever reached yours. That matters to me.
What You’ll Find Here
Over the years, Simply Delicious has grown to over 1,600 recipes spanning everything from quick weeknight dinners and easy pasta dishes to slow weekend bakes and family-favorite comfort food. The recipes that tend to resonate most with readers are the ones that solve a real problem: what to cook on a Tuesday night when you’re tired, how to impress guests without spending all day in the kitchen and how to make something that tastes incredible with ingredients you already have.
Some of the most popular recipes on the site include my Creamy Garlic Seafood Pasta, Easy Lemon Butter Baked Fish, Chicken Alfredo and Banana Oat Pancakes. But with 1,600+ recipes, there’s something for everyone, whether you’re gluten-free, feeding a crowd, cooking for two or trying to get dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
Beyond the Blog
Over the course of my career I’ve authored two cookbooks (Simple & Delicious and Cook from the Heart: Food for Every Mood) and worked as a freelance food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer for various brands including Woolworths, Kerrygold, Le Creuset South Africa and Le Creuset Europe, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and more. I’ve been lucky enough to turn a passion that started with my Gran’s cookie dough into a full-time career creating food content that helps real people cook better meals at home.
Let’s Connect
I love hearing from readers. If you’ve made one of my recipes, have a question or just want to say hallo, you can find me on:
Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube TikTok
Thank you for being here, for cooking my recipes and for your feedback over the years. It means more than you know.
Happy cooking!
Alida
Links to my cookbooks:
Simple & Delicious Amazon Link
Kook uit die hart (Afrikaans version)